2010: the European year of the fight against poverty and social exclusion

The fight against poverty and social exclusion is one of the EU's central objectives and our shared approach has been an important tool to guide and support action in the Member States. With the rattification in march 2000 of the Lisbon strategy, the European council encouraged the Member States and the European Commisson to take measures to eradicate poverty by 2010.

78 million people in the EU – or 16% of the population – currently live at risk of poverty. In all Member States, part of the population is subject to exclusion and deprivation, often facing limited access to basic services..

Solidarity is a hallmark of the European Union. It is an intrinsic goal of European models of society and welfare that people should not be prevented from benefiting from and contributing to economic and social progress. Building a more inclusive Europe is vital to achieving the European Union's goals of sustained economic growth, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

The European process for social protection and social inclusion supports Member States in their drive for greater social cohesion in Europe through an open method of coordination.

The 2010 European Year will coincide with the conclusion of the EU's ten year strategy for growth and jobs. The actions undertaken during this European Year will reaffirm the initial political commitment of the EU at the start of the Lisbon strategy, in 2000, to making “a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty” by 2010. The European Year also launches a process that had been announced in the Social Agenda 2005-2010.

More information can be found on the European Website

What are the plans of PPS SI? (2010: the European year of the fight against poverty and social exclusion)

On 8 May 2009 the Council of Ministers approved the National execution programme and the budget. The programme aims to realise a number of activities on the central theme under the motto: “the battle against poverty is everybody’s business”. It is based on the Strategic Report on protection and inclusion 2008-2010 identifying Belgium’s main social challenges: active inclusion, the fight against child poverty, against homelessness and for sustainable housing. Belgium will close the European year with a grand event.

The PPS SI aims to run a large scale, federally coordinated campaign together with its partners, the associations of the OCMWs from the various regions, to carry across the following messages:

1. To raise awareness among the general public regarding poverty and social exclusion:

2. To stress the both preventive and curative emancipatory role of OCMWs in the battle against poverty.

The main idea is that “OCMWs are there for everyone". To realise these goals PPS SI has written a government assignment to establish a joint communication plan.

More information is due later in 2009.