We should be proud of our progress but we need to ensure that what we have attained we will keep, and what we desire and need does not become mere aspiration.
Culture, creativity and innovation are the key sources of growth, investment and new jobs. For this to be achieved there must be early, pre-school learning and primary education for the development of basic competences, that is, the knowledge, skills and attitudes that equip people to live and work in modern European society, and to acquire additional knowledge.
Society is changing, but whatever the change we must still have the right to the pursuit of happiness. Social inclusion and or exclusion are related to various aspects of life – ranging from employment to education, culture and leisure, housing to social welfare – limited time and human needs. Social exclusion is not just about basic conditions. It is about not having access to the things most people take for granted – basic skills, a job, and a decent home, a sufficient income and contact with friends and family. It is about not having power over your life and your future. There are new challenges ahead.
Living alone does not in itself mean social exclusion, of course, but it can increase the risks and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Older people are particularly vulnerable. We have a duty to ensure the ageing generation doesn’t become a lonely generation.
The same applies to children. With both parents working, and with their grandparents still fulfilling their career, children sometimes do find themselves with excess time on their hands which makes them feel lonely at home. Television watching is not trendy anymore, and lonely children’s companions have become the ICT and the new media, instead of books and other appropriate material for reading.
When we consider the facts we find that there are other realities happening around us, to which we might not be giving due consideration. Victims of domestic violence, persons with literacy challenges, migrants, persons with a mental illness, persons with different abilities, persons with a history of substance abuse, homeless persons and also former convicts, all of whom could be finding stumbling blocks which include age discrimination, social stigmas and class stereotyping. Such social influences bring about material poverty and negative self-labelling. Above all these people could be finding themselves in a vicious circle of abuse and discrimination.
Last year EAPN Malta, the network of 53 NGOs and groups fighting poverty and social exclusion in Malta, held a national conference on “Employment challenges and opportunities for persons experiencing social exclusion and poverty”. Even if the outcome of the conclusions arrived at during the conference were ever to be met still the fulfillment of the aspirations of the social cases would leave much to be desired.
The European Union is now proposing that 2010 will be the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. Now let us put the record straight. We do not see people around Malta and Gozo begging for money in our streets, but yet in our homes, there are people who suffer in silence. And because we do not live in a vacuum and we are not aliens, and because we are part of the European family, therefore we are part of the 78 million European citizens who live in poverty or at risk of poverty.
My Italian colleague and Member of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) Linetta Serri, rapporteur for the adopted opinion “European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010)”, last June clearly stated that the proposal by the European Commission to designate 2010 for this important matter is to aim at building on the EU’s initial political commitment, expressed in the EU Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs; that is of making “a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty”.
The Members of the Committee of the Regions agreed that we need widespread awareness, otherwise money spent on fighting poverty, social exclusion and deprivation would be money sent down the drain or a wasteful cost for society. We must target young people in particular in our awareness-raising projects both during the Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and beyond. We must focus on “new risks” of poverty against the backdrop of rising prices and an uncertain economic outlook because it is a very tough time especially for households where there is only one wage earner.
It is the European Commission itself that says that 2010 should focus on child poverty, an inclusive labour market, access to basic services, education and training, the gender dimension of poverty, overcoming discrimination and addressing the needs of disabled people and other vulnerable groups. This is a need that must not become mere aspiration whereby the right for the pursuit of happiness can become attainable.
Claudette Abela Baldacchino is a Member of the Committee of the Regions – EU [email protected]