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Last Wednesday [19 October], a public meeting of the European Parliament’s Intergroup fighting against poverty was held with the participation of our member ATD Fourth World, two days after the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Even though two prominent figures in European politics were present at the event, namely Emmanuel Macron, former French Minister of Economy, and Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, the most inspiring presentations came from lesser-known speakers who shared their personal experiences and engagement in the fight against poverty.

It is difficult to be anything other than impressed by the courage of Ivana Di Martino, an Italian mother who ran 900km from Milan to Brussels last May to raise awareness of the need to ensure access to decent food for all children in the European Union. After having heard highly worrying statistics on child poverty in the EU, she decided to take on this crazy challenge, and was received by Belgian authorities and Members of the European Parliament upon her arrival in Brussels.

The extraordinary work undertaken by people participating in the “La Bise” project must also be put under the spotlight. La Bise is a holiday home in France that gives families living in poverty the opportunity to spend holidays together and put aside their daily problems for a week. For many children living in out-of-family placements, it is also a chance to share unique moments with their parents. All these good memories are compiled in a photo album offered to families at the end of their stay.

But for me, the most poignant intervention was made by Lisa McKenzie, researcher at the London School of Economics who defines herself as a “working-class academic”. Having grown up and worked in factories in the suburbs of Nottingham before entering university, she was able to describe from an inner point of view, with sensibility and decency, the difficulties faced by people in vulnerable situations. She displayed some thought-provoking photographs that demonstrated how London’s housing policy leads to further segregation of people living in poverty. Her brilliant presentation showed that social exclusion is a very concrete reality for far too many people: entire neighbourhoods are destroyed to build new luxury condominiums, walls are created to hide deprived quarters, and people living in social housing are sometimes forced to use “poor doors” dedicated to them to make sure they have no contact with richer inhabitants of their buildings.

Hearing these moving testimonials was a gut-wrenching reminder that there is an urgent need to take concrete action at local, national and European level to relentlessly fight poverty in all its forms.