Diverse EU voices: a Pledge for Inclusive Choices

Why this Manifesto now?

The Brussels Binder was launched in 2017 with the aim to advocate for greater gender equality in the EU Bubble. At this time, only one-third of speakers at Brussels’ events were women. In two-thirds of debates, the majority of speakers were male and there were twice as many all-male panels as gender equal panels. Aiming to bridge this gap, we created The Brussels Binder, a database for EU event organisers who seek to include expert women’s voices in their policy debates.
Today, gender is not the only facet of diversity missing in EU policy debates, as was very aptly highlighted by the #BrusselsSoWhite movement that denounced the lack of racial diversity in the EU institutions. The Brussels Binder has recognised the need to fight for other forms of diversity, expanding its focus from gender equality to gender and diversity, including, but not limited to gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability, and socio-economic background. The Brussels Binder believes that unwillingness or inability to look beyond the ‘usual suspects’ to speak should not be the norm. The EU will excel and advance with representational diversity in policy debates.
We believe it is time to recognize and to include all our intersecting identities and commit to ensuring truly diverse EU policy debates. We trust that this Manifesto will inspire you all to pledge for diverse representation.

What can be done?

The Brussels Binder is calling upon the EU’s political parties and candidates, institutions, think-tanks, private sector, event management organisations, civil society organisations, the media and other EU stakeholders to pledge that events taking place ahead of and after the EU elections have a diverse speaker line-up.

The Pledge:

As an individual

I pledge not to moderate or participate in panels that lack diversity, including but not limited to gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability, and socio-economic background .
When I cannot participate in a panel discussion I’m invited to, I will endeavour to nominate a speaker whose voice is often underrepresented in the given discussion to take my place.
I pledge to follow the best practices outlined in the Brussels Binder toolbox to improve the representation of different views and backgrounds on all EU panel debates.

As an organization

We pledge not to organize or endorse EU panel debates that lack diversity, including but not limited to gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability, and socio-economic background.
We pledge that our staff, when representing our organisation, will not moderate or participate in EU panel debates lacking diversity, helping to make diverse panel debates the norm in the EU Quarter.
We pledge to follow the best practices outlined in the Brussels Binder toolbox to improve the quality of our EU panel debates by inviting speakers and audiences from backgrounds that are underrepresented.

Read our full manifesto here

The Brussels Binder Manifesto

Your Name*
First
Your Email*
Are you signing the Brussels Binder Manifesto on behalf of your organisation?*
- Yes, I'm signing on behalf of the organisation I work for/I'm part of.
- No, I'm signing as an individual.
Your Organization
I have read and agree with the declaration below. By checking I will sign, you are submitting this form.*
- I will sign
Declaration: “I agree that my data can be used for the purpose of this action by The Brussels Binder, and that my first name, last name and company name might be published on The Brussels Binder website in order to support this action.”
Consent*
I agree to The Brussels Binder’s privacy policy.

Here you can find a list of all the people who signed the manifesto.
Last update: 02/February/2024 at 09:00