MORE FOCUS ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The seminar was the culmination of work on Community Plans in neighbourhoods, developed by local authorities in the Barcelona province, working with Desenvolupament Comunitari. A working group of community workers, local authority staff and university personnel with the co-operation of elected representatives, analysed the operation of the Community plans. The working group identified criteria for good practice that were then tested against the experience from other countries represented by Board Members from CEBSD. The criteria provided valuable detailed insights into trends such as the reliance on networking as a means of developing co-operation and solidarity; more inclusive approaches to diversity; channels of communication and the importance of process to results. The seminar concluded that more work could be done on the criteria to take account of analysis of roles and functions; creative ways of achieving involvement and consensus; and integrating the different ingredients of the process needed to deliver good practice.

Board Members also welcomed the presentation on the Community Mediation Services in Diputació de Barcelona. This programme is the culmination of work on interculturality and community development in Catalunya over an even longer period. Progress on integrating intercultural training and principles with those of community development has been followed closely for the past seven years by the CEBSD network. Community Mediation Services are now available to local authority personnel working at 311 Town Halls in the province of Barcelona, representing population sizes from several hundred people to hundreds of thousands. They are supported by training for the diverse teams and other expertise from Desenvolupament Comunitari. Although it is early days for this new phase of development, the Community Mediation Services offer a potential model for other authorities in other parts of Europe.

The seminar demonstrated the importance of sustained support for initiatives combined with partnership between local authorities and non-governmental organisations and on-going review of the implications of practice for policy in order to extract maximum learning from the process of development. This point was clearly understood by the politicians from Diputació de Barcelona and the Ajuntament de Barcelona who spoke in practical terms at the seminar of the importance of social development, social inclusion and social policies. They acknowledged that Community Development could assist the process of good governance in its contribution to government that is closer to the people. For more information contact co-ordinator@cebsd.org

This is a creative demonstation of Community Plans in Barcelona, where the ribbons symbolise the different strands of inclusion.

European Commission Work Programme 2006

The European Commission has now adopted Commission Legislative and Work Programme for 2006. Jose Manuel Barroso stated that, "This Work Programme allows Europe to pursue competitiveness and social justice, to protect its citizens and promote their freedoms, to work inside Europe and to promote its values in the world beyond. This Work Programme is the best way to convince Europeans that the Union is an essential part of the solution in addressing the problems facing Europe." The 2006 Work Programme focuses on prosperity, solidarity, security and Europe as a world partner. These commitments are welcome but challenge of translating commitment to social justice and social development in the context of the challenges of globalisation and the economic policies that accompany it, casts a long shadow on strategies and plans for 2007-2013.

Plan D for Democracy

Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström presented her Plan D for "Democracy, Dialogue and Debate", in October 2005, urging Member States to engage with citizens in a debate on the future of Europe. "Plan D" puts in place a framework, through national governments, for a 25-country debate. The objective is to build a new political consensus about the right policies to equip Europe to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. The plan is relevant to community developers in its proposal to promote more effective consultation with citizens.

The key to the success of this initiative is the role played by national governments in stimulating positive debates at a local level. The example of the National Forum on Europe in Ireland was given as one potential model. The feedback process is due to start in April 2006 but so far there has been no great visibility of this initiative at a national level and there appears to be a marked lack of co-ordination within ministries of member states on this topic. CEBSD looks forward to rapid improvements in this process.

Social Policies on Fundamental Rights

Odile Quintin, Director-General of DG Employment and Social Affairs and Alain Brun, head of unit for fundamental rights and citizenship in DG Justice, Liberty and Security, joined the first and last panels of the Social Platform annual conference in October in Brussels. The Austrian Minister for Social Affairs, Ursula Haubner, opened the first session and immediately linked the topic of the conference to one of the most popular topics of the day: the European Economic and Social Model. Member organisations who organised 7 very successful parallel sessions looking at the rights-based approach in the areas of: undocumented migrants, minimum income, housing assistance, persons with complex dependency needs disabilities, migrant women, health and health care, and education. Short reports from the seminars will be included in the full conference report. Gilda Farrell brought a broader perspective from the Council of Europe and encouraged NGOs to work hard to change mentalities both in the public and private sector. Report from Daniela Mitchener. See www.socialplatform.org for more information.

A Matrix for Local Learning

50 representatives of government and non-government organisations -including a speaker from the Swedish Ministry of Social Welfare attend a conference in November in London on the implications of a Social Inclusion project the development of a Local Authority Learning networks. This final conference of a Social Inclusion project under the European Commission's Community Programme on Social Inclusion, will present a Matrix, which offers a tool, for learning between Local Authorities in Swedish, Spanish, English and Lithuanian. This tool is likely to be especially useful to non-governmental organisations that work in partnership with local authorities. Contact hans.andersson@cesam.se

Training and Learning for Community Development

Partners in the Grundtvig 4 project, supported by the European Commission Directorate for Education and Culture met in Dublin in October. It was agreed that HACD would host the Seminar Training and Learning for Community Development in Budapest between 31st March and 2nd April 2006. The partners plus the evaluator, the co-ordinator and a representative of Movimento di Cooperazione Educativa, will remain an extra day to evaluate the seminar and set the agenda for the follow-up meeting in Rome.
Participants in the seminar will act as a working group for the project, so the number will be limited to those actively engaged as partners or associates of partners. The 35 participants will be expected to network before and after the seminar within the countries in their contact group. It was further agreed that it would be useful to hold a conference ideally in late 2006 to disseminate the results of the project and to involve others, who participate in the project through Contact Groups, national and European networking, in the proposal for a Grundtvig Thematic Network. Such a conference would be dependent on additional funding.
Objectives of Seminar:
The objectives of the Seminar were discussed and the following changes proposed:

To bring together practitioners from across Europe for focussed sharing and exchange to identify common elements of good practice in CD training.
To distil guidelines for an adult education module for training and learning for Community Development in the field of informal adult education
To explore the development of a future network on the theme of training and learning for Community Development.

