Talking about Social Inclusion
What do we mean with "inclusion"?
We are not only talking about including people with disability. In the project "Inclusion is Fusion", we are generally talking about social inclusion of youth which means we focus on actively including people with fewer opportunities.Here is a quick overview of the most relevant facts speaking about social inclusion in the European Union.
According to the European Commission, 47,3% of projects in the Youth in Action project indicated that they addressed the priority of inclusion and one in four participans had "fewer opportunities". Now, in the Erasmus+ projects, do you think it has changed?
Social inclusion was a key priority of the Youth in Action programme and the subsequent Erasmus + programme as well as an indirect goal of the ‘Youth Guarantee’ approach. The more recent Erasmus+ Inclusion and Diversity Strategy is trying to push further measures in a more strategic way.
It is sometimes hard to define, who is disadvanted or with fewer opportunities. Comparing youth from the Balkan region with youth from Germany, you would probably assume that all the youth from the Balkan region are disadvantaged given that they have more socio-economic challenges.
Do you have any further research on that?
Defining Social Inclusion
First of all, social exclusion refers to processes that prevent individuals, groups or communities from accessing the rights, opportunities and resources (e.g. housing, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation) that are normally available to members of society and which are key to social integration. Responsible for social exclusion are often structural forces, such as: laws, public policies, institutional practices, organizational behaviors, and prevailing ideologies, values and beliefs.
Social inclusion aims at fighting the above defined social exclusion. The EU defines social inclusion as ‘a process which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live. Social inclusion also ensures that vulnerable groups and persons have greater participation in decision making which affects their lives and that they can access their fundamental rights’. Social inclusion is one of the eight policy areas underlining the cross-cutting approach of the EU Youth Strategy.
Talking about social inclusion, we cannot avoid talking about diversity. The globalization has shaped the world more diversely. This is a big advantage on one side, on the side it means that we need to be open to new people, include people of different backgrounds more quickly and value their presence, talents, mindsets and anything else they bring along.
The Council of Europe works with the concept of social cohesion, seen as ‘society’s ability to secure the long term well-being of all its members, including equitable access to available resources, respect for human dignity with due regard for diversity, personal and collective autonomy and responsible participation’. Agenda 2020 situates social inclusion as one of the three key priorities for future policy and action of the Council of Europe in the youth field.
First of all, social exclusion refers to processes that prevent individuals, groups or communities from accessing the rights, opportunities and resources (e.g. housing, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation) that are normally available to members of society and which are key to social integration. Responsible for social exclusion are often structural forces, such as: laws, public policies, institutional practices, organizational behaviors, and prevailing ideologies, values and beliefs.
Social inclusion aims at fighting the above defined social exclusion. The EU defines social inclusion as ‘a process which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live. Social inclusion also ensures that vulnerable groups and persons have greater participation in decision making which affects their lives and that they can access their fundamental rights’. Social inclusion is one of the eight policy areas underlining the cross-cutting approach of the EU Youth Strategy.
Talking about social inclusion, we cannot avoid talking about diversity. The globalization has shaped the world more diversely. This is a big advantage on one side, on the side it means that we need to be open to new people, include people of different backgrounds more quickly and value their presence, talents, mindsets and anything else they bring along.
The Council of Europe works with the concept of social cohesion, seen as ‘society’s ability to secure the long term well-being of all its members, including equitable access to available resources, respect for human dignity with due regard for diversity, personal and collective autonomy and responsible participation’. Agenda 2020 situates social inclusion as one of the three key priorities for future policy and action of the Council of Europe in the youth field.
European Commission
Following the definition of social inclusion by the Council of Europe, the European commission offers the European Social Fund (EFS), one of the strongest tools by the EU to support people in need in Europe. The ESF is the main tool for promoting employment and social inclusion insuring fairer opportunities for all. http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=325
Erasmus+
Just as the ESF, the Erasmus+ programme emphasizes on the empowerment and inclusion of disadvantaged youth. The youth worker exchange “Inclusion is Fusion” is supported by the Erasmus+ programme in order to enhance the opportunities for marginalized and unemployed youth in the partner regions.
The Erasmus+ programme also offers funding in further fields, always with the priority on social inclusion: Youth exchanges, European Voluntary Service, Strategic Partnerships, Transnational youth initiatives, Capacity building in the field of youth and Structured Dialogue.
For further information, you can check the programme guide under this link: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/sites/erasmusplus/files/files/resources/erasmus-plus-programme-guide_en.pdf
SALTO-YOUTH
The SALTO-YOUTH network is supporting and developing educational measures for social inclusion. On their website, you can find all kind of resources like toolkits and potential partner organisations in the sector of social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities:
https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/inclusion/
https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/inclusion/
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