New book on participation of people experiencing poverty

There is a new book about poverty. This book wants to show how poor people in Europe can take part in society. It gives examples of how different European countries work to help poor people take part in society. You can read this book in English by clicking here or in French by clicking here. However, the book is not easy to read. So you may need support to understand it.

The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) has recently launched the book: “Breaking Barriers - Driving Change”. Its aim is to highlight initiatives to strengthen the inclusion of people experiencing poverty. Under the coordination of EAPN, thirteen of its member organisations from all over Europe contributed to this publication with their case studies, showing the steps they take to promote participation and social inclusion for people who live in poverty.

In its more than a hundred pages, the books includes examples of working with the media on poverty-sensitive reporting from Austria, policy action to tackle poverty and exclusion from France, supporting participation in the National Social Inclusion Forum in Ireland, local and regional actions on the participation of people in poverty from Spain, involving persons in campaigning and service delivery from Derbyshire, giving a voice to children and young people, developing a Toolkit on the participation and empowerment of service users in Europe and others. The book is available in both English and French.

This is the second publication of EAPN on poverty. Its first book: “Small steps-Big changes, building participation for people experiencing poverty" was published in 2009 presenting 10 case studies of how various European organisations have been building models of direct involvement of people experiencing poverty in policy making, projects and running organisations. The book is available for downloading in English, French and Greek.

Inclusion Europe embraces such initiatives promoting social inclusion for all citizens in Europe. “People with disabilities tend to be poorer than the general population” and “people living in poverty are more likely than others to be disabled”. The report of the project “Poverty and Intellectual Disability in Europe” developed by Inclusion Europe and Inclusion International, showed that poverty and disability reinforce each other leading to social exclusion of vulnerable groups of citizens. In its position paper on poverty, Inclusion Europe has asked member states to take action in order to address the link between poverty, exclusion and institutionalization and ensure a reasonable standard of living for all their citizens, access to education for people with intellectual disabilities, equal access to mainstream health care and social protection. To read Inclusion Europe’s position paper on Poverty and Intellectual Disability, you can follow this link.