The seminar will test the application of core Community Development principles as identified by CEBSD to training processes: see CEBSD News for more on the application of principles. The next meeting of partners will take place in Bucharest in February 2006. Partners agreed to carry out a mapping exercise to identify those interested in networking on this topic. Contact: Margo Gorman, Co-ordinator, co-ordinator@cebsd.org

Social Statement

The European Social Platform, of which CEBSD is a member, has adopted a statement to be sent to heads of State and Government in preparation for the Informal European Council organised by the UK Presidency on 27th of October to discuss the European economic and social model. The Social Platform has been invited to participate in a Forum of key stakeholders on 24 October in London, organised by the UK Presidency as preparation for the Informal Council. The letter states that the major challenges facing the EU - such as globalisation and demographic change - are leading to questions about how social and economic policies are organised in European countries. Members of the Social Platform recognise the need for change but insist that "reform" must not mean abandoning the fundamental values and principles, which are crucial to a cohesive and economically viable society. The aim must be to ensure that equity in society, and efficiency in the economy, will be equally promoted. For the full text of the letter go to www.socialplatform.org

Active Citizenship for NGO's

There is a call for proposals from NGOs on the topic of the 'PROMOTION OF ACTIVE EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP' as part of the "Community action programme to promote active European citizenship" which runs to 31 December 2006. The programme seeks to strengthen the dialogue between the European Union and its citizens with a view to encouraging the emergence of an active and participatory European citizenship.

(a) to promote and disseminate the values and objectives of the European Union;
(b) to bring citizens closer to the European Union and its institutions and to encourage them to engage more frequently with its institutions;
(c) to involve citizens closely in the debate and discussions on the construction of the European Union;
(d) to stimulate initiatives by the bodies engaged in the promotion of active and participatory citizenship.

The deadline is 30th November and 20% co-finance is required. See:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/education_culture/activecitizenship/index_en.htm.

Learning for Community Development

The first meeting of partners in the project on Training and Learning for Community Development took place in Dublin in mid-October. The partners from Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom propose to hold a Thematic Seminar in March 2006 in Budapest. This seminar will be composed of a working group of 35 who will have the task of preparing guidelines for trainers and of laying foundations for future networking. The preparation and follow-up within a wider network are seen as crucial to the process of exchange of informal training and learning initiatives in the field of community development.

The working group of 35 will network within their member states to ensure maximum involvement of adult education and community development networks. In addition there will be contact groups on a regional basis, which will have the task of sharing existing work on this topic and of making links with other networks and projects related to the theme. Anyone who is interested in joining this process should contact the project co-ordinator: Margo Gorman, co-ordinator@cebsd.org

"Citizens for Europe"

Member States of the European Union have been given the chance to conduct a public consultation on the draft proposal on the "active citizenship" spending programme for the 2007-13 period. Please find out who is conducting your public consultation and let the Combined European Bureau for Social Development know if you have been consulted. Contact co-ordinator@cebsd.org

The overall aim of the new programme is to bring Europe closer to its citizens and to promote civic participation and cooperation between Member States' communities. The programme has four specific objectives: incorporating bringing people from across Europe together to share and exchange views and knowledge, supporting cooperation between civil society organisations at European level, making the idea of Europe more tangible to its citizens, and encouraging balanced integration of all EU citizens through contributing to intercultural dialogue.

"Action 1" of the programme will support actions such as town twinning, both on a one-off and multi-annual basis, and provide grants to transnational and cross-sectoral citizens' projects. The latter actions could include bringing citizens together to debate common European issues or to exchange best practice and to develop new skills through training.
"Action 2" will provide structural support in the form of grants to think tanks and civil society organisations active at a European level, as well as to projects initiated by civil society organisations which contain a European dimension.
"Action 3" will provide financial support for: high-visibility events organised by or in cooperation with the Commission, for Commission studies, surveys and opinion polls on European citizenship, and for information and dissemination tools, such as an Internet portal. (http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/education_culture/activecitizenship/index_en.htm).

Successful Proposal.

The European Directorate for Education and Culture has selected a proposal by the Combined European Bureau for Social Development (CEBSD) under the Socrates Programme (Grundtvig) to hold a Thematic Seminar in March 2006 in Budapest on a "Framework for Training and Learning for Community Development". We see this as a first step to setting up a strong learning network on Community Development, which can make links between lifelong learning and social inclusion in a community-based context across Europe. The process of planning and holding the seminar will demand that partners and their networks carry out two main tasks. They will assess the community development content in existing European networks for adult education, including Grundtvig networks, and make complementary links. This assessment will explore the core elements shared by neighbourhood based programmes and adult education for specific communities of interest or identity such as people with disabilities, women, cultural groups and minority groups.

