An important milestone was reached on the 17th of April in Brussels at the Representation of the European Region Tyrol – South Tyrol – Trentino. It was the European CARE4CARE meeting, which brought together all project partners with European institutions and stakeholders.
This event marks the culmination of the first research phase of our project. Over the past year, researchers have developed reports aimed at identifying the most pressing needs in the care sector. To ensure the accuracy and relevance of these reports, each of our academic partners organized a national event, bringing together local, regional, and national stakeholders from various backgrounds to provide valuable contributions. This meticulous process paved the way for the European CARE4CARE Meeting of the 17th of April.
Organized by TOUR4EU, the European Federation of Family Employment (EFFE), and the European Federation for Services to individuals (EFSI), our event received the patronage of the European Economic and Social Committee and the participation of the Belgian Presidency of the EU, bringing together representatives from European institutions, universities, employer associations, and civil society.
The agenda for the day included three main parts. Initially, time was allocated to present the initial results of the national reports from the six countries studied: Italy, Poland, France, Germany, Sweden, and Spain. Comparative reports were then presented by researchers from the Faculty of Law at Lund University and the University of Girona.
Next, participants engaged in parallel sessions led by Isabelle Kronisch (OECD), Massimiliano Mascherini (Eurofound), Christophe Van Hemelryck (European Migration Network), and Barbara Helfferich (Gender Five Plus) to explore topics such as social dialogue, working conditions, migration-related discrimination, and gender equality. Finally, session moderators summarized key reflections and outcomes, paving the way for a plenary discussion allowing participating organizations to present diverse viewpoints.
The day concluded with a more institutional sequence, featuring exchanges between Marta Pradanos from the European Commission, Francesco Corti representing the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024, and Kinga Joó from the European Economic and Social Committee, who were able to provide valuable contributions to the debate and make policy recommendations.
As a reminder, the ambitious project, coordinated by a team from the University of Florence, aims to establish an analytical and regulatory framework for the care sector, reproducible in other countries, and to design new institutional strategies. Additionally, it seeks to actively involve care workers and their representatives in policy decisions that affect them and to develop a web platform providing accessible information on working conditions to increase awareness.
For more information on the CARE4CARE project and to stay updated on its progress, visit the official website and subscribe to the newsletter
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