European Federation For Street Children

EFSC`s involvement within the "2010 European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion"

EFSC`s involvement within the "2010 European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion"

On 3rd of March 2009 in Brussels, Mr Reinhold Müller, director of the EFSC and Ms Anna D'Ambrosio, Advocacy, Lobbying and Fundraising Officer, took part in the first meeting of EU stakeholders' expert group organized by the European Commission to prepare the 2010 European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion.

The meeting, hosted by the European Commission was the first opportunity for the members of the EU Stakeholders Expert group to get to know each other as well as to meet with the Commission's team responsible for the implementation of the EY 2010. EU stakeholders' expert group includes NGOs, regional and local authorities, social partners, EU agencies, international organisations, foundations, and think tanks, which all operate at the EU level. In total, 36 organisations took part in the meeting and together with the EU Member States and the Commission, will commit to the implementation of the activities relating to EY 2010.

EFSC actively involved
Each member of the EU stakeholders' group will provide expertises and will advise the Commission during the entire process of preparation, implementation and evaluation of the EY 2010.

EFSC will take active part by implementing the following actions:

1. Workshop: "Project development meeting on an EFSC joint action within the European Year to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010".
The workshop will be held on 15 May 2009 with interested EFSC Member Organizations, in order to identify key awareness-raising messages and to establish an operational framework for joint actions during the 2010 year campaign. An important goal is to bring the street children issue higher in the agendas of the EU and of the Member States. The campaign will have a strong media focus and will promote the participation of street children in the policy-making process by providing them with a space for telling their stories, thus making the street children issue more visible and promoting cohesion in accordance with the Strategic Framework Document for the Year.
2. Awareness raising preparatory actions for the EFSC joint project on the European Year to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010
The following actions are intended to prepare the background information and contents of the documentary, while at the same time contributing to improving the data available on the phenomenon of street children, the participation of street children, and thereby raise awareness on the phenomenon, targeting especially the National Implementing Bodies (NIBs) for the European Year 2010:
a. Elaboration of a fact sheet on the situation of street children in each of the countries where the EFSC has member organisations, containing data and figures about street children and information on NGOs and authorities supporting them, as well as legal and political framework conditions at the national levels;
b. Elaboration of a publication containing street children stories and key advocacy messages for raising awareness on their life situation. The EFSC will disseminate the publication among the EFSC's and MO's partners, institutional and media contacts, with particular focus on the NIBs.
These actions will be developed during 2010 into a trans-national media campaign aimed at raising awareness on the living conditions of street children.

Click here to read how EU stakeholders' expert group will contribute to the "2010 European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion".

EU central objective: Fight against poverty and social exclusion

According to the European Commission, nowadays about 16 % of the EU population live at risk of poverty. The fight against poverty and social exclusion is one of the EU priorities.

The "2010 European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion" has four main objectives:
• Recognition of the right of people in poverty and social exclusion to live in dignity and to play a full part in society;
• An increase in the public ownership of social inclusion policies, emphasising everyone's responsibility in tackling poverty and marginalisation;
• A more cohesive society, where no one doubts that society as a whole benefits from the eradication of poverty;
• Commitment of all actors, because real progress requires a long-term effort that involves all levels of governance.

The € 17 million campaign aims to reaffirm the EU's commitment to making a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty by 2010.

The EU stakeholders' expert group aim to:
• Ensure adequate transparency and sufficient level of information about the goals of the European Year and the way it is prepared and implemented;
• Ensure active participation of representatives of the civil society at all the different stages, from the design to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• Ensure an open dialog amongst the different actors involved;
• Encourage Member States through their national members to put in place a similar structure as the EU stakeholders expert group at national level to ensure better ownership of and participation in the EY 2010 activities

The group will meet five times (twice in 2009 and 2010, and once in 2011).

The National Implementing Bodies will be responsible for the campaign implementation in each Member State. At European level, the Commission will be supported in the implementation of the Year by the Consultative Committee, composed of representatives of the Member States. The Consultative Committee will meet for the first time on the 17.04.09. The need to link the activities of the Consultative Committee with the ones of the Expert Group was stressed by several NGO representatives. It was decided that the Expert Group would select its representatives for taking part in the 17.04.09 meeting.

Reinhold Müller, Director of the EFSC, asked for more interaction with the Consultative Committee, and suggested that the cooperation of the European Commission with the Expert Stakeholders Group should also take concrete forms during the implementation phase, for example through the Commission's participation in the events organised by the various stakeholders in the framework of the year.