The process is also expected to devise guidelines on how to prepare an adult education module on community development. These guidelines would demonstrate how to draw on the expertise of community field workers, adult educators and learners in both the formal and informal learning environment. The project partners in Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom will participate in planning and follow up meetings for the seminar. In addition, contact groups will be set up to feed into the process and these will be the foundation for setting up a learning network for community development. The project co-ordinator: Margo co-ordinator@cebsd.org

PROGRESS

The European Parliament will discuss the proposal to establish a Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity called PROGRESS in September. MEP Karin Jöns has prepared a report for the plenary session (Ref: A6-0199/2005), which seeks the involvement of non-governmental organisations at all levels to ensure that the Programme meets its objectives. Among the proposals in the report is a recommendation to increase the budget.

Citizens at the Centre

Citizens at the Centre, 15th September, Westminster University, London This conference comes at a time when citizen participation is fast moving up the political agenda. Participants in the Citizens at the Centre conference will explore how to restore European credibility by more effective tackling of poverty, exclusion and sustainable development through a higher profile for citizens, community involvement and the third sector. The Conference will also launch "Including the Excluded" a CEBSD publication by Paul Henderson, published by Policy Press and linking policy to practice. (See below) Key Themes of "Citizens at the Centre: A new model for European Co-operation"

Sustainable communities across Europe - mainstreaming participative urban development in EU policy.
After the Constitution fiasco - what will happen to European funding?
Beyond the caricature of 'social model' versus 'liberal market': a European 'third way'?
Can community development vision shape EU policy and funding?

Contact: Helen Animashun at Community Development Foundation 60 Highbury Grove London N5 2AG Tel: +442072265375 e-mail: helen.a@cdf.org.uk

'Poor, poorer, poorest?'

A focus on the socio- economic situation of older migrant women in Europe from 22 - 23 September 2005 at the 'Rosarium' Amsterdam, the Netherlands Guest speakers from various European countries and the European Commission, focus on key issues on current ageing patterns and increasing migration. Social partners, migrant- and women's organisations, older people's unions and other parties involved will discuss their strategies and will present their recommendations in order to put migrant women on the political agenda, nationally as well as on a European level. For more information on the conference and the possibility to register, please visit the following website: www.ageplus.nl/closing_conference.html

Making Europe Local

"Making Europe Local": Building Networks of Cooperation and Dialogue between Civil Society and Public Administrations in the enlarged Union" Turin, 21-22 October 2005will follow-up on previous discussions under the "Cooperate" project - led by the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) - on issues such as the inclusion of NGOs in the Structural Funds and the dialogue and cooperation between sectors. The conference will focus on the EU Cohesion Policy and on its possible trends and future developments. The "Cooperate" project aims to facilitate access and implementation of European programmes by promoting best practices and dialogue between public authorities and civil society. The project involves Italian public authorities and several regions in the new Member States (Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland). See http://www.cooperatesite.org/.
The conference is expected to attract around 150 participants from the enlarged EU, ranging from civil society organisations (such as NGOs, European platforms, foundations and associations) to European, regional and local actors (such as development agencies, consultancies, academics and researchers).

"The Social Economy in Central, East and South-East Europe"
emerging trends of social innovation and local development". Trento, Italy, 22-24 September 2005

This conference aims to increase understanding of the issues and policy options in terms of how best to stimulate social cohesion and labour market integration by increasing social economy potential in Central East and South East Europe. The conference seeks to strengthen international co-operation, identify "best practices", develop policy recommendations and agree on policy initiatives in support of the social economy. To register (no fees), contact Stephen Girasuolo at the Trento Centre for Local Development (stephen.girasuolo@oecd.org, fax: +39 0461 277650) For further information, please see www.trento.oecd.org, or contact Ms. Paola Babos (paola.babos@oecd.org).

'STOP-DISCRIMINATION' website

The Stop discrimination website of the EU anti-discrimination campaign has been redesigned. Check it out on http://www.stop-discrimination.info/

UK Presidency- Making Poverty History

Tony Blair made two commitments for the UK Presidency of the European Union - "making poverty history" and "making social Europe work". The mobilisation of civil society on the first of these commitments has been impressive - millions of people world wide demonstrating their personal commitment to 'making poverty history". It demonstrates the high level of awareness of a global social agenda. What is missing now is a new level of political awareness that informs and guides the political process to create effective change from fine words. We need more leaders like Nelson Mandela with a commitment to social change that is greater than their commitment to stay as leader of a party or government. We need to understand the relationship between economic and social change and how it affects us locally and globally. The two commitments of the UK Presidency are closely interlinked. We call upon Tony Blair to "be great".

"Making Social Europe work".

Political leaders have told us that we need economic growth before we can commit to social change. Civil Society in Europe - and indeed Asia or Africa - knows that social change and economic change are inextricably interlinked. President of the Social Platform, Anne-Sophie Parent voices the concern of European non-governmental organisations, when she says that "Growth and employment need to be pursued in a way that ensures that they do 'make for social cohesion', as agreed by the Spring European Council, and bring benefits for all." The no votes to the European Constitution n France or the Netherlands from people with radically different politic views are a no to the image of a smug, distant, elite Europe. A more cohesive Europe depends on greater involvement and awareness of the links between local social and economic change and European social and economic development. (For details of 7 tests for the UK Presidency, as proposed by European social NGOs, visit www.socialplatform.org . The Social Platform will complete an evaluation of the Presidency's record in relation to each test at the end of its term.)

