Eurochild: EU Alliance for Investing in Children organises side event at EPAP convention

The EU Alliance for Investing in Children organised a side event at the 4th Annual Convention of the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion.

The event was attended by young people, stakeholders, EU and government representatives. They all discussed how to encourage Member States to implement the European Commission Recommendation on “Investing in Children”.

Carla and Sara, two girls from the city of Avilés (Spain) opened the floor for the Spanish Alliance for Investing in Children with a speech, they asked for children to participate more actively and presented proposals on how to involve children in decision-making. Gabriel González-Bueno, coordinator of the Spanish Alliance, presented the child-friendly version of the Recommendation and a proposal for participatory dynamics at EU and local level.

The UK Alliance for Investing in Children announced the launch of a report which maps key policies developed by the children’s sector across the country and invited the audience to attend to the Investing in Children event which will take place 16 December in Cardiff.

The second part of the side event was a panel debate on the impact of the Recommendation and the role of stakeholders in the Semester process. The discussion was led by Raffaele Tangorra, Director General for Social Inclusion and Social Policies, Ministry of Labour and Social Policies of Italy, Andriana Sukova-Tosheva, ESF Director, European Commission, and Tom Dominique, Chair of the Social Protection Committee.

The EU Alliance for Investing in Children includes the following Social Platform members:

Eurochild 
ATD Quart Monde
Caritas – Europa
COFACE – Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union
Dynamo International – Street Workers Network
EAPN – European Anti-Poverty Network
EASPD – European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities
EPA – The European Parents Association
EPHA – European Public Health Alliance
Eurodiaconia
FEANTSA – European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless 
Mental Health Europe
PICUM – Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants

See event description.

EU Alliance for Investing in Children press release: EU Alliance celebrates 25 years of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child