Συνάντηση για την υποστήριξη παιδιού και οικογένειας σε κρίση, στα πλαίσια της κοινωνικής αλληλεγγύης

Το Σάββατο 24/9/2011 στο Ξενοδοχείο  ΧΙΛΤΟΝ στα πλαίσια του Συνεδρίου του Ελληνογερμανικού Επιμελητηρίου έγινε συνάντηση φορέων που ασχολούνται με την Παιδική Προστασία στην Ελλάδα με πρωτοβουλία των Παιδικών Χωριών και του Quality4children με σκοπό την ενημέρωση νέων προγραμμάτων που θα υποστηρίξουν το παιδί και την οικογένεια του στην φάση της κρίσης.

Στον χαιρετισμό του ο κος  Γιώργος Μόσχος ,Συνήγορος του Παιδιού,αναφέρθηκε στην πολύ κρίσιμη περίοδο που διανύουμε για τις οικογένειες οι οποίες βρίσκονται σε κρίση και πόσο σημαντικό είναι ύπαρξη δράσεων για την υποστήριξη τους.

Από πλευράς Παιδικών Χωριών SOS Ελλάδος έγινε ενημέρωση απο τον κύριο Στέργιο Σιφνιό Δντή Κοιν. Εργασίας & Έρευνας του Οργανισμού για το νέο πρόγραμμα Ενδυνάμωσης της Βιολογικής Οικογένειας (Family Strengthening ) και την αναγκαιότητα συνεργασίας με άλλους φορείς δημόσιους και Ιδιωτικούς με στόχο την πρόληψη καταστάσεων αποχωρισμού του παιδιού από τους γονείς του.
Ένα παράδειγμα υλοποίησης του προγράμματος αυτού είναι και το Κέντρο Στήριξης Παιδιού και Οικογένειας στην Αθήνα.Για τον τρόπο λειτουργίας του ενημέρωσε ο ος Ν. Νταμπαλής υπεύθυνος του Κέντρου.

Ο κος Παναγιώτης Κακίτσης ,Δντης εξωτερικών  οικοτρόφων του Ιδρύματος Χαντζηκωνστα, περιέγραψε το πρόγραμμα υποστήριξης της βιολογικής οικογένειας που υλοποιεί το Ίδρυμα Πανελλαδικά προσφέροντας κυρίως οικονομική βοήθεια για να στηριχθούν πολύτεκνες και άλλες οικογένειες με παιδιά που βρίσκονται σε εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία.

Ο κος Σουφλής, απο την Ένωση πολιτών για μια ανοικτή πολιτεία, στην συνέχεια αναφέρθηκε στο τι σημαίνει Εταιρική Κοινωνική Ευθύνη και για τους τρόπους προσέγγισης των εταιριών που μπορούν να υποστηρίξουν οικονομικά το έργο των διαφόρων ΜΚΟ.

Η κα Χρύσα Μπόσινα ,νηπιαγωγός, αναφέρθηκε στην πολύτιμη υποστήριξη που προσφέρουν οι εθελοντές σε οργανισμούς όπως τα Παιδικά Χωριά SOS Ελλάδος καθώς επίσης και στα χαρακτηριστικά στοιχεία ,τις βασικές αρχές και τα προβλήματα που καλείται να αντιμετωπίσει ο οργανωμένος Εθελοντισμός.Περιέγραψε συνοπτικά την προσπάθεια των εθελοντών στο Κέντρο Στήριξης της Καλαμάτας αλλά και στην συμμετοχή τους στο Q4C.

Τέλος ο κος Μενέλαος Τσαούσης, δντής του ΖΑΝΝΕΙΟΥ Ιδρύματος, αναφέρθηκε στην εμπειρία του  σε σχέση με την συνεργασία του με Ευρωπαικά προγράμματα Εθελοντισμού στα πλαίσια του Ιδρύματος.

Η συνάντηση ολοκληρώθηκε με συζήτηση η οποία ,δυστυχώς, όπως πολύ σωστά σημείωσε ο κος Μοσχος ήταν πολύ σύντομη λόγω του ότι ο χρόνος ήταν περιορισμένος.
Ελπίζουμε σε μια ανανέωση της συνάντησης αυτής με στόχο την δυνατότητα ανταλλαγής απόψεων αλλά κυρίως υλοποίησης των συνεργασιών ώστε να μπορέσουμε να βοηθήσουμε τα παιδιά και τις οικογένειες τους που πραγματικά βρισκονται σε αναγκη.

European platform against poverty and social exclusion

With more than 80 million people in the EU at risk of poverty – including 20 million children and 8% of the working population – the European Platform against poverty and social exclusion sets out actions to reach the EU target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020.

