Horeca Diversity charter
The Flemish minister for integration, Marino Keulen, is drafting a “diversity charter” for the catering industry which asks hotels, restaurants and cafés to openly support a hospitable and diverse society. Establishments that sign the charter are then granted a logo, a label for quality. This move was in response to the news that Flemish MP Chokri Mahassine was recently refused entry to a dance club in Hasselt because of his skin colour. The Integration minister hopes to have a draft of the charter ready by this autumn, with the help of the horeca federation.
“The charter will contain a number of clear principles that will also be expressed in a logo,” the minister announced. “They say you can get people to change by hitting them in the wallet,” Keulen says. “It is in the best interest of catering establishments to show that everyone is welcome. They are by nature supposed to be hospitable.” Keulen also hopes the initiative will boost the sector’s reputation “at a time when incidents like that with Mahassine are giving the whole sector a bad reputation. But we have to get rid of the rotten apples.” For now, the charter will only affect the catering industry in Flanders.
