‟Social inclusion policies under European frame: from austerity to precariat” is the tittle of Javier Farto López’s, President of Documenta, lecture which was presented within the Inclusion Policies in Cantabria under a European Perspective Forum which was organized by EAPN Cantabria and EAPN Spain -European AntiPoverty Network-. It took place on the 20th November at the facilities of the University of Cantabria.
The aim of the event was to make an analysis of the implementation of the European guidelines at regional level and to enrich the debate about how regional inclusion policies should be in order to assure citizens’ rights.
In his speech, Javier Farto pointed out the double social message the EC is sending: while the social budget is being reduced and the economistic is being promoted due to the excuse of the crisis, the idea of solidarity and social inclusion as a strategic factor for European growth is being spread (Strategy 2020). While the countries that don’t accomplish economic aims regarding deficit suffered from a hard discipline, soft discipline is applied regarding social and environmental aims.
According to the speaker, due to the crisis excuse ‟social exclusion is raising and this is jeopardizing social balance and democracy”, and its main reason “is not public debt or deficit but financial speculation, fraud, and tax evasion, black economy and UE management”.
Other topics addressed by the speaker along his lecture were the raising of precariousness which results in a new social group and the restriction of solidarity means that mark to those people who are out of the system; the breakdown of the social pact and the veiled message that points to society and citizens as responsible of the exclusion – “we are going towards the American model, in which society there are not poor or excluded people, there are only losers”-. The different action strategies and UE plans regarding social inclusion were commented as well.
DISCUSSION FORUM “Inclusion policies in Cantabria, present and future”
Then followed the “Inclusion policies in Cantabria, present and future” discussion forum in which experts from different fields shared a variety of social inclusion approaches. The participants were Mercedes Palacios Blanco, head of Department Social Management in ICASS; Loreto Novoa Oria, president of EAPN Cantabria, Josefina Fernández, person in charge of CSR within the International Cooperation Cathedra with Iberoamerica in the UC; Fernando Gutiérrez, member of the Citizen Platform against Health Exclusion; and Juan Carlos Zubieta Irún, from the Sociology Workshop University of Cantabria.
The discussion was deep and it allowed outlining the situation of the inclusion policies in Cantabria and showing the need of cooperation between Public and Third Sectors to develop the Inclusion Plans in Cantabria.
To close the event, Anna Menen, Educational technician, participated. She presented the Learning Programme implemented by the Municipality of Mataró. An interesting approach about networks to inclusion.
The event was recorded and it will be available soon through EAPN Cantabria site.