Barroso addresses Irish Forum on Europe

The EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT BARROSO addressed Ireland's National Forum on Europe on 30th June in Dublin. The Irish Forum was set up in response to the failure of the Irish Referendum on Nice. Under the chairmanship of Maurice Hayes, it has toured around Ireland and has proved a highly successful forum for debate and awareness raising. Barroso sees it as a potential model for other European member states. "The setting up of this forum shows that the Irish have learned an important lesson from their experiences, a lesson that the rest of us would do well to study: if you take the support of your citizens for granted, if you refuse to see the danger signs as dissatisfaction starts to rise, then sooner or later, there is a price to pay." For the full text of his speech see www.forumoneurope.ie

Lobby on Structural Funds

The detailed wording of the Structural Fund regulations makes a big difference to the ability of NGOs and local community organisations across Europe to benefit from EU funding. We are concerned to ensure that the wording of the Structural Fund regulations for the period 2007-13 gives maximum opportunity for NGOs and local community organisations to benefit and to play their part in European development. British MEP Richard Howitt put forward some amendments worked out in close consultation with an NGO/LCO lobby drawing on networks from across Europe to the European Parliament in July. The next stage is the budget. Keep you eye on the ACED site. www.aced-eu.org

Open Method of Co-ordination

The 'open method of co-ordination' is a tool devised by the European Commission to deliver commitments made by the European Union to achieving Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion. This 'tool' includes common objectives, National Action Plans and common indicators. Means of monitoring and comparing progress on achieving the objectives depend on open and transparent exchange and learning. Community Action Programmes explore ways of taking forward the objectives and learning from the experience of others. It depends on the active involvement of all actors. The OMC has the potential of being a powerful tool for development and cutting through endless European bureaucracy if it is used creatively and with commitment but it is in danger of becoming a bit of toothless jargon due to the lack of understanding or will to take the necessary steps to deliver on the common objectives. The OMC is currently being evaluated. For more information go to www.socialplatform.org

No Constitution and a crisis for Democracy

The lead up and follow up to the French referendum on the European Constitution provoked an interesting debate among non-governmental organisations on participative democracy and the difficulty of creating a "Europe of 500 millions with 30 different languages and cultures." There is no model for such a construction in any other continent and the European Constitution now faces a major crisis. There have been direct and passionate exchanges among activists in ADEL, UNADEL and ALERTE - non-governmental networks concerned with poverty, exclusion and local development. These exchanges help to clarify why some chose to vote 'no' and some 'yes'. The commentary from the "bottom-up" is more illuminating and more interesting than more formal analyses and should be shared more widely to help us learn from the 'no' vote in France. For more information on these debates that are in French, contact Jose Dhers on jdhers@wanadoo.fr

For some the crisis is not just one for the ratification of the Treaty, it is a crisis of democracy. For JP Dodet a militant in UNADEL in Avallon believes that it is a sign of greater "awareness among ordinary citizens of the rules of the game and what the game consists of " They see now that the dice of power is loaded against them. They are sceptical of consultation that does not offer real dialogue. "The 'no' to the European Constitution is no more than the concretisation of the awareness that participation is sought only to endorse not to design and develop. He cites the example of an initiative by his regional government, which sees participative democracy in terms of information, consultation and involvement. For him, these should already be part of representative democracy. Participative democracy on the other hands starts at the point where power is shared. He claims that the main obstacle to development in France is the absence of a sense of a horizon, which is constructed, decided, shared and acted upon in common. CEBSD looks forward to an opportunity to debate with those who are interested in the development of a European Community based on "development en commun". The principles and values summarised under "community development" by members of CEBSD offer a starting point from the "bottom-up". Contact co-ordinator@cebsd.org

Active European Citizenship

The proposal for the "Citizens for Europe" (2007-2013) programme, which aims to designed to promote active European citizenship has some potential for building a vision of Europe which is more attractive to ordinary citizens. The Education Council, which met in Luxembourg in June, welcomed the initiative as a means of increasing the participation of civil society in the construction of an enlarged Europe. The programme seeks to acknowledge the past while building a future Europe that is closer and more tangible to its citizens. It will promote exchange between people at local community level across Europe and contribute to intercultural dialogue, which celebrates Europe's unity in diversity.

In order to succeed the programme will need co-operation between civil society organizations that have close links with communities across Europe. As a network of community development organisations in Europe, members of the Combined European Bureau welcome the programme as an opportunity to develop more ownership of a shared Europe with the diverse communities of interest, communities of identity and communities with local links across Europe. Organisations, which share commitment to the principles and practice of community development, are invited to contact CEBSD if they are interested in networking around this programme.

Gender in the New Europe

There is a UK lead conference in partnership with the Women's National Commission and the UK Joint Committee on Women on 15 June 2005 from 10:00 - 16:15 at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Conference Centre, 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET. This conference will explore:

What is next for the future of Europe?
What is the role of your local MEP and their impact in Europe?
How to access EU information and policy, and respond to it.
How to lobby and campaign at EU level
on issues affecting women's lives.

For more information email info@womenconnect.org.uk. Alternatively visit http://www.womenconnect.org.uk or www.nawo.org.uk

Support for Roma Rights

The European Parliament was prompted to mark International Roma day 2005 by preparing a resolution to raise "awareness about Europe s largest ethnic minority and the extent of its social exclusion." The resolution recognises that the 10 million Roma in Europe "suffer racial discrimination and in many cases are subject to severe structural discrimination, poverty and social exclusion, as well as multiple discrimination on the basis of gender, age, disability and sexual orientation." The resolution calls on the Council, the Commission, the Member States and the candidate countries to consider recognising the Roma as a European minority. It urges the Commission to include the issue of combating Anti-Gypsyism/Romaphobia across Europe among its priorities for the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, and calls on political parties and civil society at all levels to make it clear that racial hatred against Roma can never be tolerated in European society. It also urges all Member States to support initiatives to strengthen the Roma's ability to represent themselves and participate actively in public life and society as a whole and enable Roma civil organisations to make their voices heard. See www.erio.net for more information.

