The Austrian Anti Poverty Network (“Die Armutskonferenz”) organised their 12th Austrian Poverty Conference in Salzburg from 9 to 11 March. The initial conference topic was Voices against Poverty – Because social inequality and exclusion endanger democracy but given the current situation, there was also an exchange about the consequences of the Corona virus on people experiencing poverty and the need to have efficient measures to help them cope. Indeed, the conference warns that “corona affects the people with the most difficult position on the labour market, the poorest families and people who are chronically ill. They need special protection, security and effective measures to reduce their precarious situation“.
The major points discussed at the conference were:
- The fight against poverty must be visible in the budget – which is currently not the case
- The proposal of “models of unemployment lawyers” – to ensure that everyone has access to legal support
- The will to figure out how democracy should be designed – to make sure that all social groups participate and have a say