Seminar

Ethnic Data: A Tool to Combat Discrimination

Date: 26^th March 2014

Venue: Gresham Hotel, O Connell Street

Time: 9.30-1pm 

Background:

This seminar is the third in a series being organised by Pavee Point and the Department of Applied Social Sciences NUIM and funded by the Department of Justice. A key objective in Pavee Point’s current Strategic Plan is the Promotion of an Agenda for Data within a human rights and equality framework to achieve positive outcomes for Travellers and Roma living in Ireland. Accurate data and ethnic monitoring is required in the struggle to protect the human rights of potentially discriminated minorities and to promote equality and counter discrimination. Ethnic data is needed to inform evidence based policy making and service provision and in the design of appropriate antidiscrimination policies and to assess their effectiveness over time. We draw on international experience in this field to share insights and good practice.

Seminar Objectives:

1. To explore how Ethnic Data can be used to combat discrimination

2. To present evidence on the impact of discrimination on Irish Travellers

3. To provide evidence supporting the use and roll out of an Ethnic Identifier on data sets in keeping with European and Irish data protection legislation

4. To provide insights and discuss challenges in ethnic classification and addressing data protection concerns in Council of Europe countries

5. To share information on ethnic data developments and models of good practice from Europe on the use of Ethnic statistics

6. To explore next steps to facilitating Traveller and Roma inclusion in official statistics in Ireland

Programme

9.30                          Registration

9.45                          Welcome & Introduction

Ronnie Fay, Co-Director, Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre

9.55                          An Irish Perspective:

Evidence of discrimination and its’ impact on Travellers /Roma

Brigid Quirke, Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre/UCD

10.10                       A European Perspective:

Anti-discrimination policies, data protection and ethnic statistics in the EU

Patrick Simon, Author Council of Europe Report on Ethnic Statistics & Data Protection

11.05                       Break

11.20                       Plenary Session with Responses:

Office Data Protection Commissioner

Garret O Neill, Legal Advisor

Irish Human Rights Commission

Des Hogan, Acting CEO

Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre

Martin Collins, Co-Director, Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre

12.20                       Roundtable Discussion Groups

12.55                       Closing Remarks

Anastasia Crickley, Head of Applied Social Sciences, NUI Maynooth, Vice President UN Committee for Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Please note that places for this seminar are extremely limited. RSVP to nurul.amin@pavee.ie.