"Community Work and Roma Inclusion"

A new book claims that the key to success in the development of Roma communities and their inclusion in mainstream society lies in Community Development approaches which "can transform Roma communities from a culture of being marginalised into a culture of development." The book is based on lessons learned in ten years of practice in community development by Spolu and its Roma national partner organisations in most of the central and east European countries and relevant theories about community development and community work. It is a co-production of Spolu International Foundation (www.spolu.nl) and Leidraad Leertrajecten the author of the book who provided training (www.leidraad.com) to the teams of Spolu's partners as well as to local Roma groups for the past ten years. http://www.leidraad.com/Community_Work_and_Roma_Inclusion.pdf

Contact: Department of Social Work
Medico-Social Faculty, University of Ostrava,
Fr. Sramka 3, 709 00 Ostrava-Mar. Hory, Czech Republic
E-mail: jana.kahankova@osu.cz

Germany breaks EU Law

On 28th April 2005, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Germany had breached EU law by failing to transpose fully a European Directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin (Directive 2000/43/EC). The deadline for EU Member States to transpose this Directive was 19 July 2003 - except for the 10 new Member States, who had to ensure that their legislation complied with the Directives by their accession to the EU on 1 May 2004. (Source www.europa.eu)

Sustainable development in figures: 120 indicators available on-line

The sustainable development indicators recently adopted by the European Commission are now available on the Eurostat website http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/sustainabledevelopment Some 120 indicators are currently available. They reflect various priorities, such as climate change, public health, management of natural resources, transport, ageing society, social exclusion and poverty, etc. The indicators are presented in the form of tables, together with explanatory text on the methodology used, and will be regularly updated. The data mainly come from the national statistical offices, but also from other available sources (Commission services, national administrative sources, NGOs, research projects).

Bolkenstein Directive on Services referred back

The debate about opening up the market for services rumbles on. In March, European Council agreed that the internal market for services must become fully operational "in order to be able to promote growth and employment and strengthen European competitiveness". However, the Heads of State and Government stated that the services market must preserve the European social model.
"The debates have shown that the current drafting of the proposal for the directive does not fully meet the demands regarding the due respect for the European social model. Those who wish the services directive to be fashioned in such a way that employees lose all their rights, thereby bringing unhealthy pressure to bear on the level of salaries and diminishing employees' rights through the opening up of the markets, are sadly mistaken", said Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's Prime Minister.
The European Commission's White Paper on Services of General Interest announced a Communication on Social Services of General Interest, to gain a better understanding of social services and their needs in relation to the EU legal framework. In April Social NGOs called on "the Commission to publish this Communication as soon as possible. Delaying publication would be an irresponsible move which would hinder finding the right solution for social services in the EU context". It appears that the directive will not be withdrawn but lobbying continues. (Thanks to EAPN and the Social Platform for information and reports from which the above was taken. Please note that the Social Platform has produced an 'Explanatory Paper', outlining the nature of social services, social services of general interest, and the most problematic aspects of the directive. See www.socialplatform.org)

Research Projects in Social Exclusion

The European Commission has issued a call for research projects, which evaluate the economic and social impact of national social inclusion policies. Funded by the EU social exclusion action programme, projects should focus on the impact of key policies carried out by one or several EU Member States and assess their cost effectiveness. They should also have a transnational element, either in their chosen subject or in the composition of the research team, and include the organisation of a seminar at which the research findings will be presented. Grants are up to €200,000 covering up to 80% of costs, from a total budget of €2.2 million. Participating organisations must be based in the EU, the candidate countries or a European Free Trade Area country.
Internet European Commission website on : www.europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/social_inclusion/grants_en.htm
DEADLINE: 18 July 2005

Networks for Social Inclusion

The Commission will support the operating costs of EU networks involved in social inclusion. The networks should be non-profit making and operate at European level, with members in at least twelve EU countries. They should also be directly involved in raising awareness of social exclusion, carry out monitoring of the national action plans for social inclusion and contribute towards influencing social inclusion policies. The Commission will provide grants covering up to 90% of the networks' costs from a total budget of €3.6 million. More information from the following Internet European Commission website www.europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/social_inclusion/index_en.htm
Deadline 29 July 2005

Spring Summit and Social Europe

Limited progress on gaining recognition of community development in Europe has suffered a setback with the changes in strategy as a result of the review of progress on the Lisbon objectives. Commissioner Spidla was challenged on the strategy by the members of the European Social Platform in a meeting on 28th February. The current strategy based on the Kok report puts emphasis on economic "growth, competition and innovation in the promotion of a strong and sustainable social model and in the protection of the environment" at the expense of objectives which focus directly on social inclusion and social cohesion. We need effective lobbying and petitioning at a local, regional and national level to alert the Spring Summit to the dangers of reducing emphasis on social objectives.

