Suns of Europe

This Summer, one child out of three won't go on holidays

ESAN contributes to the success of Secours Populaire Français 2010 operation "Suns of Europe". Almost 1,500 children coming from different European countries will have the opportnuity for the first time in their life to go on holidays, moreover abroad, and will be hosted by volunteers from Secours Populaire Français for some days in France this summer. They will be brought together with French children from the same background on 19th of August in Paris.
A short information is available in French in the form of a Powerpoint presentation.(3 Mo).

Further details, amongst one a video clip, are also available in French at: http://www.secourspopulaire.fr/actualite.0.html?&cHash=739a269c7b&id_actu=3873

Please contact Christelle Claes (English spoken) for further details: esanbxl@gmail.com or +32 2 566 99 63

Press Release – 20.11.2009

20 years after in the European Union, Children become author/actor of their rights.

The European Social Action Network, E.S.A.N., is active for more than 20 years in the field of the defence of the Rights of the Child through diverse actions carried out at grass-root level by its members across 14 Member States.

This year to celebrate the 20th birthday of the UN Convention, European children and youngsters put into practice the notion of young people author / actor of solidarity by conceiving an educative journey addressing 12 of their rights. This exhibit guides the visitors through entertaining and artistic presentations on the journey from the basic rights of the individual until the emancipation and the empowerment of the young people towards more citizenship and solidarity. The exhibit presents good practices carried out by or with children and youngsters all over Europe and is composed of 4 main areas dealing with Rights related to vital needs, Rights related to Child protection, Rights related to the access to culture and equal opportunities, and finally Rights which ease the live in society as well as the link between generations.

As announced at the Council of Europe during the seminar « Children : respect their rights » organised by ESAN last 5-6th of October, the organisation Secours Populaire Français, member of ESAN held on 13-15th of November 2009 in Nantes a conference entitled « Etats généraux populaires de la solidarité".
Dozens of children representing the movement created by SPF « Copains du Monde » - some of them coming from South Africa and Indonesia – expressed themselves during these three days so that children rights are respected throughout the world. They took the floor, sang their hopes in front of 1,000 participants and guests. This meeting had been prepared by thousands of children who had filled in booklets with drawings showing the world as they want it better. Other children in Europe, particularly from Portugal, Romania, France had presented an astonishing exhibition on children's rights in Strasbourg.
To keep on building a better world for all, together with them, ESAN proposes to each educator, youth leader, NGO that are active in the field of Youth and children to get in touch with each other to share their working methods that promote the UNCRC.
Léon Dujardin
Contact in Brussels: Christelle CLAES : esanbxl@gmail.com
Contact in France : Anthony PAULISSEN: info@esan.eu

20 years of joint commitments of NGOs, Public authorities, Foundations

A Seminar organised by ESAN at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 5th - 6th October 2009

For the attention of the participants: Please click here for pratical information.

For more than 20 years, in all EU countries, NGOs, social workers, educators who are closely working with children endeavour to contribute to raise the awareness of Children about their rights. The organisations and their members elaborate pedagogical methods tailored to the implementation of all principles underpinned in the UNCRC. Supports from public authorities, foundations, individual donors enable them to exert their activities.

For several years now, ESAN is supporting all initiatives that promote these principles thanks to its network. ESAN has for long committed to these principles by embarking on various European projects. The Seminar to take place in October firstly aims to communicate on and share experiences to enable each of us to improve and enrich its practices. To this regards, ESAN wishes to offer to all social players the possibility to take some benefit from this EU-wide sharing of experiences, this exchange of methods, initiatives and means developed and used by each organisation.

Re-shaping the European Social Model

The ESAN Council has drawn up this following document in order to support the ESAN members calling on their candidates standing for EU elections on the following issues, which ESAN considers being at stake regarding further EU development.

A Programme for Europe: propositions from the Civil Society

At the plenary session of 24.03.09, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted a strategic, long-term document on the current political debate and the challenges ahead – A Programme for Europe: proposals of civil society. The Committee has presented the EU institutions with a set of concrete measures and initiatives needed to overcome the economic crisis and support sustainable growth in the years to come. It has also taken a position on the European elections, calling on the other institutions, the Member States and stakeholders to ensure that the June elections discuss matters of European interest and not just national issues.
EESC 's President Mario Sepi underlined the novelty of the Programme for Europe: proposals of civil society, which sets out a global, strategic and long-term vision for the future of Europe.

The document contains a number of recommendations taken from the EESC's opinions on four main pillars: economic recovery, fundamental rights and the European social model, sustainable development and governance.