Launched in 2010, the platform is part of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Methods

Although combating poverty and social exclusion is mainly the responsibility of national governments, the EU can play a coordinating role by:

• identifying best practices and promoting mutual learning
• setting up EU-wide rules
• making funding available

Key actions

• Improved access to work, social security, essential services (healthcare, housing, etc.) and education
• Better use of EU funds to support social inclusion and combat discrimination
• Social innovation to find smart solutions in post-crisis Europe, especially in terms of more effective and efficient social support
• New partnerships between the public and the private sector

How the crisis is affecting the next generations

Eurochild launches report on the heavy impact on children & young people based on evidence collected through its membership

For more than two years now the crisis is having a heavy impact on the daily lives of millions of families, children and young people. Evidence suggests that the economic downturn affect disproportionally children and families. Consequences are multiple and of different nature:

• Absolute poverty levels are on the rise
• Unemployment hits marginalised groups hardest 
• Salary cuts increase in-work poverty levels
• Young people lack job prospects
• Growing Numbers of children at risk or in the public care system
• Children’s mental health is suffering
• Squeezed family budgets affect children’s diet and health
• Family tensions and discrimination is increasing

And the recession continues to claim victims as governments adjust to new financial and economic uncertainty, by cutting public spending to reduce public debt. Eurochild is particularly concerned about cuts to vital benefits and services on which millions of families and children rely, including high quality public education from an early age.

And there are some alarm signs that policy makers tend to ignore the social impact of the crisis and aggravating social policy cuts: Earlier this month, the European Commission published the Annual Growth Survey which focuses exclusively on growth-enhancing initiatives and the need for fiscal consolidation, putting even more pressure on Member States to reduce public deficits quickly. The impact on the growing number of children at risk is disregarded.

The governments’ responses to the crisis should reflect on the type of society we want in the future. We believe that supporting every child to realise their full potential is not only a moral obligation, but also an economic necessity. Unless children’s well-being becomes a driving force in the inception and implementation of national policies, we risk a "lost generation". Or even more. In order to avoid this scenario, Eurochild is calling to:

• Ensure a quality work/family life balance for parents
• Strengthen early intervention and prevention services for families
• Ensure access to high quality inclusive education for all
• Invest and protect children’s mental health and well-being
• Protect and increase budgets targeting children and families
• Strengthen family- and community-based care for children in alternative care

Children’s well-being and eradication of child poverty must be a priority of government policy in efforts to learn the lessons from the economic crisis.

Eurochild Secretary General, Jana Hainsworth said: "The evidence from across Europe is extremely worrying. Vulnerable children and families are the biggest losers from current austerity measures and the effects will be felt long into the future. Politicians need to wake to their short-sighted vision and take action to avoid a lost generation."

Click here to download Eurochild's report "How the economic and financial crisis is affecting children & young people in Europe - Report by Eurochild based on evidence collected through its membership".

The report will be officially published today on the occasion of the European Parliament's AGORA on Crisis and forms of Poverty. 

Notes

• Find here the link to the EP AGORA. The Programme can be downloaded here.
• Find here more about the European Commission's Annual Growth Survey
• Eurochild's End Child Poverty campaign website in 16 languages can be found at www.endchildpoverty.eu 
• Find here more information about Handing-over of the campaign signatures to Commission President Barroso, Commissioner Andor and several MEPs.
• Find here the links to Eurochild's Facebook and Twitter pages.
• Eurochild is an international network of organisations working in and across Europe to improve the quality of life of children and young people. Eurochild’s work is underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC). We aim to involve children and youth organisations from across Europe in the EU’s social inclusion strategy and to facilitate the exchange of good practice. Eurochild’s main focus is the fight against child poverty and social exclusion.

Eurochild

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Eurochild Press Release - Focus on Early Years is the way to reduce poverty

Focus on early years is the way to reduce poverty

New European findings show the need for a strong lead on Early Years services

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services can play a major role in reducing child poverty and inequality – if they are universally accessible, multi-dimensional and staffed by a well-educated workforce, child policy experts will tell the European Commission in Brussels on 9 December.

Families with young children are most at risk of poverty across Europe: nearly one in six households with a child under six lives in poverty, with this rising to one household in five in seven European countries.

Where responsibility for ECEC services is split – as in the UK and the Netherlands – there is a marked inequality in access to services, with children from advantaged families more than three times as likely to attend formal services as children from disadvantaged families. Countries where systems are fully integrated – as in Norway – have a more equal experience.

The new findings come from the final report of the 2-year cross-European programme Working for Inclusion: the role of the early years workforce in addressing poverty and promoting social inclusion, led by Children in Scotland. The report will be presented at the European Parliament as the European Year for Combating Poverty comes to an end.

