Social Policy

Together for Social Europe - the view of social workers

On 29 April 2009, social workers came to the heart of European democracy, the European Parliament, to share their experiences of working with poor and vulnerable people with European decision makers.

Below are interviews with the social workers who came to Brussels that day and the presentations that they gave:

Dietmar Altenberg from Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Germany

What do you do?

I develop projects in the field of psychiatry, dealing with the rehabilitation of mentally ill persons in AWO´s Hannover branch.

What does AWO do?

AWO provides social services and deals with all social policies. It is a membership-based organisation made up of professional and volunteers.

What are the main issues that you face with caring for mentally ill persons?

Firstly, the need to change social services from institutionalised care to home-based care. Secondly, that our clients services should not be provided as a special service but mainstreamed in all services, for example, a business where both mentally handicapped and not mentally handicapped people work together.

What are your top tips to European decision makers?

We first need to build a solid foundation before social inclusion can be given a chance, and we need common EU social standards between Member States.

See Dietmar's presentation on handicapped care.

Leo Coenders from Humanitas, The Netherlands

What do you do?

I support all home administration projects in East Holland. That is to say helping out people to get their administration at home sorted out, giving them an insight into their financial situation and teaching them to do it themselves in the end.

What does the Humanitas do?

Humanitas aims to encourage citizens’ participation in society.

What are the main issues that you face working with overindebted people?

That some people live in a vicious circle and cannot get out; they need to be empowered to take control of their lives.

What are your top tips to European decision makers?

You can only succeed when you change the attitude and behaviour of people, and organisations must be supported financially to be able to work on programmes with long term goals.

See Leo's presentation on overindebtedness.

Pablo Alejandro Ramírez Obando from Assamblea de Cooperacion por la Paz (ACPP), Spain

What do you do?

I introduce strategies to promote immigrant’s participation in ACPP and in society.

What does ACPP do?

ACPP aims to empower civil society in Spain and in all countries where it works.

How are you promoting immigrant participation in Spanish society?

We carried out a process to see how to make Spain an intercultural society. The process consisted in bringing together Spanish nationals and migrants with and without papers. Together, we decided that the overarching aim was to get immigrants to fully participate in society. These aims were then adopted by ACPP. ACPP supports the participation of migrants in society but not migrants participating only in migrants' associations.

What are your top tips to European decision makers?

Speak directly with the people, and remember that human rights are for all humans.

See Pablo’s presentation on co-development.

Stanislav Stach from Czech Council for Foreign Affairs/Rada Pro Mezinarodni Vztahy

What do you do?

I coordinate various projects within my organisation.

What does the Czech Council for Foreign Affairs do?

The aim of CCFE is to disseminate information about the Czech Republic and global foreign policy and make proposals to Czech institutions on foreign policy.

What are the main issues that you face in implementing your project on decent work and foreign workers?

The fact that foreign workers stay separated from Czech society and that Czechs are wary of foreign workers. CCFE aims to integrate foreign workers better into society.

What is your top tip to European decision makers?

They need to convince people that the social aspect of life and decent work are the basis of life.

See Stanislav's presentation on Decent work and migrant workers.

Séverine Karko from Pour la Solidarité, Belgium

What do you do?

I manage projects on Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity. I’m specifically in charge of the project “Early school leavers”.

What does Pour la Solidarité do?

The European Think Tank Pour la solidarité is a service provider for socio-economic and political stakeholders. We work on 4 main issues which are social affairs, sustainable development, citizenship and participative democracy and CSR & Diversity

What are the main issues that you face with early school leavers?

We face many problems on the labour market: unemployment of young people, discrimination based on origin, gender, disability, etc.

What is your top tip to European decision makers?

We need a strong social Europe with a high level of social protection, equality and solidarity.

See Séverine's presentation on early school leavers.

Read more about SOLIDAR's Together for Social Europe campaign...