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EC Conference Responding to new social realities.
Developing an EU Agenda for Opportunities,
Access and Solidarity.
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EC Conference - Brussels, 5-6 May 2008
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Venue: Charlemagne Building, Rue de la Loi 170
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The Conference taking place in Brussels on the 5-6 May 2008 is organised by the European Commission to meet the following objectives;
- To provide a platform for a social policy dialogue that is responsive to new challenges in European societies.
- To open a discussion aimed at public engagement and consensus building in the context of new social realities in ensuring the best way forward.
- To produce input that will ultimately feed into the preparation and definition of the renewed Social Agenda in mid-2008.
The Conference will provide valuable input into the discussion on how Europe should respond to its current social challenges in an era of globalization and create discussion on how Europe should renew its social agenda.
The Social Policy Agenda forms part of the integrated European approach towards achieving economic and social improvements, known as the Lisbon Strategy. One of the starting points of the Conference is the renewed Social Agenda adopted in 2005, which describes the EU’s roadmap for modernizing and improving the European social model as: “A social Europe in the global economy: jobs and opportunities for all”.
The social agenda is dynamic. To make sure that it evolves in line with changes in European society, the Commission launched a "Social Reality Stocktaking", in 2007. This public consultation has generated a better understanding of the changes underway in European societies today: globalization, demographic trends, mobility. The consultation has also produced a debate on social realities across Europe. A broad range of views on current social trends, access to education and employment, as well as on the implications of changing social relationships has emerged (see in particular the following website: The Citizens' Agenda). It aims to build a consensus on the nature of common European social challenges, bringing together views from a range of stakeholders, the Member States and other EU institutions.
Building on the initial results of the consultation, a ‘Communication on Opportunities, Access and Solidarity’ was adopted in November 2007 (COM (2007) 726 final). It set out a range of possible responses to the social challenges that Europe faces. This document sets the context for renewing the social agenda over the medium term and provides a solid basis for discussions at the Conference.
The event addresses representatives of EU and national authorities and networks in the domain of social policy, representatives of national, regional and local authorities as well as social partners, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, and researchers active in the domain of social policy.
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Download the conference agenda ( ~ 24 Kb) |
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