Those with experience of community development work which has assisted people to combine personal development, community activity, increased employment and sustainable development know that the Kok strategy will fail even more abysmally than progress so far on the Lisbon objectives. If the horse is not pulling the cart fast enough, the solution is not to put the economic cart before the social horse.All European Social Platform members and their networks are invited to support and join the campaign to Save Social Europe with a petition called SOS Europe (Save Social Europe). Solidar, a member of the European Social Platform and trade unions are drawing up a petition will be an autonomous campaign (there will not be any logos on it). SOS Europe hopes to become a citizens' initiative, which will gain signatures from as many organisations around Europe as possible. www.socialplatform.org

Social Cohesion and Lifelong Learning

The strategy of the Directorate for Education and Culture has more in common with the strategy of members of the Combined European Bureau for Social Development in its emphasis on the development of civil society through both participative and representative democracy. There is recognition of the potential richness of combining specific interests and specific identities within a celebration of a European identity based on diversity. The goal of achieving greater integration in the 25 members of the European Union through supporting exchanges, networking, participation, discussion and partnership echoes some of the aspirations of the Budapest Declaration.

There is more hope of mobilisation, motivation and multiplication of ideas and resources through this approach that combines the different dimensions of age, gender, culture, and ethnicity with transversal national and European links. If the financial reforms find ways of allocating resources more directly and simply, members of CEBSD and the Social Platform will make sure that every euro is used on all three sides.

European Structural Funds

The weakening of the social dimension has had an impact on the discussion of the Structural Funds 2007-2013. The reference to civil society as partners in the decision-making processes in Article 10 of General Regulation on Partnership has been deleted in the latest draft. This runs counter to the strong lobby in some new member states for a community development element to have a recognised place in the use of the Structural Funds. Current broader strategy also undermines support for entry into the labour market. The ACED project in the UK alert us to the current situation where "The Structural funds currently make a significant contribution to the operation of the voluntary and community sectors in England amounting to some €376 million per annum, allowing the sectors to run projects for over 300,000 beneficiaries most of whom are at the margins of the labour market. These funds also plays a significant role in supporting the work of partnerships within the Voluntary and Community sectors across Europe. Support for this work, which is largely financed by ESF stands to be reduced as a result of the allocations proposed."

Rather than a dilution of the contribution of civil society, the reference in Article 10 to any appropriate body representing civil society should be restored and strengthened with a line added "to monitor the quality and effectiveness of those partnerships as part of the annual control report, referred to in Article 61(1). "In addition, to ensure the involvement of social partners and enhance their capacity to allow them to play a full part at local and regional level in the delivery of programmes, a line should be added to Article 44 (1) on Technical Assistance. "At the initiative of the member states, for each operational programme, the Funds may finance preparatory, management, capacity building, monitoring, evaluation, information and control activities and activities to reinforce the administrative capacity, including that of civil society partners for implementing the funds within the following limits." You can contact Sue Webb of CDF on suewebb@easynet.co.uk

Ms or Mr Lisbon to implement disastrous policy?

In its streamlining of the Lisbon agenda the European Council has sidelined the commitment to social inclusion and social rights. The proposed Action Programme and the suggestion that "Governments should appoint a Mr or Ms Lisbon to take charge of implementation" lack any signs of an integrated strategy. The emphasis on creating jobs, increasing labour mobility and investing in human capital without including co-operation on housing, health and social protection risks failure of the whole Lisbon process. The lack of a social dimension on the economic strategy will lead to increased alienation of large sections of the European population. Commitments to gender mainstreaming, equality and fundamental rights will not be able to get off the pages of policy documents without successful social measures. The emphasis in the action programme on youth employment and increased mobility will be restricted to those from an advantaged background and open the way for a discontented, disaffected, marginalised group across a two-tier Europe.

Commissioner Špidla emphasises that the fight for gender equality must go on

’Men and women need to share professional and private responsibilities. This will be essential if the EU wants to create a modern society that is also competitive globally,’ says Mr Špidla at EU ministerial meeting. EU improvements in women’s increased employment rate and in their access to education where they now outnumber men in upper secondary education and graduate in greater numbers than men, are attributed to ongoing legislation, political will as stated in the Lisbon, Stockholm and Barcelona objectives and through a continuous and constructive dialogue with civil society.

In the EU there is still a 16% gap between men's employment rate and women's and the average gender pay gap in the EU has dropped only by 1% since 2001 to 15%. Women have difficulty getting back into the labour market after maternity leave. The EU conference and ministerial meeting will contribute to the Beijing Platform for Action 10th anniversary international meeting at the United Nations, New York in March. It should be highlighted there that future progress is undermined by the revision of the Lisbon objectives describe above. (Information from European Social Platform)

European Youth Pact

The European Youth Forum (EYF) hopes o see the adoption of a European Pact for Youth at the European Council in March. The EYF points to the imitative of the Spanish, French, German and Swedish heads of state at the European Council in November 2004, who wrote a joint letter to the Luxembourg Presidency urging it to make youth a priority and draw up a European Youth Pact. This was followed up by the Berlin Process (see Cool items)

The EYF believes it is vital for such a pact to cover issues of interest to young people, encourage active citizenship and promote young people's participation in society at large. In order to awaken young people's interest in the European Constitution, the European Youth Forum has announced that it will be launching a targeted awareness raising campaign in the next few months in all EU Member States. (Source: European Social Platform Newsletter)

Lessons from young Roma for European Policy makers.

