European conference
How much closer is Europe to achieving the Europe 2020 target of lifting 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020?
The annual event of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion took place in Brussels on 20-21 November and gathered over 700 participants, from policy makers to local, regional and national public authorities and representatives of the civil society.
The Convention aims to discuss the progress and way forward to fighting poverty and social exclusion. This year the focus was on social innovation – how can it stimulate private-public partnerships, encourage social entrepreneurship and social investment?
The European Social Network (ESN) was well represented at the event, with John Halloran chairing two sessions, Alfonso Lara Montero reporting at one of the workshops, and ESN members from Italy, Denmark and the UK sharing their experiences at different workshops.
‘A fresh start for job creation and social fairness’
The Convention was the first opportunity to hear Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, present the new social agenda of the Commission.
With 24 million unemployed, 123 million people at risk of poverty and the risk that “our youth will become a 'lost generation' with poor skills and no work experience”, Europe is getting further and further behind in meeting the headline targets of raising employment and reducing poverty, the Commissioner said.
The new Commission announced to prioritise a ‘job-rich recovery’ by creating decent and rewarding jobs and helping Member States modernise their social protection systems. “The Member States whose social welfare systems invest in people at all stages of life are those that have the most successful and competitive economies”, Marianne Thyssen added.
Integrated social services and benefits
ESN Chief Executive John Halloran and Concetta Cultrera from the European Commission led the discussions at the integrated services workshop. “We need to bring services together, but also communities together. And we can do that through investment in an inclusive, active and participatory society. Integration is a seductively simple approach but ensuring continuity of care and support requires good data, effective organisation and sound public management”, Mr Halloran remarked in the beginning of the workshop.
Two ESN members shared the integration models in their municipalities: Andrea Angelozzi from the Local Health Area of Venice in Italy described the two main pathways to active inclusion for people with mental health problems: sheltered workshops and individual placement and support in competitive employment. Rodopi Panidou from the City of Offenbach in Germany presented their integrated approach of jobcentres working with a number of services at local level, including health and social services, as well as families and social networks.
Evidence for social investment
ESN’s Policy Director, Alfonso Lara Montero, was the rapporteur of this workshop, where Amanda Edwards from the UK’s Social Care Institute for Excellence, also an ESN member, spoke of co-production of knowledge with practitioners and users as an important element in integrating evidence into social policy making. Panellists made a call to the European Commission to support the development of local collaborative platforms between academia, professionals, public authorities and users to ensure that the most relevant evidence is developed according to local needs.
“If the events of the recent European and national elections have thought us something, it is that we need to translate the aspirations of social investment into local solutions in local communities, working together with services, business and citizens to promote sustainable economic and social progress for all.” John Halloran, ESN Chief Executive
Social innovation for better social outcomes in the cities
The second day of the Convention started with a discussion on social innovation in cities, led by ESN’s CEO John Halloran. The Mayors of Ghent, Belgium, and Malmö, Sweden, shared ideas and innovative programmes implemented in their municipalities; they both emphasised that the key to solving poverty and social exclusion is evaluating the impact of local policies, that solutions need to be found at the local level, working with together with communities and people.
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