Representatives of 12 German municipalities came together to join the second round of the Training Series for Municipal Anti-Discrimination Offices. Hosted by the Anti-Discrimination Staff Unit of the City of Frankfurt am Main.
The Training Series aims to strengthen the work of municipal anti-discrimination offices by offering the participating cities strategies on how to implement changes on the structural level. This year’s workshop in Frankfurt featured modules on data documenting discrimination by public authorities as well as the interconnection of diversity initiatives and antidiscrimination measures.
The participants were welcomed by the Deputy Mayor Dr Eskandari-Grünberg who acts as the head of the city’s Department for Diversity, Anti-Discrimination and Social Cohesion. In her welcome speech she underlined the importance of dialogue and collaboration between municipal administrations: “The Network of Anti-Discrimination Offices moves us forward in our work. Sharing and exchanging information is essential and provides valuable impulses. We are united by the stance that we do not accept discrimination and that we work against it on a structural, consistent and collaborative basis. We see the incredible potential of our pluralistic society, but we also see the challenges that come with it - especially when people are put at a disadvantage by the existing structures, institutions or routines.”
The Training Series was launched in 2024 and first hosted by the Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination Unit of the City of Wuppertal. Created by the Network of German Municipal Anti-Discrimination offices together with Andreas Merx (Pro Diversity), Timon Perabo and Daniel Bartel (IMAP Institute), its main focus is to address the specific challenges administrations are facing in order to facilitate long-term improvements. The strategies presented in the training series have been developed based on the findings of the “Locally Fair” (Fair vor Ort) publication which proposes guidelines with quality standards for municipal anti-discrimination offices. The study was published in May 2024 and conducted as a collaborative project by the Network of German Municipal Anti-Discrimination Offices and the European Coalition of Cities against Racism, funded and supported by the respekt*land programme of the German Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency. The Network of German Municipal Anti-Discrimination Offices is being led by the cities of Nuremberg and Heidelberg.
The remaining modules of the 2025 training round will be hosted in a digital format, more information on the webinars will follow soon. The training series is funded by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency as part of respekt*land.
For questions about the project and the network of municipal anti-discrimination offices contact