Will the institutions of the European Union take note of the Pakiv European Roma Fund (PERF), which has made a series of recommendations at a meeting in December, organised with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights? A group of young Roma from Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia met to explore "successful community development methods" and to contribute to the processes surrounding the Decade of Roma Inclusion. European Policy-makers and lobbyists make superficial commitments to the active involvement of the peoples of Europe in our shared future but the institutions of the European Union has yet to show any awareness of the shared commitment to "community development" from the "bottom up" that exists in many civil society organisations such as PERF.

Their recommendation for the "training of local government officials in participatory development approaches" could also be usefully applied to the European Council and the Commission. They suggest the use of participatory assessment methods in National Action Plans with particular attention to youth, women and marginalized groups. Many of their recommendations echo those made in the Budapest declaration on "Building Civil Society in Europe through Community Development" and the work of CEBSD and others on participation and on good practice in community development. We welcome this breath of new life into community development theory and practice. Let's hope the European institutions take up some of their recommendations before these Young Roma have too many grey hairs. (Source Roma e-group)

Following Budapest

CEBSD has been invited to submit a final proposal for a Grundtvig Thematic Seminar on Training and Learning for Community Development. The proposal aims to stimulate and develop a network for exchange of policy and practice on this theme in the field of adult education and lifelong learning. Adult education is here seen in the context not only as that carried out in educational institutions but also in the actions of civil society in all areas of development. This initiative on informal life long learning has arisen from work on training and learning led by the Hungarian Association for Community Development and is part of the implementation of the Budapest Declaration. Contact project co-ordinator, Margo Gorman on co-ordinator@cebsd.org

European practice

Policy-makers and lobbyists lack understanding of the interchange between practice and policy on social inclusion. Short-term projects with limited follow-up and lack of connection between European programmes puts severe limitations on the dissemination and replication of good practice. Partners working in Oslo, Ghent, Bradford, Barcelona and Örebro on the CEBSD led project. "Good Practice in Community Development 2001/2002 (under Phase 1 of the European Union's Social Inclusion Programme) made great efforts to counteract these shortcomings by integrating positive experience into their practice and encouraging others to become involved e.g. Hungary and Denmark.

Commitment to organise a follow-up meeting was achieved in Brussels 10/11 December 2004 without matching European funds. Without the hospitality of the Flemish government, the event could not have gone ahead. Participation also depended on the generosity of national organisations and governments. One of the consequences of cutting corners due to lack of adequate budget meant that the diversity of representation suffered and some male speakers were inhibited by the lack of gender balance on the first day.

Paul Henderson, on behalf of CEBSD, presented a challenge in his keynote speech by contrasting the extent of poverty, polarization and suffering and range of very small-scale things: community play schemes, festivals, good neighbour schemes, outings and visits that are associated with community groups and community development. The practice examples responded well to the challenge to demonstrate the links between small-scale activities and wider social problems.

Measurement of the results of community development in Ghent was explored using the house as a symbol that enables local inhabitants to explore structural solutions to collective problems. The structure includes space for consultation, accessibility, group activities, communication and information. The Ghent group used the house symbol to demonstrate a model of evaluating whether "our projects actually help in dealing with social exclusion." The Barcelona Group developed a schedule of criteria and indicators of progress on diversity, social agency, communication, prevention, accessibility and dissemination. The Oslo group used their work to participate in Poverty Hearings in Norway and to develop a detailed scheme of assessment of principles against experience of social exclusion. They also devised a questionnaire for assessing the work of the Volunteer Bureau. (Their papers can be made available.) In Hungary and Denmark they are using community development practice to influence social policy on exclusion through contact with National Ministries and their National Action Plans on Social Inclusion.

The panel emphasised the gaps between policy and practice. There was a general consensus that the experience of community development as presented in the case studies and working groups was not understood by European institutions or many European networks that work on fundamental rights and social exclusion. Where there is significant community development work done in co-operation between regional and national governments and non-governmental organisations, this not shared intergovernmentally. Many local people experience the dynamic between policy commitment to fundamental rights and the realities of division, discrimination, poverty and exclusion through the principles and practice of Community Development in the forgotten corners of European cities and countryside

The Café Dialogue method benefited from the active involvement of all the participants. The task of making the practice to policy links presents a major challenge to CEBSD, to the European Social Platform and the European institutions.

European Social Development:

The Tsunami Disaster is a reminder of the Community Development policy implemented in practice is interdependent, intercultural and international. This is reflected in the many local community groups who express their solidarity with the people directly affected by the Tsunami. A lot of promises are made in a crisis like this but the experience of many communities is that the response fades when interest shifts to another crisis. Community Development practice emphasises the importance of long-term commitment to reconstruction and renewal. African community workers have more insight into international community development than policy makers as they can understand and identify with the work of CEBSD from looking at the website.

The work of members of CEBSD emphasises the importance of an on-going international focus - whether it is Desenvelopment Comunitari who work with groups in Morocco and have close international links, or CESAM in Sweden who support groups in Russia or the Budapest Declaration, which was developed with members of the International Association for Community Development with representation from Africa and Asia. This commitment to continuity and to using each coin on both sides is the main message that members of CEBSD have for the European Social Development in Brussels on 13th and 14th January 2005.

Adult Learners and Community Development

At a recent Board meeting, CEBSD members explored the distinction between a Leonardo project, which would be appropriate for a project on a vocational curriculum leading to a European professional qualification in community development and Grundtvig funding which explores adult education and learning including learning in an informal environment. In Eastern Europe there are good case studies and materials on training local people and the Hungarian Association for Community Development has 15 years of experience in this field. Reference was also made to the Bulgarian experience with Roma, experience in Poland and the Ukraine.

