EUROCHILD
Promoting the welfare and rights of children and young people!
Who
we are?
Eurochild
AISBL is an international non-profit-making network organisation
based in Brussels. It is an active network of organisations and
individuals working in and across Europe to improve the quality
of life of children and young people. Eurochild AISBL’s
work is underpinned by the principles enshrined in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Eurochild
AISBL is funded by the European Commission within the Community
Action Programme to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion.
The Programme supports and supplements efforts at European Union
level and in the Member States to promote policies to prevent
and combat social exclusion and poverty through the Open Method
of Coordination. Eurochild AISBL receives funding under strand
3 of this programme, which stands for “developing the capacity
of actors to address social exclusion and poverty effectively
and to promote innovative approaches, in particular through networking
at European level, and by promoting dialogue with all those involved”.
As
can clearly be seen in the logo, the objective of Eurochild AISBL
is "to promote the welfare and the rights of children
and young people”. One of the main tools Eurochild
AISBL is using to reach this goal is information and policy work.
This means that the organisation is closely following policy developments
at European level, the European agenda, upcoming funding opportunities,
publications etc. The Secretariat is developing and sharing this
information with the member organisations. But information is
also disseminated for the use of other European networks active
in the social field and Eurochild AISBL’s partners in the
Institutions. This supports member organisations in their work
with children and young people or their lobbying work at a local,
regional or national level.
On
the other hand Eurochild AISBL is not only monitoring but also
trying to influence policy developments at the European level,
so that children are not forgotten in the decision-making process.
While doing this, Eurochild AISBL is representing the views of
its member organisations to the international institutions in
Europe. The network is influencing and making recommendations
to institutions, such as the European Commission, the European
Parliament, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. Eurochild
AISBL is organising conferences, seminars, training and other
events, and conducts campaigns in pursuit of the organisation’s
social objectives. Sometimes the organisation commissions or carries
out research in relevant areas of work.
Eurochild
AISBL also develops interest groups and partnerships between its
member organisations in European countries, as well as partnerships
with other European associations that share common goals. The
organisation tries to create a forum for discussion, consultation
and co-operation and is supporting and developing the capacity
of its members. Last but not least Eurochild AISBL tries to empower
children and young people to make their views heard, and
supports the development of new initiatives in this area.
Activities
Eurochild
AISBL has already been able to give a voice to children and young
people to express their opinions on poverty and exclusion, in
parallel supporting national networks to facilitate participation
in European events. In this framework Eurochild AISBL organised
an event at the European Parliament in March 2005, where
12 young people aged between 13 and 15 years coming from 6 different
European Member States challenged Members of the European Parliament
(MEPs) and representatives of the European Commission on how social
exclusion is affecting their lives and made proposals for change.
The day before the event they shared their concerns about social
exclusion, to learn from one another’s situations and agreed
on the most important issues (such as discrimination, lack of
money, anti-social behaviour, education…) which they brought
forward to MEPs and the European Commission.
Recently
Eurochild AISBL has succeeded in ensuring that there is an opportunity
for the voices of children and young people to be heard during
the 4th European Round Table on Poverty and Social Inclusion,
which took place in Glasgow on 17-18 October 2005 under the British
Presidency of the European Union. Several young people intervened
in one of the work shops during the meeting and made a decisive
impact on the participants. During the Round Table a video
diary was shown, in which children and young people were
expressing their views on their perceptions of poverty and social
inclusion. The video has been produced by Eurochild AISBL with
the financial support of the UK Presidency.
At
the heart of Eurochild AISBL’s activities lies the Child
Poverty Work Programme. In the former 15 EU member states
19% of children aged between 0 and 15 are at risk of poverty,
and 20% of them in the 10 new countries. Not only does poverty
affect the development of the child in terms of health, education,
psycho-social well-being, participation in culture, sport, recreation
activities, but it also undermines its future prospects and lifetime
chances. A key element in the Child Poverty Work Programme is
the assessment of the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion
(NAPs/Incl.) from the perspective of children and young people
and the extent to which the needs and rights of children and young
people are taken into account in some key policy areas such as
Education, Health, Housing, Culture, Sport and Leisure, Family
Welfare and Youth Justice.
Member
organisations have completed national assessments that are put
together in a report. The findings of last year’s assessment
(2004) were presented at Eurochild AISBL’s first Annual
Conference with the title “Combating Child Poverty in
Europe – Making it a Reality”, held in Brussels
on 26th October 2004. Their main focus was on the visibility of
children and young people in this planning process (see “National
Action Plans on Social Inclusion: Increasing the Visibility of
Children and Young People”, October 2004 at www.eurochild.org).
The assessments showed that, in general, children and young people
are not regarded as a group in their own right or consulted about
issues which affect them. At best, their views are represented
by children and youth organisations. In many countries, there
is still a prevailing view that children’s needs are best
determined and met by adults.
