- ATD Fourth World

• Preparation documents : What is futures forecasting? - Gloomy prospects in Europe

Thursday 24 January 2002

Introduction, by Mr Patrick Venturini, Secretary General of the European Economic and Social Committee.

Fears of and expectations for the future of the poorest people in Europe , by Mr Frans Polen and Mr Herman Van Breen, for the European region of the ATD Fourth World Movement.

Secular trends in Europe with regard to the poorest groups: Future challenges , by Mr Bronislaw Geremek, historian and former Polish Foreign Minister.

Presentation of exploratory scenarios on the development of insecurity and extreme poverty in Europe towards 2010 , by Mr Hugues de Jouvenel, Director of the Futuribles Group, and Mr Xavier Godinot, Director of the Research and Training Institute of ATD Fourth World.

Five workshops will be devoted to a discussion and dialogue on those points that appear to be the most decisive in the battle against insecurity and extreme poverty.

Workshop 1. What new legal instruments are required for the battle against precariousness and extreme poverty in Europe?

Applying the principle of fundamental rights for all will require new legal innovations, for example, the requirement that poverty be eliminated should be written into any future constitution for Europe, a charter of fundamental rights should be included in the treaties, etc. Additional action would include the creation of genuine consultative status for NGO vis-à-vis the European institutions, significant legislative progress in the various member states, etc.

The first part of the workshop (on Thursday afternoon) will focus on examining those practices authorised by the law that can impinge on the fundamental rights of the poorest members of the population, and the legal instruments required to apply these rights. The second part will concentrate on the "structured civil dialogue" and its prerequisites.

Rapporteur: François Vandamme, in charge of international relations at the Belgian Federal Ministry of Labour.

Workshop 2. Economic performance and human development: points of convergence, points of conflict.

There is still a vast gulf between companies, whose actions are dictated by market considerations and bound by specific constraints, the economic and financial institutions, concerned primarily with growth, and those institutions and NGO seeking to apply human rights. Each of these actors needs to step up its dialogue with the others if economic performance is to be reconciled with human development for the common good.

What new partnerships will be required to afford the most disadvantaged members of our society access to training and a decent job? This issue will be tackled from two angles: firstly, from the point of view of those companies and financial institutions that help to implement the mechanisms used to combat poverty, and secondly from the standpoint of the most disadvantaged workers: "How can the informal jobs created by the victims of poverty be transformed into decent jobs? How can their hidden talents be converted into recognised skills?"

Rapporteur: Marjorie Jouen, Consultant to "Notre Europe" (Our Europe), a research and study group

Workshop 3. How can the abilities of poor sections of society be built upon and how can these people be given easier access to their fundamental rights?

Clearly, this question applies to all European countries, but it will be examined from the viewpoint of the poorest groups within the populations of Eastern Europe.

Rapporteur: Mr Louis Join-Lambert, ATD Fourth World permanent volunteer, from the office in Neudorf (Germany) responsible for contacts with Eastern Europe.

Workshop 4. In a world that is marked by the irreversible rise in individualism, how can solidarity be promoted within Europe and with the rest of the world?

The spotlight will be focussed on solidarity with Europe’s poor, with those who, though resident there, have their origins elsewhere (refugees, immigrants), and with the poor on other continents, thereby raising the question about co-operation policies in Europe.

Rapporteur: Mr Gérard Fonteneau, consultant to the European Trade Union Confederation.

Workshop 5. How to determine the ’participatory indicators’ of the fight against poverty in Europe

The choice of indicators for the fight against poverty and exclusion will have significant consequences. Either we select indicators that silence the poorest members of society and further increase bureaucracy, or we opt for indicators devised in a participatory manner involving the most disadvantaged groups and their social partners. The opportunities and risks presented by the various indicators used by the European Union will be examined.

First part of the workshop will focus on the type of indicator to promote. The second part will concern strategies to implement or promote the necessary indicators, as well as with the question of which actors should be influenced or entered into partnership with.

Rapporteur: Mrs Fran Benett, lecturer at Oxford University (Great Britain), researcher for Euronet on child poverty and social exclusion in the European Union.

Friday 25 January 2002

Chair: Mrs Anne-Marie Lizin, Member of the Belgian Parliament, independent expert to the United Nations on Human Rights and extreme poverty.

The conditions for partnership with people living in poverty , by Ms Béatrice Deroitte, Mr Marc Couillard and Mr Claude Ferrand, representatives of the "Fourth World Partners" programme.

The expectations of the peoples of other continents with regard to Europe , by Mr Azzedine Abdelmadjid, Vice-President of the African Co-ordination of Human Rights NGO, President of the Algerian Committee of Peoples and Human Rights.

Workshops

Report back from workshops and discussion animated by Ms Lizin

Prospects , by Mr Philippe Maystadt, President of the European Investment Bank.

Conclusions , by Mr Bruno Couder, Deputy Director General of the International Movement ATD Fourth World.