EUROCITIES Social Affairs Forum - Cities for a more social Europe: delivering on a European Pillar of Social Rights Languages: EN Registrations mandatory 25-26 October 2017, Gothenburg Draft agenda Monday, 23 October Working group meetings by separate registrations 14.00 17.30 09.30 17.30 14.00 17.30 Working group employment Working group homelessness Working group urban ageing Tuesday, 24 October Working group meetings by separate registrations 09.30 15.00 09.30 13.00 09.30 15.00 16.30 18.00 18:00 19:00 Working group employment continued Working group homelessness continued Working group urban ageing continued Steering Committee meeting Venue: Rådhuset, Gustav Adolfs Torg, Gothenburg Session for newcomers Venue: Rådhuset, Gustav Adolfs Torg, Gothenburg This session is for new members of the social affairs forum (SAF) and city representatives attending their first SAF meeting. It will give an overview of forum activities and priorities, and clarify questions about the SAF meeting. 20.00 Informal dinner Draft agenda, EUROCITIES Social Affairs Forum, Gothenburg, 25-26 October 2017, Page 1
Open to EUROCITIES members and guests invited by the city of Gothenburg Wednesday, 25 October 9.00 9.30 Registration and welcome coffee 9.30 10.00 Official welcome Ann-Sofie Hermansson, mayor of Gothenburg Keynote speech Mikael Stigendal, professor at Malmo University 10.00 11.00 High-level panel debate: What role should cities take to promote a more social Europe and ensure equal access to social rights? Moderator: TBC Marina Johansson, deputy mayor of Gothenburg Laia Ortiz, deputy mayor of Barcelona and chair of SAF Soraya Post, member of the European Parliament (S&D) Jana Hainsworth, secretary general of Eurochild and president of the Social Platform Jennifer Hankins, project leader of Hikikomori - an ESF-funded project at city level in Gothenburg Audience reaction and discussion 11.00-11.30 Coffee break / family picture 11.30 13.00 Workshops Workshops will offer participants an opportunity to discuss and exchange views on the principles and rights enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights. The format will be interactive and participants are invited to present their own experiences and share know-how and practical examples. Workshops will start with a brief introduction to the topic with an inspiring presentation from a city. Participants will then discuss and exchange views based on some guiding questions. The key messages from each workshop will then be presented in the plenary. Workshop 1 Equal access to quality and inclusive education (principle 1) Chair: city of Gothenburg (tbc) Presenter: name tbc, from Jämlikt Göteborg Facilitator: Gabriel Jacqmin, EUROCITIES Principle 1 of the European Pillar of Social Rights states: "Everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market". Draft agenda, EUROCITIES Social Affairs Forum, Gothenburg, 25-26 October 2017, Page 2
Workshop 2 Workshop 3 Workshop 4 Workshop 5 Active support to employment Chair: Andreas Schönström, deputy mayor of Malmo and vice-chair of SAF and Abbassia Hakem, deputy mayor of Nantes Presenter: Mats Rydberger, manager of the Malmo office of the Public Employment Service (TBC) Facilitator: Giorgio Zecca, EUROCITIES Principle 4 introduces the "the right to timely and tailor-made assistance to improve employment or self-employment prospects. This includes the right to receive support for job search, training and re-qualification. Everyone has the right to transfer social protection and training entitlements during transitions. Young people have the right to continued education, apprenticeship, traineeship or a job offer of good standing within 4 months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. People unemployed have the right to personalised, continuous and consistent support. The long-term unemployed have the right to an in-depth individual assessment at the latest at 18 months of unemployment. Equal access to work-life balance provisions Chair: city of Vienna (tbc) Presenter: Paola Panzeri, COFACE Families Europe Facilitator: Silvia Ganzerla, EUROCITIES The European Commission proposed a directive to improve work-life balance across the EU. The principle supporting this proposal is "parents and people with caring responsibilities have the right to suitable leave, flexible working arrangements and access to care services. Women and men shall have equal access to special leaves of absence in order to fulfil their caring responsibilities and be encouraged to use them in a balanced way." Cities play a role to nurture this culture of work-life balance through the accessibility of their services. Access to housing assistance Chair: Laia