This
year’s report (2005) is going to be presented at Eurochild
AISBL’s second annual conference with the title “The
position of socially excluded children in the EU policy process”,
which will take place on 14-15 November 2005. It was taking a
critical look at the effect of the NAPs/Inclusion on reducing
and preventing child poverty and promoting children’s right
to social integration. The assessment has again shown that children
and young people are invariably forgotten in relation to policy
development. Children and young people are not given enough prominence
in the NAPs/Inclusion process and whether their rights are recognised
within the UNCRC is still a matter of discretion. There is no
EU target for the reduction of child poverty as, for example,
there is in relation to women’s employment, either.
The
synthesis reports are also being presented to the European Commission
to contribute to the NAPs/Inclusion reporting processes. Eurochild
AISBL has made several recommendations to improve the above-mentioned
situation. In the network’s opinion, policies to reduce
child poverty and social exclusion should be based on the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child and should give children the opportunity
to participate in the policy making processes that affect their
lives. Because there are some national experiences which are encouraging,
member states should strengthen their efforts to involve children
and young people and really try to implement those plans.
Organisational
structure
Eurochild
AISBL has a Management Board currently composed of:
•
President: Catriona Williams (Chief Executive, Children in Wales,
UK)
• Secretary: Ene Tomberg (President, Estonian Union for
Child Welfare, Estonia)
• Treasurer: Ninetta Kazantzis (International Relations
Secretary, Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection
and Welfare of Children, Cyprus)
• Member: Ulrike Wisser (Project „Information, Consultancy,
Youth & Work“, BBJ, Germany)
• Member: Maarit Kuikka (International Officer, Central
Union for Child Welfare, Finland)
The
Secretariat is made up by a Secretary General, an Office
Manager and an Information and Policy Development Officer.
Membership
Eurochild
AISBL is open to all organisations and individuals from the non-profit
sector working in the social field with an interest in the welfare
and rights of children and young people in Europe. According to
Article 4 of the Statutes, membership is available to organisations
with legal personality and individuals who can demonstrate they
are able to meet the criteria laid down by the Management Board
and approved by the General Assembly.
Effective
Members include:
•
NGOs with an interest in the welfare and rights of children and
young people,
• Statutory bodies with an interest in the welfare and rights
of children and young people,
• Academic and research institutions with an interest in
the welfare and rights of children and young people,
• Professional associations with an interest in the welfare
and rights of children and young people.
Effective
members have complete membership of Eurochild. They set the guidelines
and the priorities of the association and make an ongoing contribution
to its activities. Effective members have full voting rights and
are appointed following recommendation by the Management Board
plus approval by the General Assembly.
Associate
Members include:
•
Government Departments,
• Any organisation or individual approved by the Management
Board, concerned with furthering the objectives of Eurochild.
Associate
members may take part in the activities of Eurochild. They are
kept informed about its activities, and are invited to take part
in them on an occasional basis if they are interested. Associate
Members have speaking rights but do not have voting rights and
are appointed following recommendation by the Management Board
plus approval by the General Assembly.
Honorary
Members include:
•
Any organisation or individual approved by the Management Board,
concerned with furthering the objectives of Eurochild.
Honorary
Members do not have speaking nor voting rights and are appointed
following recommendation by the Management Board plus approval
by the General Assembly.
Eurochild
AISBL members receive a weekly electronic Info-Flash designed
to keep them updated about the latest developments at European
level in the areas Eurochild is active in, funding opportunities,
Eurochild activities, etc. It is reserved only to Eurochild AISBL’s
member organisations. In addition, members are receiving a monthly
electronic e-News Bulletin, with information about developments
in relevant areas at a European level and beyond, conferences,
seminars, training events, publications, interesting web sites,
etc. This publication also reaches a wider public, such as MEPs
interested in the area of children and young people, European
Commission officials, academics and other stakeholders. Moreover,
Eurochild AISBL produces a Newsletter twice a year, relating the
activities of Eurochild, which has a more promotional purpose.
Members also have access to the “Members Room” on
the Eurochild AISBL’s new web site (www.eurochild.org),
whose new version is going to be on-line soon.
Eurochild
AISBL is holding a Members Meeting/Policy Forum and Annual Conference
every year, to which key members of the European Institutions
will be invited. The annual progress review of the National Action
Plans on Social Inclusion will also take place at this event and
members will receive updated Synthesis Reports.
For
all organisations in membership there are opportunities to share
good practice and learn from new initiatives, develop bi-lateral
(or more extended) partnership arrangements amongst member themselves,
receive support in building networks at national level and in
developing strategies for effective lobbying.
Organisations
interested in joining should go to the web site www.eurochild.org
to find out more about Eurochild AISBL and find the membership
application form.
Contact
details
Eurochild
AISBL
Rue de la Concorde, 53
1050 Brussels
Tel: +32 (0)2 511 70 83
Fax: +32 (0)2 511 72 98
e-mail : contact@eurochild.org
www.eurochild.org
