This edition of our magazine "Equal Voices" is devoted to the new Agency itself. The new Agency was inaugurated by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, together with Austria's Federal Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, on 1 March 2007. Equal Voices presents an overview of the keynote speeches at the launch ceremony. The magazine also features an interview with Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and a snapshot of views expressed by NGOs on the new Fundamental Rights Agency.

The recent months have seen a heated debate on freedom of speech and hate speech. This issue of the EUMC's Magazine Equal Voices brings together different views on the issue: NGOs, representatives of different religious communities, and media experts explain how they think hate speech can be tackled, and how freedom of speech should be applied in our societies.

This edition of our magazine "Equal Voices" is a special edition on "football versus intolerance", which brings together perspectives from professional players, UEFA president Platini and European politicians, on how football can win the match against racism and other forms of intolerance.

This issue of the EUMC's Magazine Equal Voices is published in the context of the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. Equal Voices intends to contribute to the aim of the Year to reflect, discuss and further promote equal opportunities in the EU.

The new edition of FRA's magazine deals with intercultural dialogue as a way to reap the benefits of diversity. The importance of intercultural dialogue was formally recognised by the EU in May 2007 when it was adopted as one of the three objectives in the first ever European Agenda for Culture.

Following the outburst of the economic crisis in the autumn of 2008, the FRA has monitored the development of the situation from the perspective of fundamental rights.

The Annual Report 2008 is the first to be produced on the basis of the FRA legal base and mandate (Council Regulation 168//2007, art. 4.1(e)). It covers information, events and developments related to racism and xenophobia in the EU for the year 2007, which was the Agency's focus of work prior to the adoption of its Multiannual Framework in February 2008.

A core objective of the Agency is to provide EU policy-makers with evidence-based advice on fundamental rights issues when they implement Community law and take measures to respect fundamental rights. In 2009, the Agency achieved its objective by collecting comparable data and information on a range of fundamental rights issues and publishing its findings.