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First Annual Convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion

10th October 2011

Organised by the European Commission with the Polish EU Presidency, the first annual convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion was held on 17th-18th October in Krakow (Poland).

Organised by the European Commission with the Polish EU Presidency, this first annual Convention aimed at giving 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.

Participants reviewed the progress made towards the EU target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020 set out in the Europe2020 Strategy and the implementation of the European Platform against Poverty, launched in 2010 to help achieve this goal. They also debated suggestions for future actions.

The Convention brought together over 400 participants from 38 countries representing national and regional public authorities - including 12 ministers-, and non institutional actors including NGOs, social partners, academics, journalists etc.

It built 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.

The Commissioner, Mr. Lazlo Andor, the Polish Labour Minister Ms. Jolanta Fedak and DG EMPL Director General Mr. Koos Richelle gave speeches and all participants actively engaged in discussion, round tables and workshops to develop and formulate ideas and suggestions for initiatives to be taken in 2012 and 2013.

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 were able to make suggestions for future actions in five parallel sessions, followed by a report back to the closing Plenary Session

The Member States need to do more and the Convention clearly showed that:

we need a common European "benchmark" for action to combat poverty,
we need to focus on poverty affecting children,
we need to promote the three pillars of active inclusion — active labour-market policies, minimum income and access to services — through social innovation,
there is need to promote healthy, active ageing, and
more attention should be given to the social and economic inclusion of disadvantaged groups, and in particular Roma and young people not in education, employment or training.

All participants called upon the Commission to continue its work on the Platform and to give stakeholders and policymakers the chance to continue to have their say.

Commissioner Andor also expressed his gratitude for having been able to visit a number of projects helping people in situations of poverty and social exclusion. The other participants had a choice of ten sites they could visit covering a multitude of projects.

The conclusions of the Annual Convention were presented by Commissioner Andor to the College of Commissioners and by the Polish Presidency to the Employment and Social Affairs (EPSCO) Council on 1 December 2011, in Brussels.

Participation was by invitation only.

About the European Platform on Poverty and Social Exclusion

The European Platform on Poverty and Social Exclusion is one of the seven flagship initiatives included in the EU2020 Strategy to catalyse progress towards the five common EU targets set out in the Strategy (three of which are particularly relevant for the full integration of Roma community, namely: a) 75 % of the population aged 20-64 should be employed; b) the rates of school drop-out should be under 10% and at least 40% of 30-34 year-olds should complete third level education; c) at least 20 million less people should be in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion).

Launched in December 2010, the Platform sets out actions to reach the EU target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020. It aims to set a dynamic framework for action to ensure social and territorial cohesion such that the benefits of growth and jobs are widely shared and people experiencing poverty and social exclusion are enabled to live in dignity and take an active part in society. The Commission’s proposal mentions explicitly Roma as one of the ethnic minorities that are particularly exposed to the risk of poverty and are disproportionately affected by multiple deprivation. It also includes the inclusion of Roma population as a priority area.

A convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion will be organised annually with the aim of taking stock of progress towards achieving the target of poverty and social exclusion. This first convention was the first stage of a transition to the Convention's final format.

For further information about the European Platform on Poverty and Social Exclusion, please check http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=961&langId=en

Further details on the meeting (by invitation only) are available at http://pl2011.eu/en/content/annual-convention-european-platform-against-poverty-and-social-exclusion
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=1098&furtherNews=yes

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First Annual Convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion

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