An innovative partnership to tackle inequality in the Highlands and Islands will be formally launched at a conference this Friday [6 December] in Inverness.

'Equality - what's that?' is the first conference of the Highlands and Islands Equality Forum - a European Social Fund project that covers all equal opportunity issues, including ethnicity, gender and disability.

Speakers at the conference include Maureen Macmillan, MSP; Catherine Stihler, MEP; Professor Robert  Cormack from the UHI Millennium Institute, and David Topping, a training officer with the Northern Constabulary who specialises in racial equality.

The conference will look at how different groups and individuals within the Highlands and Islands can challenge discrimination wherever it occurs and develop strategies for inclusion in which disadvantaged people are encouraged to participate.

A special screening of the Disability Rights Commission's film 'Talk' will encourage delegates to think about how different the world would be if disability were the norm and non-disabled people faced discrimination either through attitude or environment.

Speaking ahead of the event , which will take place at the Marriott Hotel, Inverness, project leader Frances Powell said: "The forum is all about demonstrating that change for the better is possible. By working through a partnership which includes voluntary groups, public bodies, representatives from business and industry, the forum will raise awareness of equality and celebrate diversity across in the Highlands and Islands."