The "Learning Without Barriers" Network

The European Network "Learning without Barriers" was born through the initiative of "ESAN-France" and Secours Populaire Français and was supported by the European Commission in the framework of the EU programme Socrates Action Grundtvig 4. Although the project officially ended last September 2008, the work in this field will go on with the support of ESAN aisbl and the new organisation "ESAN French Relay" and the "Association pour développer la solidarité de l'enfant" (ADS 8-12) in the framework of two projects at least :

« Valoriser les personnes pour favoriser leur accès à l'emploi »

The Seminar that ESAN aisbl will organise in Strasbourg in October 2009. Indeed, it will allow youth leaders and children educators to share and exchange their working methods that aim at the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.

TOGETHER FOR MORE SOLIDARITY

In April, the members of the European Social Action Network (ESAN) have scheduled three important meetings to contribute to more solidarity in Europe, to a more caring Europe in these times of global crisis that inreases poverty.

2009, Celebration of the UN Convention on the rights of children

On 2 and 3 April in Paris, the members of the ESAN Children Working Group (Matilde SIRGADO and ELZA CHAMBEL from the « Instituto de apoio a crianca – Portugal », Diana NISTORESCU from « Fédératia Organizatillor Negouvernamentale pentru Projectia Coplllului – Romania » Monique MOREIRA and Jean BAUTIER from « ESAN Relais Français », Marion BACHELET from Secours Populaire Français met together with the President of ESAN and Anthony PAULISSEN and Christelle MAES CLAES in order to prepare:
The meeting between the ESAN representatives and Secours Populaire Français,
A seminar in Strasbourg to be held on 5-6 October intitled: CHIDLREN: RESPECT THEIR RIGHTS – 20 years of joint commitments by NGOs, public authorities, foundations, the Council of Europe and the European Union. This seminar will be preceded by the ESAN AGM on 4th of October.
On 3rd of April, still, in the premises of the Union Nationale des Centres Communaux d'Action Sociale à Paris (UNCCAS) the representatives of ESAN on the one hand and Daniel ZIELINSKI, Delegate-general of UNCCAS and of ELISAN (« European Local Inclusion et Social action Network ») on the other hand have presented their respective work programmes to each other. As a reminder, ELISAN is an associate member of ESAN and ESAN is an observer at ELISAN. This meeting allowed to prepare closer co-operation whilst respecting each other's specificity.
On 16-17 April close to HELSINSKI in Finlande, the members of the ESAN Council will meet to define what the members' actually expect from European policies, taking into account the next election of the European Parliament.
On 29-30 April , representatives from ESAN will meet representatives from Secours Populaire Français to explore further and closer co-operation, promote more solidarity for the benefit of the children, who are innocent victims of poverty, at the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the rights of Children.

2010, European Year against Poverty. Secours Populaire Français, with the support of ESAN, which it contributed to set up, will bring together children from across Europe during summertime.

2011, European Year of volunteering, ESAN will celebrate its 20th anniversary. At this occasion, it aims at promoting volunteering even further so that volunteers together with professionals also contribute to make Europe everybody's business, and to strengthen solidarity.

Would you be interested by one of these topics and/or events, please contact: info@esan.eu
Léon Dujardin
President of ESAN aisbl

10th of December 2008, 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The European Social Action Network, in line with this declaration, encourages all NGOs to co-operate to achieve a better respect of Human Rights, including the recognition of Children as individuals entitled with rights.

On 11 and 12 December 2008, Christoph KUSCHE, Vice president of ESAN and Christophe RUFFIN, member of the ESAN Council both take part to a seminar organised in Nice by the Fédération nationale des associations d'accueil et de réinsertion sociale (FNARS), another ESAN member, about Social Work. They will tackle the issue: Is Social Work still useful for something?

There are more and more forms of exclusion, as this organisation observed.

Secours Populaire Français, also a member of ESAN made the same observation, at the launching event of its "Pères Noël Vert" (Green Santa Claus) campaign, on Monday the 8th of December.

The members and partners concerned with Youth activities, which attended the round table in Brussels last 4 and 5 December, have shared their experiences and thought of future joint actions involving young people that are based on the same values.

Together with ESAN members, let us work for the respect of Human Rights.

Léon Dujardin, President of ESAN

An opinion by Mike Doran

Mike Doran, Director of Community and Supported Housing at Dane Housing Group (North West of England), gave us his opinion on how we can contribute to financial inclusion.

Download full contribution

More information available at: MikeDoran@danehousinggroup.co.uk

A CHALLENGE TODAY,
BUILDING EUROPE ON SOLIDARITY...

In Lisbon it is about supporting street children, in Brussels one can see initiatives allowing residents of a deprived area to have more opportunities, in Paris and in Lille one keeps fighting discrimination and violence towards women and children, in Warsaw and Dortmund help is provided to unemployed people, in Bucharest help is provided to orphans, in Madrid, Barcelona, Saragossa...it is about promoting ethical banks and social enterprises...