Important links between Community Development methodology and intercultural methodology are emerging especially in areas of conflict. There is a need for a space to have a deeper discussion about progression routes from activist right through to Masters level qualifications in community development. Board Members expressed their support for the pre-proposal for a seminar organised by CEBSD under Grundtvig and agreed to go ahead with a full proposal if the pre-proposal was accepted. There was some discussion of the places proposed for meetings and there would be further e-mail exchange to ensure that the best possible choices were made. Please contact the co-ordinator for more information: co-ordinator@cebsd.org

Social Europe?

The Spring Summit of European governments provided a signal of a certain level of continued commitment to a social Europe in the renewed commitment to social cohesion. CEBSD supports the strong lobby by the European Social Platform and its members to achieve a commitment to practice to back up this general policy commitment. Civil society must take on a more active role to make sure that politicians at national level develop policies and practices, which are consistent with a commitment to social inclusion and social cohesion across the European Union. The denial of a Social Europe has fuelled moves to undermine the ratification of the European Constitution for example in France where it has promoted euroscepticism ahead of the referendum.

It is reported in one of the regular bulletins from the Social Platform that Commission President José Manuel Barroso, reportedly accused French politicians of spreading euroscepticism ahead of the referendum. His remarks that some French politicians were "giving excuses to euro-phobes and euro-sceptics" came a few days after Mr. Chirac declared that the EU's proposed services directive - aimed at opening the market in services - is unacceptable and needs to be completely re-examined. A new poll conducted on 16 and 17 March by the CSA Institute revealed that 51 per cent of those questioned are planning to vote against the Constitution and 49 per cent will vote 'yes'. (See www.socialplatform.org for more information)

ACED: ACTIVE COMMUNITIES AND EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT

ACED: ACTIVE COMMUNITIES AND EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTACED have recently produced a publication called "What has being European done for us?" ACED is a EU project supported by the UK Active Communities Directorate of the Home Office. The partners are CSV and The Community Development Foundation. Our focus is based on the premise that: The Structural Funds could have a key role to play in strengthening citizen involvement in member states in national, regional and local development, in ways that would complement their national policy, in the next funding period. Email info@aced-eu.org for a copy

UN:Race and Gender

The 49th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women held at the UN in New York. provided an opportunity for the European Women's Lobby to monitor the European Union commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action, a framework of advancing women's rights. One of the powerful testimonies presented was of young Roma women leaders. They report that "Despite a difficult process that allowed only a few of the thousands of NGO representatives present for Beijing +10 to address the Commission, the group of Roma leaders garnered enough support from Commission and regional representatives to speak at two high-level sessions. At a session titled "Remaining Challenges in Relation to Statistics and Indicators," Alexandra Oprea, a U.S.-based Roma activist and writer, called for an intersectional approach to collecting race and gender-sensitive statistics to understand better the complex ways in which race and gender interact with and reinforce one another. A joint statement on Roma women's rights to the session on "The Role of Regional and Intergovernmental Organizations in Promoting Gender Equality," focused on the continued precarious position of Roma and Gypsy/Traveller women in Europe, ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action. The statement emphasized the need to address issues of both race and gender in promoting Roma women's rights, "We cannot afford to neglect the racialized dimensions of women's experiences if our goal is indeed to build an equality movement, as opposed to an exclusive women's movement," declared a representative. Contacts:

Debra Schultz (OSI): +1 917 365 6549

Commission proposes new programme to bridge the gap between the citizens and the EU

The European Social Platform Bulletin welcomes the recent proposal for a new programme to bridge the gap between citizens and the EU as part of the new generation of Community actions programmes for the period 2007-2013. It will encourage cooperation between citizens and their organisations from different countries in order to meet, to act together and to develop their own ideas in a European environment which goes beyond a national vision and which respects their diversity. These intercultural exchanges will contribute to improving the mutual knowledge of the culture and history of the European peoples and will bring our common heritage to the fore and strengthen the basis for our common future. Mutual understanding, solidarity and a feeling of belonging to Europe are indeed the building blocks for the involvement of citizens and are reflected by each of the programme's actions. CEBSD particularly welcomes the second action, "Active civil society for Europe" as this could offer the opportunity for support for follow-up work on the Budapest Declaration which emerged from the conference on building civil society in Europe through community development -which was sponsored by the International Association for Community Development, the Combined European Bureau for Social Development, and the Hungarian Association for Community Development under the patronage of the President of Hungary in 2004.
The budget of 235Million EURO (including administration) is for a seven year programme with the annual expenditure representing an increases from around 22MEURO for the current'Active Citizenship' programme to 33 MEURO per year. The Social Platform (CEBSD is a member) is mentioned specifically as a named beneficiary which would give us some security of funding. Simon Wilson, of the Social Platform, comments that "The proposal to include projects initiated by civil society organisations is also good news, particularly since it mentions the importance of developing a longer-term approach. We had pushed for this during the consultation, emphasising the need to allow support for projects and networks over a longer time-frame, rather than constantly looking for 'innovation' which can often mean abandoning good ideas simply because they are no longer 'new'. The Programme will be adopted under Article 151 (culture) and Art. 308, and so the Culture Council and Culture Committee in Parliament will be responsible for the Programme. We will be looking at the Programme in more detail, and seeking to make proposals to strengthen the Programme, and to support it through the legislative process." For more information on this new programme go to: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/education_culture/activecitizenship/index_en.htm

More focus on the European Commission:Year 2006, Year 2005,