Mind the Gap - From Exclusion to Inclusion | Tackling Social Exclusion Conference 16/17th November 2011

The TSE conference is a two day event taking place in Southampton, jointly hosted by the partner cities of Gent, Rotterdam and Southampton. The conference will include a panel debate with presentations on aspects of social exclusion by speakers from across the European Union, as well as a practitioner debate which will allow an opportunity for representatives from each of the partner cities to showcase their projects.

The current economic climate is presenting challenges to many of our cities and member states, with sweeping spending cuts in the public sector at a time when the downturn in the economy has resulted in increased numbers of people out of work. Businesses and employers are responding to the recession by making savings in staff structures and in some cases significant reductions in staff numbers in order to stay in business. Figures show that the numbers of young people out of work across Europe is as high as one in five. With much of future economic growth expected to be in the knowledge and technology industry, alongside an expected significant decline in manual labour industry, is likely to lead to more people becoming potentially excluded from the labour market.

The EUROPE 2020 strategy adopted by the member states in 2010 mentions explicitly the importance of social innovation in social inclusion policy referring to ‘inclusive growth to empower people…ensuring access and opportunities for all’.

October 2011 sees the First Annual Convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion which will review progress made towards the headline target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020 and the implementation of the European Platform against Poverty.

This event will offer the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues and challenges relating to the social exclusion agenda and we look forward to your participation.