“Basic Income, a European Right” Seminar. The Italian network, together with Basic Income Network (BIN) and other organizations organized a seminar on the right to an adequate and guaranteed minimum income for all in Rome, on 20 November. The initiative was attended by the European MP Jean Lambert, the Italian Senator Livia Turco, the heads of the departments for Employment and Finances of the Region of Lazio and, by Filippo Strati of the European Commission Network of Independent Experts. This initiative is part of the EAPN European campaign on adequate income and of BIN International campaign on guaranteed basic income. The event was part of the lobbying campaign that many Italian networks and associations are carrying out for asking the decision makers to put minimum income in their political agendas, engaging themselves starting with the next regional elections which will take place next march 2010.
“Forum of Civil Society – Towards 2010, the European Year against Poverty and Social Exclusion”. In Naples, on 27-28 March, Ludo Horemans, president of EAPN, participated to this event organized by the EC Representation in Italy. The aim of this initiative was to give European and Italian civil societies an opportunity to launch their proposals on the Strategy for social inclusion and on the new European social agenda and, assess the results achieved – or not achieved – in the past 10 years. Massimo Crucioli of the Italian network moderated the session “Towards a the new European Social Agenda 2010 – 2020” and, Francesco Fioretti, member of the Italian delegation to the 8th European meeting of people experiencing poverty presented a best practice in the session on “Citizenship, social rights and active inclusion”.
Living conditions of the Roma Community. Within the European project “Europa sp.a.” EAPN Italia organized a working seminar dealing with the living conditions of the Roma Community in Rome on 16 December, for all organizations that work with and for the Roma people residing in Rome with representatives of the Roma community and the local administrators. The scope of the initiative was to bring to the forefront the difficult living conditions in the Roma camps in Rome and in other parts of Europe. Doumir Minev, of EAPN Bulgaria gave a European perspective from the standpoint of a new member State where the Roma community is well represented while Mirko Grga, of the Italian delegation to the European meetings of people experiencing poverty, traced the history of his community in Rome.