After Berlin, Hamburg, Brandenburg, Bremen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Lower Saxony and Hesse, Saxony has become the eleventh Land to join the coalition. This coalition aims at organising joint efforts against discrimination, supporting local contact points and counselling centres and ensuring that the protection against discrimination will be politically enshrined in all sectors.

On signing the memorandum, the Head of the ADS, Christine Lüders, said: "I am glad that the Free State is sending a clear signal against discrimination". Lüders specifically acknowledged the package of measures recently adopted by the State Government to ensure protection from discrimination and encourage diversity. "People affected by discrimination need counselling that is as low-threshold as possible.  For the Free State to be addressing this and setting up and supporting counselling centres across its territory is exemplary - also for other Laender", said Lüders.

"Discrimination cannot be abolished by decree", stressed Petra Köpping in her speech. "As the State Government, however, we are under the mandate to also encourage diversity and 'otherness' as defining elements of a cosmopolitan Saxony in structural ways.  Our joining the Coalition against Discrimination marks a milestone on this journey and attests to our clear commitment."

The Coalition Against Discrimination is part of the 'Campaign in Support of a Non-Discriminatory Society' which was launched at the beginning of 2011.

Within the scope of this campaign, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency sponsors counselling centres nationwide and strengthens their public relations work. In this context, the FADA is focusing on a close cooperation with the Laender and the local authorities. The signatories to the ‘Coalition Against Discrimination’ clearly state with their signatures that they intend to take firm action against discrimination, improve counselling opportunities within reach of the citizens and develop common strategies against discrimination.

The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (ADS for its initials in German) was established when the General Equal Treatment Act (German abbreviation: AGG) entered into force in August 2006. This Act aims to prevent or eliminate any discrimination on grounds of racism or ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.