The ETF will hold a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on 2-3 December 2010. The conference, entitled Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty through cooperation in education, training and work in EU neighbouring countries, is organised by the ETF with the support of the European Commission’s DG for Education and Culture, and in cooperation with the Belgian Presidency of the EU.

The event is part of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. It will bring together policymakers, officials and experts from the EU, the countries of the Western Balkans, the European Neighbourhood and Central Asia.

The purpose is to encourage discussions among policy makers and foster cooperation to promote social inclusion though education, training and work. All participants will bring their knowledge, cultures, values, policy priorities and experience from different contexts.


We talked to Lida Kita, ETF expert on social inclusion.

You have been doing research on the issue of social inclusion for years. You often travel to countries where this problem is especially serious. Tell us what it means in practice for a person to be socially excluded?

To be socially excluded means for example not to have an ID card. And because you don’t have an ID card or a birth certificate, something that most of us take for granted, you are not able to register for school, you are not able to participate in elections, and decide about the issues that concern you. To be excluded means not to be able to go to school because you don’t have money to buy books or shoes to walk for miles. Or it means not to be able to go to school because the school teaches in a language that you don’t understand. I could go on like this, giving more examples of exclusion.

Schools can include or exclude people. What’s education’s positive potential to create inclusive societies?

We have only recently started seriously discussing the role of education in social inclusion. At the ETF we believe that education has the potential to build more inclusive societies. It is true that sometimes education can divide people, create exclusiveness. Even with good intentions you can do harm.

Can you give an example?

For example, you set up special classes for language minorities so that they can make use of their fundamental right to education in their own language. And what you get is that afterwards the students are not able to integrate themselves in the labour market, which is dominated by the majority’s language.

So where can education make a positive difference?

Education can broaden the access for all people to further training and to jobs; it can make people more employable. What perhaps is even more important, education can create civic engagement, civic participation and civic ethics in the society. But, let’s be clear on one thing—education can’t solve all the problems. Social exclusion is a complex issue, tackling it is a process, and it requires understanding, and also resources and skills at the disposal of teachers, principals, communities, parents, and politicians.

What does the ETF do to make social inclusion a reality?

Within our mandate we try to foster discussions on this topic, for example, at conferences such as the one in Brussels in December. We support links between countries, we gather together international experts, local specialists, teachers and students. In our contacts with the decision-makers we promote policies that help make education systems overall more inclusive. Finally, we learn, collect evidence.

And what does the ETF do with this knowledge?

We share the knowledge with organisations in all 29 partner countries; we bring EU experience to the countries we work with. We also pass the information onto the European Commission, so that various EU services know where help is needed, where the EU can support the countries to enhance the quality of education, to improve access, to make education better and fairer.


Find out more:

Conclusive remarks from the Regional Conference regional meeting ‘Schools for Inclusive Education in the Western Balkans and Turkey’


Get involved
It is possible to participate in discussions during the event, as the conference is making use of web-based interactive tools and social media for communication in order to involve, virtually, more participants in the debates. The plenary sessions will be broadcasted live on the Internet.

Should you think about joining the conversation, please have a look at:

Promoting social inclusion Posterous blog
Promoting social inclusion Facebook page
Follow ETF tweets @etfeuropa and tweet us including #etfpsi