Ortiz, deputy mayor of Barcelona and chair of SAF Presenters: Sorcha Edwards, secretary general of Housing Europe (TBC) & Freek Spinnewijn, director of FEANTSA Facilitator: Agata Krause, EUROCITIES Principle 19 of the European Pillar of Social Rights acknowledges access to social housing or housing assistance of good quality shall be provided for those in need. Vulnerable people have the right to appropriate assistance and protection against forced eviction. Adequate shelter and services shall be provided to the homeless in order to promote their social inclusion. Equal access for vulnerable groups to essential services Chair: Soraya Post MEP (tbc) Presenter: TBC Facilitator: Bianca Faragau, EUROCITIES Equal opportunities of under-represented groups is a well-defined principle in the European Pillar of Social Rights. This is complemented by principle 20, which states"everyone has the right to access essential services of good quality, including water, sanitation, energy, transport, financial services and digital communications. Support to access such services shall be made available". Draft agenda, EUROCITIES Social Affairs Forum, Gothenburg, 25-26 October 2017, Page 3
13.00 14.00 Lunch 14:00 15:00 Reporting from workshops to the plenary 15:00 17:00 Site visits Site visits will offer participants an opportunity to experience projects in the city of Gothenburg related to equal access to social rights. The site visits take place outside the venue. Site visit 1 Site visit 2 Site visit 3 Site visit 4 Site visit 5 Södra Biskopsgården Family Centre aims to stimulate the development and health of children and their families in the city of Gothenburg Selma Centre is a citizen s office located in the Backa district of Gothenburg. In Backa, 30% of all residents were born outside of Sweden so the aim of this centre is to familiarise all residents with services provided by the city Gårdstensbostäder is a real estate company, which has transformed the Gårdsten neighbourhood - once considered one of Sweden's most declining residential areas into a thriving district. Second Chance, an URBACT good practice example, offers formerly homelessness people a chance to gain training and skills to boost their employability. Interkulturella folkhögskolan in Gothenburg is the first Roma folk high school in any Nordic country. It caters to students from Roma and other ethnic minority backgrounds and places great importance on cultural identity, language, history, customs and practices. Part open to EUROCITIES politicians only 17.00 18.30 Political discussion by elected city politicians on EUROCITIES statement Social rights for all by invitation only Political session for politicians to discuss how to take the EUROCITIES statement further and which cities commit to implement the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The purpose is to send a strong message to the EU and member states ahead of the EU Social Summit on 17 November. Part open to ALL participants 20.00 Official dinner hosted by the city of Gothenburg Venue: TBC Draft agenda, EUROCITIES Social Affairs Forum, Gothenburg, 25-26 October 2017, Page 4
Open to EUROCITIES members and guests invited by the city of Gothenburg Thursday, 26 October 9.00 10:30 Speed-networking session and projects corner 10.30 11.00 Coffee break Format: three rounds of 25 minutes 11:00 11:30 Presentation of the EUROCITIES statement Social rights for all Laia Ortiz, deputy mayor of Barcelona and chair of SAF 11:30 13:00 High-level panel debate: How can the EU support cities commitment? Moderator: TBC Georg Fischer, director for Social Affairs, DG Employment and Social Affairs and Inclusion (TBC) Maria João Rodrigues, member of the European Parliament (TBC) Ylva Johansson, minister of employment of Sweden (TBC) Kaia Iva, minister of social protection of Estonia and representative of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU (TBC) Andreas Schönström, deputy mayor of Malmo and vice chair of SAF Maria Stratigaki, deputy mayor of Athens 13:00 14:00 Lunch / press conference 14.00 15.30 Business meeting Part open to EUROCITIES members only update on key EU policy developments related to social affairs discussion on matching the SAF priorities with EU funding opportunities (Horizon 2020 calls) thematic updates in clusters announcement of the host city for next SAF meeting in 2018 15.30 16.30 Steering Committee meeting This event has received financial support from the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation "EaSI" (2014-2020). For further information, please consult: http://ec.europa.eu/social/easi Draft agenda, EUROCITIES Social Affairs Forum, Gothenburg, 25-26 October 2017, Page 5