Eurocarers actively participated in the EU Transnational Network on European Social Fund Conference on 22 May
Eurocarers has been advocating for EU funds to support projects aimed at informal carers at local and regional level. In this objective, Eurocarers’ Secretariat has started a cooperation with the ESF Transnational Platform, a platform for cooperation between Member States under the European Social Fund (ESF), aimed at stimulating the exchange of information and good practices, setting up transnational projects and bringing together administrations, social partners, NGOs and other stakeholders in the fields of employment, social inclusion and training. This platform has been instrumental in building the capacity of managing authorities, disseminating innovation and influencing the design of the operational programmes.
In November 2018, Eurocarers participated in a stakeholder meeting organised by this Platform, which gave us the opportunity to raise that care is a cross cutting issue in most of the areas addressed by the European Social Fund. As a follow up, we have been invited to organise a workshop during their annual conference on 21-22 May, on how to the ESF can support and empower carers, together with COFACE.
This conference gathered policy makers and practitioners involved in the management and the implementation of the European Social Fund across the EU. It gave Managing Authorities, EU Commission representatives and Civil Societies Organisations an opportunity to exchange on good practices and common challenges, and to learn from each other. During our workshop, Pauline Johansson from Linnaeus University presented the regional ESF funded project ‘Motivation leads to success’ tackling school dropout, in which LNU is contributing with the task to address the situation of young carers. The workshop raised strong interest and the need to support informal carers through the ESF was clearly reported in the plenary session. “The ESF is a most valuable tool to support informal carers and support their upskilling” said Emma Toledano Laredo, European Commission’s representative, in response to the presentation of our workshop’s recommendations. We couldn’t agree more!
More information on the ESF Transnational Platform is available here: www.transnationality.eu
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