The First Annual Convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion was organized by the European Commission with the Polish Presidency, to review the progress made towards the headline target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020 and the implementation of the European Platform against Poverty, on 17th-18th October 2011, in Krakow, Poland.

EuroHealthNet participated in the new Convention organized to review the progress made towards the headline target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020 and the implementation of the European Platform against Poverty. The Convention put forward proposals for action in areas like family and children policies, youth employment, as well as presenting ideas on how social innovation can support active inclusion policies and how to the social economy can be a source of jobs.

·         Its key objective is to give visibility and political weight to the European Platform against Poverty and build support across various policies and institutions, different levels of government and civil society actors. The Convention will build on the lessons learnt from the European Year on Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010 and will bridge between the objectives of the Year and the social objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Three sessions addressed the objectives of the Annual Convention:

·         Several Ministers presented their views and ambitions on setting their national poverty target and their priorities

·         Commission services debated with the audience about their work on poverty and inclusion and how they have implemented the Platform against Poverty in 2011

·         Participants made suggestions for future actions in five parallel sessions, followed by a report back to the closing Plenary Session

The scope of the event was wider than in the series of Round Table Conferences for the fight against poverty and social exclusion organised so far.   Progress in the work undertaken in order to achieve the EU’s primary goal (i.e. reducing the number of EU citizens living in or in danger of poverty by 20 million by 2020) was discussed during the convention. This was accompanied by a review of the actions performed as part of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion and by recommendations concerning future actions in this field.

For more information, click here.

In this frame, a new Eurobarometer survey was published on the EU's social climate. It shows that although EU citizens remain negative when evaluating the general situation of their country, they seem to feel that the economy is recovering and are largely satisfied and positive regarding their personal situation. The overall optimistic evaluation of life in general is higher than the 2010 wave of analysis, although today’s survey shows that people feel daily life is more costly than last year.  Speaking ahead of the EU Poverty Convention, László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commented on the survey saying: "The European Union is going through particularly challenging times with hard choices and priority shifts that influence people's everyday life.” He stressed how the survey results highlighted the growing gap between countries compared to 2010, with the situation in wealthier countries improving and the countries at the bottom of the scale worsening. He added: “Putting growth, employment and social cohesion on an equal footing is vital for Europe’s recovery because achieving real prosperity also means taking well-being into account when measuring our progress”. Europeans' perception about the general situation in their countries is, overall, much more pessimistic than that of their personal situation. However, optimism that things will improve in the next twelve months has progressed since the previous survey, with positive evolutions in many scores. The trend towards an improved perception in terms of social protection and inclusion in the near future is clear.

·         To access the special Eurobarometer survey on social climate and its summary, click here

·         To access speech Commissioner Andor, click here

The First Annual Convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion was organised in the context of the  International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which has been observed every year since 1993, when the General Assembly, by resolution 47/196, designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries - a need that has become a development priority.  At the Millennium Summit, world leaders committed themselves to cutting by half by the year 2015 the number of people living in extreme poverty - people whose income is less than one dollar a day. The theme for this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty - “Working together out of poverty” -- highlights the need for a truly global anti-poverty alliance, one in which both developed and developing countries participate actively.

·         For more information on the International day for the eradication of poverty, click here

For more information, contact Stecy Yghemonos or John Considine.