Social Inclusion Conference, September 25-26, Budapest

Social Inclusion Conference:  Towards Mainstreaming and Results
Budapest, Hungary, September 25-26, 2007

Social inclusion is at the center of the EU’s strategy for making progress on the poverty alleviation and expanding employment. Social inclusion is a process that ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate in economic, social and cultural life and enjoy a standard of living that is considered normal in the society in which they live.  This is a major European issue, and has implications for the extended European neighborhood as well.

The objective of this conference was to contribute to on-going dialogue between policymakers, and experts on effective policy instruments for supporting inclusion in different countries in the region, while learning from good practices in Europe and elsewhere.   It aimed to bring together senior policy makers from the governments of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, international partners, and World Bank and international experts and practitioners.

In particular, the conference concentrated on two questions:

1.   How can mainstream national social policy programs be made fully accessible to socially excluded groups and help their inclusion process?

2.  How can policy measures best be monitored and rigorously evaluated to understand their impact and correct any shortcomings before they are scaled up?

The range of policy options discussed included the latest knowledge on social protection systems (including pensions/social insurance and targeted social assistance, especially CCTs, employment activation policies, and inclusive service delivery mechanisms including community level initiatives).

The Conference was held over two days – September 25-26 – in Budapest.   The Hungarian government kindly agreed to co-host the conference with the World Bank.

The conference focused on key social protection issues, as they relate to including those excluded from social services: (i) defining and measuring social inclusion; (ii) social insurance, especially focusing on disability pensions and social pensions; (iii) activation policies to promote employability among the excluded; (iv) the role of social investment funds as a vehicle for EU funds, and municipal and community level targeting to excluded groups; (v) targeted social assistance, including the role and applicability of conditional cash transfers; (vi) social care, social services and deinstitutionalization options for the excluded. There was a strong emphasis on M&E, including the effective design of projects that can be properly evaluated for results.

Attached is the Agenda, with links to presentations and speaker's bios.