Social Convergence in the EU

Transcription

1 Social Convergence in the EU A strategic dialogue meeting with People experiencing Poverty Copyright Rebecca for EAPN The European Meeting of People Experiencing Poverty organized by the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) with the support of the European Commission, the Luxembourg presidency of the Council of the European Union and the EAPN Fund November 2015 Les Ateliers des Tanneurs, Rue des Tanneurs 58-62, 1000 Brussels #2015PEP with support from the

2 OBJECTIVES OF THE 2015 EUROPEAN MEETING To provide opportunities for people experiencing poverty to share experiences, gain acknowledgement and build solidarity. To arrange a consultation with people experiencing poverty as part of the Commission s civil dialogue process. RATIONALE FOR THE 2015 EUROPEAN MEETING This Year s meeting is seen as an important consultation with people experiencing poverty to gather their input on policies to foster social convergence in Europe and to strengthen the participation of people experiencing poverty in policies that affect them. It is expected that the outcomes of this Year s meeting will feed into the Annual Convention that is likely to take place early In addition to this consultation, it is also envisaged that this year s meeting will provide a more open space for the delegations of people experiencing poverty to share their stories on how they experience poverty, what they do to combat it and what support they expect from authorities. The aim behind this session is to acknowledge and give validation for the expertise and work that people experiencing poverty contribute to achieve social inclusion. It aims to create a space for mutual exchange and learning and to develop solidarity between people and communities experiencing diverse forms of poverty within Europe. Interpretation: The common language for the meeting will be English. Every effort will be made to have informal interpretation in all the other languages of the delegations where it is needed. For more information: see voicesofpoverty-eu.net

3 PROGRAMME Thursday 19 th November Experiencing Poverty Sharing experiences Registration/Set up of Poster Session/Light lunch Welcome Words: to welcome delegates and give information. A short video introducing one of the Nederland s delegates will be shown Poster Session: Each delegation will have a space to present themselves: their activities, projects or actions and key messages Exchanges between delegations (see details below) o What is your experience (individual/collective) of poverty? o What are you (your organisations) doing to try change this? o What should authorities do to help? o How can we build solidarity between countries and between different groups experiencing poverty? Plenary Session: Reflection s on Opening Day and information Time to exchange more at the poster stands, take some air, or go quickly to the hotel and to get to the venue for the evening meal and entertainment Dinner and Celebration: Each delegation will be asked to prepare a contribution: song, music, mime, dance, etc.

4 Friday 20 th November Consultation of People experiencing Poverty Morning Plenary Chair: Mr Saviour Grima, Vice President EAPN o Mr. Evzen Vojkuvka, Member of Czech Delegation o Mrs Dominique Faber, Representative from the Luxembourg Presidency, Ministry for Family and Integration o Mrs Manuela Geleng, Acting Director, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission Round Table discussions (see details below) Family Photo Lunch (tea/coffee break during this period at open coffee bar) 5 round table discussions with delegations and guests o Introductions o Exchange o Draw 4/5 key conclusions/recommendations from the discussions Exercise to have a reflection on the conclusions/recommendations with the participation of Commissions Officials, Politicians, Representatives of Authorities, NGOs and other social actors Tea/Coffee Reflection Closing Plenary o Open Space: for reflections, key discussion points to take back home o Outline steps to follow up the meeting Closing o Mrs Manuela Geleng, Acting Director, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission

5 Information on Workshops Exchanges between delegations (Thursday ) Workshop Colour and (Room) RED Workshop (Halle Vitrée) Delegations Facilitator Note Takers Bulgaria, Serbia, Poland, Greece, Estonia, Denmark Netherlands Sonja Leemkuil Mihael Topolovec Orange Workshop (Salon) Blue Workshop (Gamay 1 st floor) Green Workshop (Merlot 1 st floor) Black Workshop (Syrah 1 st floor) Slovakia, Norway, Iceland, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Luxembourg Austria, Croatia, Germany Malta, Romania, Italy Sweden, Macedonia (FYROM), Ireland, Czech Republic, Finland Spain, Belgium, Hungary, Portugal, Latvia, France Amana Ferro Magda Tancau Robin Hanan Elke Vandermeerschen Marja Hermans Sigrid Dahmen Josee Goris and Lea Schumacher Philippe Lemmens Round Table Discussions (Friday ) Delegations/Facilitators/Note Takers: Same as the previous day Commission representatives in each workshop Reflections on Conclusions/Recommendations with Guests (Friday ) Delegations/Facilitators/Note Takers: Same as the previous day Guest Speakers RED Workshop (Halle Vitrée) Orange Workshop (Salon) Blue Workshop (Gamay) Green Workshop (Merlot) Susanne Conze, Policy Officer, European Commission Sian Jones, Policy Coordinator, EAPN Hugh Frazer, European Social Policy Network Karola Boger, Policy Advisor, GUE/NGL Group European Parliament Mauro Striano, Policy Officer, FEANTSA EESC Representative Anne Van Lancker, Policy Coordinator, EMIN Dominique Faber, Representative from the Luxembourg Presidency, from the Ministry for Family and Integration

6 Jean Lambert, MEP (Green) Black Workshop (Syrah) Istvan Vanyolos, Policy Officer, European Commission Peter Lelie, representing the Vice Chair of the European Social Protection Committee BACKGROUND TO THE EUROPEAN MEETINGS The European Meetings of People experiencing Poverty have played an important role in driving the development of the direct participation of people experiencing poverty. The European meeting also supports national processes and national meetings of people experiencing poverty. The European Meetings have been well documented and positively evaluated for their impact on the delegates and the guests who attend (see The first of these meetings was organised by the Belgian Government in 2001 as part of the EU inclusion process launched by the Lisbon European Council (March 2000). The meetings continue to contribute to key EU processes including the follow up of the poverty target of the Europe 2020 strategy and have helped to keep poverty and social exclusion visible in the European agenda. They have contributed to some key areas of policy development such as adequacy of minimum income, child poverty, housing and homelessness, indebtedness, the links between discrimination and poverty (particularly the realities for Roma community), and the impact of liberalization on public services. The meetings help to put faces to the realities behind the numbers of people experiencing poverty, including the different realities for women and men throughout the life cycle. In addition the meetings have provide a barometer in relation to social and economic developments in Europe. GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN MEETINGS To empower people experiencing poverty and their organisations and communities. To strengthen the participation of people experiencing poverty in relevant policy making processes at local, national and EU levels. To facilitate exchange and learning and to stimulate further exchanges and joint projects. To identify similarities and differences in different countries and to check the reality of measures to fight poverty against the experience on the ground and to adjust their policies and actions as necessary For further information see (