The German constitution (Grundgesetz) states that all citizens are equal before the law. This also applies to the opportunities that every citizen is meant to have. The constitution stipulates that everyone has the right to freely develop his or her personality. This right is independent of a person’s sex, skin colour or religion. Nor does it matter if someone comes from a poor or a rich family, or whether he or she comes from the north or south or any other part of the country. All citizens are to be given the same opportunities to make as much as possible of their lives. For this reason, children and young people are to receive the same opportunities in school education and training so they can find a job later. Everyone, in accordance with his or her abilities, has the same right to receive support and to develop his or her talents. The call for equal opportunities could already be heard during the Enlightenment era at the end of the 17th century. It can also be found in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the charters of fundamental rights in the constitutions of western democracies.