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Dear guests, colleagues, partners, and friends,

It is a pleasure to open this important dialogue on education, culture, and the eradication of racism.

I would like to welcome you all, both those present here and those joining us online.

We gather today at a moment that calls for both honesty and resolve.

Across Europe, despite strong legal frameworks and policy commitments, racism continues to shape the everyday realities of too many individuals. We see this in persistent discrimination affecting people of African descent, Roma and Travellers, Muslims, and other communities; in unequal access to education, employment, and housing; and in the subtle yet pervasive forms of bias and “othering” that continue to divide our societies. These challenges remind us that racism is not only structural but that it is also deeply embedded in narratives, perceptions, and learned behaviours that are often reproduced across generations.