Everyone! In 2020, the IDEO was celebrated in 13 countries!  This website lists the initiatives sharing the original spirit of the IDEO, and provides inspiration to take action.

As students from low income families and/or countries studying in France in 2015, the members of Article 1’s youth group Different Leaders realized while the specifics leading to ongoing inequalities were different in each of their countries of origin, the dynamics were the same. Lack of adequate information about —or access to— higher education opportunities, insufficient measures to prevent or tackle racism and discrimination, a passion for silo conversations on poverty, education, gender or race… no matter how hard one works, individual success when coming from a low income background has more to do with luck than merit.

While the OECD publishes frightening statistics on the time it takes to change socioeconomic status in our countries every year, there is no international framework to hold our decision-makers to when it comes to equal opportunity.

By creating the International Day for Equal Opportunity on each December 5th in 2015, our goal was to:

• raise awareness about existing equal opportunity initiatives in our own countries for economically deprived populations to take advantage of them as early as possible
• share practices and resources to support each other in our fight for more inclusive societies
• encourage a cross-government conversation about equal opportunity goals and evaluation criteria

IDEO events:

• contribute to the academic and professional success of groups facing socioeconomic marginalization and/or systemic discrimination 

and/or

• encourage decision makers to take action for systemic change

IDEO events have taken multiple forms, such as workshops, debates, film screenings, public speaking competitions, campaigns… in short, big or small, as long as it helps move forward, it probably works! 

An IDEO event does not: 

• confuse individual initiatives or personal choices such as entrepreneurship or debt with equal opportunity initiatives
• blame statistically disadvantaged groups for their plight
• promote or perpetuate stereotypes or prejudice in any way, shape or form

The International Day for Equal Opportunity is celebrated every 5th of December, on the anniversary of the death of of Nelson Mandela, for whom “education [was] the most powerful weapon one can use to change the world” . 

Preferably, IDEO events will take place between the 1st and the 10th of December. 

Anywhere! Previous editions of the International Equal Opportunity Day have already emerged in England, Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire, Spain, the USA, France, Morocco and Senegal.

To take action together is also to learn from our respective realities, to help one another by sharing our experiences, our initiatives and our tools. Join us!

Aha! Not yet. But we’re working on it. Want to help? Please get in touch so we can update you and include you in our coalition!