Sharing achievements, shaping our future
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On 14-15 November the European Social Network (ESN) held a meeting in Brussels with representatives of its member organisations from 28 European countries.The event was a unique opportunity for ESN members to celebrate the network’s achievements during the past three years and identify key priorities for our future work. We also looked back at our development, as the network has been growing year-on-year to reflect the diversity of social services, and celebrated a special moment – welcoming our 100th member, the General Directorate for Social Policy and Child Protection in Hungary.
Looking back at ESN’s achievements
The meeting started with a review of ESN’s activities in 2011-2013 covering a wide range of themes (investing in children services, ageing and care, independent living, and service management). During the past three years ESN has organised 56 events, including seminars, workshops and the annual European Social Services Conference, and contributed to numerous European and national conferences, consultations and policy meetings. We brought together people responsible for managing and delivering social services from across Europe to learn from each other, share their valuable knowledge and experience and get inspired. "ESN has become for us a meeting point, a place for sharing knowledge that continues throughout the year in working groups on specific issues", said Michele Maglio, Director of Social Services of the Veneto Region, Italy, at one of our events. “I was impressed by the diversity of regional backgrounds and approaches, because analysing issues from different perspectives greatly enriches learning and stimulates creative thinking”, remarked Carlos Santos Guerrero from the Autonomous Region of Galicia, Spain.
This session also featured testimonies from ESN members. Reflecting on his involvement in two ESN projects, our seminar in Stuttgart in 2012 and a more recent workshop on ageing and care, Jim Thomas from Skills for Care and Development in the UK mentioned: “I think what really struck me was how similar the issues were across Europe for many of us.” Looking back at the work of the ‘Leadership, Performance Innovation’ working group over the last two years, Jukka Lindberg from the Association of Social Directors in Finland said: “It has been very empowering to share our experiences and practices with the colleagues from this working group” during times of austerity and economic crisis, which brought about many unprecedented challenges, such as shrinking budgets and cuts in services.
The political, economic and social context
ESN members also looked at the context in Europe which may influence ESN’s future work, prompting discussions about sustainability of public finances, service design and wider societal trends affecting social services.
Stijn Hoorens from the research institute RAND Europe presented four main societal trends that will affect Europe in the next years: vulnerable groups and rising inequality, demographic change, a growing global middle class and individual empowerment. He pointed out that the financial crisis has had a deep impact on social and economic developments; young people, older people and low-skilled workers are most hit by unemployment. “These conditions can give a fertile breeding ground for social unrest and the question is if these trends will prevail in the next years”.
“In order to balance the growing need in care and the growing pressure on public finances, governments need to determine, reorganise and ensure a sustainable mix between different types of formal long-term care and support informal care”, emphasised Ana Xavier from the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs in the European Commission. She presented fiscal projections in future social welfare expenditure within the EU and pointed out that the increase in public expenditure in not only driven by demographic change, but also by policies.
As a greater number of citizens are at risk of poverty and social exclusion due to a combination of factors including age, deprivation, ethnicity, disability or poor health, ESN members worked in groups on the second day of the meeting to identify key issues and questions for social services throughout the life-course/according to service user groups. They also shared ideas on how ESN can work on these themes and how member organisations can contribute in the years ahead.
The European Social Network (ESN) would like to thank all the people who have helped us in our work over the last three years. Over the next period we will continue to support our members in these challenging times by providing a robust and expanding learning and networking platform for social directors and managers from across Europe.
Resources
Photos from the event are now online
All presentations can be accessed by ESN members in our Members’ Area