Speakers at the seminar include

• Belgian Community Minister Jean-Marc Nollet
• Polish Undersecretary of State for Social Affairs Irena Woycicka
• Working for Inclusion programme director Bronwen Cohen
• Secretary General of Eurochild Jana Hainsworth
• Representative of the European Trade Union Committee for Education, Stig Lund and
• Working for Inclusion researchers Peter Moss and John Bennett.

Bronwen Cohen, chief executive of Children in Scotland and programme director for Working for Inclusion, said: 
"The Working for Inclusion programme has shown that fully integrated early childhood education and care systems associated with high levels of universal entitlement and a high quality well paid workforce are a key indicator in tackling child poverty and overcoming inequalities, offering particularly big gains for children under 3. Working for Inclusion offers important lessons for governments at national and local level seeking to maximise investment in the early years and also highlights the value of the Structural Funds in helping member states to explore new models for services."

Jana Hainsworth, secretary general of Eurochild, said:
"Early childhood is such a crucial period of an individual's life. High quality education and care services can contribute to ensuring every child gets the best start in life. But it needs investment, especially to build a well-trained, motivated workforce. In times of public spending cuts, we must look at where return on investment is greatest and early childhood education and care has proven returns in the short- and long-term – for children, parents and society as a whole. This is a time for boosting, not cutting investment in services."

-end-

Notes for the press

1. Working for Inclusion: the role of the early years workforce in addressing poverty and promoting social inclusion is funded by the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity. Working for Inclusion began in February 2009 and has considered Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) systems, particularly the ECEC workforce, at local, national and European levels. Each partner in the programme (Scotland, Norway, Poland and Italy) has hosted a study visit and national conference on one of the programme's themes and a wider network of organisations in Slovenia, France, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary have participated as project associates. Research has taken place across 28 European nations to provide a clear picture of qualifications and skills levels in early years services across the EU, and how these relate to levels of poverty and social inclusion.
2. The programme’s final report, Working for Inclusion: how early childhood education and care (ECEC) and its workforce can help Europe’s youngest citizens, is available from Children in Scotland: for further information visit www.childreninscotland.org.uk
3. Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Slovenia and Latvia have fully integrated early childhood education and care systems. Germany, Austria, Spain and the UK have partially integrated systems which retain a division between education and care, particularly within the workforce.
4. Eurochild is an international network of organisations working in and across Europe to improve the quality of life of children and young people. Eurochild’s work is underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC). We aim to involve children and youth organisations from across Europe in the EU’s social inclusion strategy and to facilitate the exchange of good practice. Eurochild’s main focus is the fight against child poverty and social exclusion. 

Eurochild

Avenue des Arts 1-2
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Belgium
T: +32 (0)2 511 70 83
F: +32 (0)2 511 72 98
www.eurochild.org
info@eurochild.org

CHILD POVERTY CAMPAIGN

ΥΠΕΓΡΑΨΕ ΤΩΡΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΚΑΜΠΑΝΙΑ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗΣ ΠΑΙΔΙΚΗΣ ΦΤΩΧΙΑΣ
SIGN NOW

BREAKING THE POVERTY CYCLE “STRENGTHENING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES”

ROUND TABLES ON 18/19 NOVEMBER 2010

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

SOS Children’s Villages is active both in Europe and worldwide, through programmes targeting children without parental care or at risk of losing this care, but what most people know about our organisation is the SOS family model. The Quality4Children project, presented in the European Parliament in June 2007, highly contributed to broadening the image that partners, both NGOs and institutions have of the work we do to ensure quality care for children.

In November 2010 in Brussels, we want to show that we not only promote and ensure quality for children in care, but also for families, to prevent family separation.

To make best use of the existing framework, policies and tools at the European Union level, we will organise two separate round tables, with different geographic focus:

Thursday, 18th Nov:        EU member states and EU candidate countries

Friday, 19^th Nov:              EU external relations and development cooperation

OBJECTIVES

1. To present the work of SOS Children’s Villages to support families and communities to provide adequate care for their children (in Europe and worldwide), to main stakeholders at the EU level, highlighting the following:

Ø     SOS as a voice for children at risk of losing parental care

Ø     SOS as a player in the field of development policy and child rights

Ø     SOS taking participatory, inclusive and sustainable approaches

2. To raise awareness on the need to strengthen families and communities to combat poverty and prevent family separation, in the framework of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children

3. To develop partnerships between representatives from SOS and  key stakeholders active at European and national/ country level.

PROMINENT PARTNERS AND SPEAKERS

President of SOS Children’s Villages International

Mr Kutin will participate in the event that will take place on Friday, 19^th November.

European Commissioner for Development

Mr Piebalgs expressed his support and has been invited to participate in the round table on Friday, 19^th November.  

EU Presidency

Mr Courard, representing the European Council on issues related to poverty in the framework of the Belgium Presidency of the European Union will participate in the  round table organised on Thursday, 18^th November.

European Parliament

The events will be chaired by Ernst Strasser and Richard Howitt, Members of the European Parliament.

