The European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) Malta yesterday held a conference on ‘Employment challenges and opportunities for persons experiencing social exclusion and poverty’, providing an opportunity to socially excluded persons to voice their concerns and recommendations with politicians, policy makers, unions and service providers.

EAPN Malta believes that access to employment is one of the key means to eradicate poverty and social exclusion. Work does not provide income only but helps people to build social networks, to integrate, to have dignity and access other goods and services to have a good quality of life. It also believes that employment is not the only solution to getting people out of poverty and social exclusion. NGOs working with people facing difficulties and the people themselves who are facing challenges to be included in society and to come out of poverty, know very well that accessing the labour market is not easy and is sometimes impossible. Therefore this requires policy makers, NGOs, unions and employers to come together with the very people who are facing such challenges and difficulties to find realistic solutions and recommend policies that move towards the eradication of social exclusion and poverty.

EAPN Malta organised a number of focus groups with the people that its member organisations work with on a daily basis. The key aim of this exercise was not academic. It is a means to listen and to give a voice to persons facing difficulty, especially to access and survive the labour market.

The organisation hopes that in the coming years it will look at other areas that affect people facing social exclusion and or poverty. Areas will include access to health, to education, to entertainment, arts and culture, transport and other goods and services. The focus will remain that of listening and giving a voice to persons facing difficulties.

EAPN Malta has presented a detailed report of the focus groups which included the concerns and recommendations expressed by the participants. A copy of the report was given to Ministers Dolores Christina and Louis Galea and to Ms Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.