COFACE is working under the Progress Programme – which has been co-financing its activities since 2008 - for Europe to promote the most permanent antidote to poverty: a family- inclusive society. COFACE is in no doubt that a properly cohesive Europe will only come about when all the families that comprise it can live fulfilling lives in it. This is why COFACE is organizing a major European Family Conference on 14 and 15 October 2010 in Brussels under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. The conference will look at the family dimension of EU policies and chart a roadmap towards a socially inclusive Europe.
European Family Conference
"Social inclusion of families and EU Policies: Where do we stand?"
The Conference will be held on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 October 2010, at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels, following the meeting of Ministers responsible for Family Policy, presided over by Belgium’s Secretary of State, Melchior Wathelet
The conference is supported by the Belgian State Secretariat for the Budget and Family Policy, and the European Commission’s Progress Programme. The two big issues – the importance of an EU focus on the family, and the EU’s role in combating family poverty and social exclusion - will be addressed through videoed testimonies, introductions by family policy specialists and interactive workshops (sociologists, representatives of civil society and political figures).
More specifically, four key themes directly related to coface’s policy working groups will be addressed at the conference:
→ Family and social policies in a changing Europe.
→ The long road to inclusive Europe. Progress and prospects for people with disabilities and care needs.
→ The importance of a specific family approach to consumer policy.
→ Making education and ICTs work for social inclusion.
COFACE is hoping that all relevant EU actors will see this major event as an opportunity to renew their commitment to solidarity, social justice and greater inclusion of families. As many recession-beleaguered families look at a future which seems more uncertain than ever, we feel it could hardly be better-timed.
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