LANGUAGE

The events will be held in English. If there is sufficient demand for other languages, translation could be organised.

EUROCHILD NEWSLETTER

A good day for children in Europe?


Belgium takes over the EU presidency today


Eurochild holds high hopes for the Belgian EU Presidency to deliver on
its commitment to children


1 out of 5 children in Europe is living at the risk of poverty. As poverty is often passed on from generation to generation, the best route to break the poverty cycle is tackling poverty already early in childhood. That would be the foundation of a more equal society.


Belgium has taken up this challenge and put child poverty and well-being at the top of its political agenda for the coming 6 months. To ensure it delivers on its commitment Eurochild is working closely with the current care-taker government and will support the incoming government, still to be established after the 13th June national elections, to stay on track.


In early June the United Nations Committee on the Right of the Child concluded a hearing on the situation of children in Belgium by pointing out that the State should take more action to fight child poverty. Latest figures in Belgium show that 1 in 7 children live in a jobless household. Three quarters of these children are at risk of poverty. Aware of these shortcomings, the Belgian government has already launched important measures to address the problem (see endnotes).


Philippe Courard, Belgium’s State Secretary on Social Inclusion and Fight against Poverty, is confident about Belgium’s role as President of the European Council:


“It’s my priority to put child poverty on top of the European agenda during the Belgian presidency. In my country 17% of all children live in poverty. The average is even higher in Europe. It’s imperative that the new Platform on Poverty includes the fight against child poverty. This is not only a moral duty but also an economic necessity. Our society can not accept to waste all that human potential.


With regard to concrete measures to be introduced on European level he adds:


“I will present quantified objectives for the eradication of this problem, supported by quantitative and qualitative indicators and this on all aspects of life. I will also back up a Recommendation made by the European Commission in this respect.”


As its contribution to the European Year 2010 against Poverty and Social Exclusion, Eurochild has launched its own a campaign calling for more action to end child poverty www.endchildpoverty.eu. The petition and messages will be delivered to EU leaders in January 2011.


Eurochild’s Secretary General Jana Hainsworth stated:


“Over the next 6 months, EU leaders will agree how to work together to fight poverty and social exclusion. With Belgium at the helm, we have an opportunity to ensure the legacy of the 2010 European Year against poverty and social exclusion has real substance and is not just empty words. A commitment to end poverty must start with a commitment to children and families. This is the best way of achieving lasting change.”


Eurochild has agreed a scoreboard by which to evaluate the impact of the Belgian EU presidency. We trust with their leadership the rights and welfare of children will take a more central position in the EU’s political agenda.
eurochild.com

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Europe is at risk of experiencing severe social crisis as a result of the present world economic situation. This unquestionably affects the poor the most. On the 17th October, the International Day against poverty, Eurochild calls on EU leaders to ensure support for the most vulnerable groups of society, especially children.

Earlier this week, the EU announced a rescue package of €2 trillion for the financial sector to avert the looming global economic crisis. Eurochild - a network of organisations and individuals promoting the rights and welfare of children in Europe - urges policy-makers to pay urgent attention to the potential social impacts of the crisis. Already some 72 million European citizens live in or on the edge of poverty, an estimated 19 million of them are children. A rise in unemployment and over-indebtedness could push many more under the poverty threshold.

“There has never been a more important time to invest in our children,” says Jana Hainsworth, Secretary General of Eurochild. “Besides a moral obligation, the long-term social economic cost of not investing is just too high. We need all European citizens to be able to fulfill their potential and we need to ensure that all families, communities, services and children themselves have the necessary means to enable that to happen.”

European Ministers for Labour and Social Affairs are meeting on the eve of the International Day for the eradication of poverty and social exclusion in Marseille. The meeting, lead by Martin Hirsch High Commissioner for active inclusion against poverty, is opening a window of opportunity for putting social progress and the fight against poverty at the heart of the EU agenda. There is no better litmus test for the well-being of society, than the well-being of its children. We need a commitment to eradicate child poverty now. There could be no better long-term legacy for the French Presidency.

The 17th October is the day to put socially excluded groups in the forefront of political communication. Eurochild calls on politicians to take a decisive action that will sustain long term efforts to eradicate poverty. If there is anything positive to take from this financial crisis, it is that EU leaders can never again allow the free market to override the need to ensure equality and social justice. Let’s start by investing in our children.

____________________________________

About Eurochild: Eurochild^AISBL is an international network of organisations and individuals working in and across Europe to improve the quality of life of children and young people. Its work is underpinned by the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Eurochild is funded by the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The views expressed in this Press Release do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission.

____________________________________

For more information, please contact:

Jana Hainsworth, Secretary General

Tel: +32 (0)2 511 70 83

e-mail: secretarygeneral@eurochild.org