Brussels, 14/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - The 8th European meeting of people experiencing poverty will be held on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 May at Palais d'Egmont in Brussels. The conference, entitled “Where we Live - What we Need”, is organised by the Czech European Union Presidency in collaboration with the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), the European Commission and the Kingdom of Belgium.
The meeting will provide precious information for European leaders at a time when the Commission and member states are preparing activities scheduled for 2010, which has been declared the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion. There will be discussion on the realities of daily life (access to decent housing at an affordable price, financial inclusion and indebtedness, access to basic services). People who experience poverty, and who therefore face the risk of exclusion, may directly meet and debate with those who shape and implement poverty-related policies and measures at both national and European level.
Participants include European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Vladimir Spidla, French High Commissioner for active solidarity against poverty Martin Hirsch, Czech Deputy Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Czeslaw Walek, the “social inclusion” director at the Spanish Ministry for Health and Social Policy Juan Carlos Mato, and EAPN President Ludo Horemans. The two-day reflection will close with a presentation of the “tree of
2010 objectives”. (G.B./transl.jl)