It is about being actively involved all across Europe where the rights, the needs, the hopes and the dignity of adults and children are left out, neglected, and disregarded.

Being actively involved in more than 18 European countries, the European Social Action Network wants to promote a social Europe, which would include the most fragile part of the population.

Invest in the achievement and development of this network, this Europe ... Help us provide support to the children suffering from extreme poverty, to those females who are destroyed by violence and humiliation, to those individuals who want to find their place down here on Earth, to contribute to a more humane world, together with the NGO that give them support.

Léon DUJARDIN
President
January 2008

Strengthening the role of Bulgarian and Romanian Third Sector

From May 2006 to December 2007, the Romanian NGO, FDP, Foundation for the Development of the People, with the help of FONPC, the Federation of NGOs Active in Child Protection, member of ESAN, managed a EUC-funded project in collaboration with Bulgaria in order to boost the potential of Bulgarian and Romanian Civil Society Organisations and therefore to improve the quality and scope of social services.

On the 6th and 7th of December the closing conference of this project was held in Sofia, Diane Grossot, Development Officer of ESAN, represented the network. She proposed the following feedback from the President of the Bulgarian association Roditeli, which hosted the conference.

The summer session of the International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO) enjoying a participatory status with the Council of Europe that was held last 26th of June was focused to develop the future organisation of the thematic work within the Conference of INGO's. As representatives of ESAN, Leon Dujardin and Christoph Kusche attended this session.

Zaragoza, 20 and 21 September 2007

Alain Philippe, President of the Pôle européen des fondations du secteur de l'économie sociale (European Platform of Foundations from the the field of Social Economy) has contributed to the preparation of the 20 & 21 September 2007 Saragossa Meeting "One Society: inclusive routes to progress together" with the attached article "Work integration" (only French version available so far).

The defense of human rights in Europe - a topical task of the INGO's in the Council of Europe

The winter session of the International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO) enjoying a participatory status with the Council of Europe that was held last 30th of January was completely marked by the issue of the protection of human rights in Europe. As representatives of ESAN, Leon Dujardin and Christoph Kusche attended this session.

Report from the workshop "The political role of social services providers in defining and negotiating social values" organised by ESAN and ICSW.

The European Social Platform organised on 5-6 December 2006 a Conference on "Social values and Democracy: renewing the guiding principles of the European Union". ESAN has accepted to co-operate with ICSW to organise and run a workshop on the political role of social services providers in defining and negotiating social values.

The workshop titled "The political role of social services providers in defining and negotiating social values" investigated if the standard definitions of social services are actually capturing the whole range of services at present. The question was what the defined "standard services" have in common that makes them distinctive as social services of general interest.

Brief thoughts on the National Action Plan for inclusion process.
By Fernanda Rodrigues , Co-ordinator of the Portuguese National Action Plan for Inclusion
Jan. 2007

"Here we go again" - these are the words of a very famous song of Ray Charles that in the refrain insists on the idea of "one more time". As a professional on the field of Poverty and Social Exclusion for a long time (ever since my professional career) looking at the "new" wave of the NAPincl (2006-2008), the words of this song just came on my mind as an adequate background. Let´s think about some of the reasons.

The Heads of States and Governments celebrated the 50th Birthday of the EU last 25 March 2007. Will it be a source of hope?

Yes it will if the European institutions strive for a right balance between a developed economy and a high standard and coherent social policy;
Yes it will if Europe gives itself the means to inform and communicate with its citizens so that they can feel Europe is everybody's business and that every human being can find respect in Europe;
No it will not if injustice, selfishness and discrimination are not more combatted.

ESAN invites you to join it, to reach these objectives as it has been doing for 16 years now, when it was created, and to achieve a more caring and human Europe based on Solidarity.

Léon Dujardin, President of ESAN

"It is an illusion to believe there would be a miraculous solution to eradicate homelessness" said Nicole Maestracci, President of Fédération Nationale des Associations d'Accueil et de Réinsertion Sociale (National Federation of Housing Associations) in France, and Michel Mercadié, Secrétaire général of FNARS and FEANTSA (European Federation of associations working with homeless people), also a member of the European Social Action Network Board, in an article published in the national French newspaper Le Monde, 29 December 2006. In this article, entitled "Sans-abri en Europe" (Homeless in Europe), they first take note of the increase of the number of rough sleepers in most of the big cities in Europe, then list some of the answers that different national authorities give (in Germany, the UK, Denmark, Ireland) to interpellate the French authorities on the necessity to adopt and implement a strategy to address this issue and call for a consensus meeting that would bring together both French and European experts.

Full text (French version only available for the moment, 570 Ko.)