Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal has attended a reception at Equality House in
Belfast
, marking the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the Equality Commission for
Northern Ireland
.
On arrival, Her Royal Highness was greeted by
Bob Collins
, Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission and
Evelyn Collins
, the Commission’s Chief Executive.
The Princess
Royal met with Commissioners and staff and also a range of people that
the Commission had worked with over the last 10 years.
The Chair of WFNI Paddy Skates was one of the invited guests
"I was very proud to meet and talk with The Princess, she knew of the work of Women's Forum and commented that we had been "Going for a long time", she put everyone at ease and it was a pleasure to speak with her."
Chief Executive
Evelyn Collins
paid tribute to the staff and invited guests in helping the Commission work towards a fairer
Northern Ireland
.
She said: "It has been a privilege to have had the support and
partnership of so many other individuals and organisations to secure
greater equality of opportunity for everyone.
"There has been a real and tangible advantage in having a single Equality Commission in
Northern Ireland
,
with its statutory remit to promote equality and challenge
discrimination. We have not only made it easier for the many thousands
of employers, service providers and individuals to know their rights
and responsibilities under all aspects of the legislation but we have
also been able to work towards achieving real structural change to make
society here a more equal place."
Women's Forum NI congratulates the Equality Commission on 10 years work which has helped many people in the province.
The Princess Royal met guests at a celebration marking the
tenth anniversary of the Equality Commission. Attending the event were Kate McCullough,
NI Women’s European Platform, Paddy Skates, Women’s Forum NI,
Bob Collins
, ECNI Chief
Commissionerand
Evelyn Collins
, ECNI Chief Executive