The European Commission will hold the Annual Convention for Inclusive Growth 2016 on 21 March in Brussels. The Convention will be opened by the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Marianne Thyssen, and by Ms Jetta Klijnsma, Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Employment in the Netherlands. At the event, stakeholders from various sectors will discuss solutions for an inclusive growth for the European Union. The European Social Network aims to be an active participant, and has made a valuable contribution in previous years.

This year’s theme differs from previous years when it specifically referred to poverty and social exclusion. Instead, this year the annual convention will focus on underlying the primary goal of boosting growth in the EU to enable every citizen, especially the most disadvantaged, to fully participate in society, including the labour market. The protection of citizens’ social rights is another priority for the European Commission and this is further evidenced by their most recent initiative, the European Pillar of Social Rights, which will also be discussed at the convention.

The European Pillar of Social Rights

The European Commission wants the European Pillar of Social Rights to be a legal document that covers key principles and values for all EU member states on social rights.

As President Juncker stated during his announcement,

We have to step up the work for a fair and truly pan-European labour market. […] As part of these efforts, I will want to develop a European pillar of social rights, which takes account of the changing realities of the world of work.

The social rights covered by this initiative are employment contracts, working conditions and access to welfare, such as minimum pay, representation, unfair dimissals, health and safety, childcare and benefits and access to basic social services (including health care).

The Workshops

At the event there will be morning workshops covering social dimension topics such as; ‘Inclusive Labour Market’, ‘the Social Investment’; ‘European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)’, ‘Fighting Poverty’, ‘The ocial Dimension of the European Semester’ and the ‘Integration of Refugees’. These issues will be discussed from different perspectives while side events which are forseen in the afternoon, will give participants the opportunity to share their experience of the workshops.

Networking Activities

At the annual convention there will be also opportunities for participants to network with speed-dating-style events to help them establish new contacts.

For more information on this event check out the European Commission website

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