Brussels, 16/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Danish Presidency of the EU and the European Commission are organising the first Round Table on Poverty and Social Exclusion, in Aarhus, Denmark, on 17 and 18 October. This will be the first opportunity to study the impact of national action plans (NAPs/incl) in combating poverty and social exclusion and to discuss how the next generation of plans should be broached. Taking part in this conference, organised on the initiative of the Danish Minister of Social Affairs and Equality of Rights, Henriette Kjaer, we find representatives from the world of politics, European institutions, European NGOs like the European anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), candidate countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
On that occasion, the EAPN highlights the fact that this round table opens the same day as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which, according to the Network, demonstrates "recognition that poverty is a violation of human rights and its elimination is an international challenge as well as a local and national task". EAPN also published a declaration that takes up the proposals it made at its 13th general assembly in Berlin on the NAPs/inlc. At this first round table, it will publish its report "EAPN monitoring of national action plans on inclusion - State of progress". (Info: http://www.eapn.org ).