Bridges for Inclusion: Enhancing Employment, Social Welfare, and Social Inclusion Partnership

1. VS/2007/0615 MUTUAL LEARNING ON SOCIAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL PROTECTION

2. PARTNERSHIP • European Anti-Poverty Network (Portugal – leading partner); • European Anti-Poverty Network - Castilla La Mancha • Union Régionale des Entreprises d’Insertion – Languedoc Roussillon • Flemish Network of Associations of People Experiencing Poverty • Anti-Poverty Information Centre • Caritas Romania Confederation • European Anti-Poverty Network • International Labour Office

3. MAIN OBJECTIVE make more clear and effective the relationship between employment, social welfare and social inclusion and to enhance strategies and practices, particularly those coming from the fields of social economy and local development, where this positive relation can be concretized.

4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES • Conducting a European survey on social and employment inclusion, to produce a catalogue of real ‘employment and social welfare for inclusion’ measures and actions in each country or region); • Put in evidence the relevant actions concerning the connection between employment, inclusion and protection (active inclusion) and social economy through a kind of ‘peer review’ action • Demonstrate (by putting in evidence concrete actions and micro-projects) the power, capability and added value of social economy to produce active inclusion with different publics trough employment specific measures • Use CIARIS as a powerful tool of mutual learning for designing and implementing active inclusion social policies (minimum income, employment and others) by capitalizing current knowledge ad practices and providing technical assistance in the framework of the Structural Funds • Produce a ‘road map’ for inclusion taking in consideration: different actors, different strategies, different publics and different contexts

5. ACTIVITIES… European General overview on Employment and Inclusion Policies: Development of a report with an overview on Employment and Social Inclusion policies during the last 10 years in Europe. This report will be developed by an external expert.

6. …ACTIVITIES… National / Regional Researches: The aim of national / regional researches is identify key strategies, programmes and actions in the field of the promotion of employment and the social welfare for inclusion. The 2nd phase of this working package is organising national / regional Workshops between different actors for the discussion of these reports. Each partner will be responsible for the elaboration of its report and development of the workshops in their own country.

7. …ACTIVITIES… Bilateral Peer Reviews: • Each partner will organize a peer review to receive another partner. This peer review could be a workshop or visits involving 3 or 4 experiences of inclusion through employment initiatives. • Portugal/Spain • France/Belgium • Romania/Bulgaria

8. …ACTIVITIES Selection of experiences: Each partner will select 3 or 4 different experiences/organisations confronted with problems of poverty and social exclusion. They will constitute a laboratory for designing strategies of “bridging” employment initiatives to social inclusion and fight against poverty and social exclusion.

9. OUTPUTS • Report of the European general overview on employment and inclusion policies during the last 10 years; • National reports • Report of National Peer Reviews • Package of on-line training on capacity building bridging employment, social protection and social inclusion strategies in the fight against poverty and social exclusion • Improvement and update of CIARIS • Road Map

10. www.bridgesforinclusion.reapn.org