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Date:  Brussels Wednesday 27 November 2024 
Time: 9.00- 13.00 C.E.T.
Venue:  Odisee University of Applied Sciences
Hybrid meeting link: https://shorturl.at/1hYUn
Online workshop link: https://meet.google.com/qox-yzet-dku
Registration: https://shorturl.at/PGFkq

Background and Rationale

The future of Europe depends on the well-being and development of its young people. As societal structures change, so do the challenges minors, youth, and families face. While the EU has made progress in improving their quality of life, issues like child protection, education, youth employment, and family support remain complex. Policy approaches vary across Europe, creating both opportunities for learning and challenges in integration. This exchange program aims to foster dialogue, share best practices, and enhance cross-border collaboration among policymakers, practitioners, youth organizations, and academics, to strengthen EU 

Objectives of the Exchange

•    Facilitate Knowledge Exchange: 
•    Identify Best Practices
•    Build Networks and project proposals
•    Strengthen EU Policy Alignment: Contribute to the ongoing EU dialogue about youth empowerment, child protection, and family support to ensure that policies are coherent and complementary across borders.
•    Enhance Youth Participation: 
We invite all participants to prepare a small presentation on the child, youth and family policies in their region.  We aim for the actual priorities, but most of all for major policy discussions in the domain, at level of policy makers, families and youngsters and/or services/service providers.  Also, innovative service models, cases and experiences on the theme are mostly welcome.  Feel free to choose these aspects which are relevant to your situation and knowledge.  It is of course also fine to group contributions (with colleagues, per country, …)
The aim is to contribute with this content to the work plan of the working group for the next years. 
(If useful, you can get inspired by the draft work plan developed by the Youth Care Platform.)
Please keep your presentation short (max 5min).  A supportive PPT-presentation can be used (max 6 slides recommended).”

Key note speakers 

Prof. Dr. Jochen Devlieghere
Researcher in the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy at Ghent University
Prof. Dr. Jochen Devlieghere will guide us through several important societal trends that impact policy and support for children, young people, and their families. He will, among other things, focus on what the increasing diversity means for the accessibility of services.
 
Katarina Ivankovic Knezevic

EU,  Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Focus on child guarantee.
Katarina Ivankovic Knezevic will outline priority policy lines that the European Commission is putting forward for children, young people, and their families. She will, among other things, address mental health and well-being, social exclusion, and violence prevention.
   
Hybrid meeting link: https://shorturl.at/1hYUn

9.00 – 9.10    Plenary Session 
Opening remarks – ENSA coordination team – An Rommel, Agency Growing Up Flanders Veneto Region’s Brussels Office 

9.10/9.40 Prof. Dr. Jochen Devlieghere
Societal trends impacting children, young people, and their families. Accessibility of services in a context of diversity
 
9.40 /10.10 Katarina Ivankovic Knezevic
EU, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
- Child guarantee
- Priority policy lines of the European Commission regarding children, young people, and their families
- Addressing mental health and well-being, social exclusion, and violence prevention

10.10/10.30  Q&A

10.30/10.45   Break

10.45/12.00    Workshops on site and online 
Online workshop link:https://meet.google.com/qox-yzet-dku

We will share our field priorities in small groups and how we work, with Minors, Youth and Families, for future practice exchanges, team capacity building, and project proposals. 

On site coordination and methodology Jos Sterckx Odisee University of Applied Sciences
Online coordination by Miltos Sakellariou, ENSEL network, Social Cooperative Altera Vita Cyclades, Greece 

12.30/13.00    

Plenary- Reports from ENSA and ENSEL workshops
Hybrid meeting link: https://shorturl.at/1hYUn

Follow-up on European projects proposals Katja Fournier, Researcher Knowledge Center Family Sciences, Odisee University  

Wrap up, draft programme of work and concluding remarks Jos Sterckx, Odisee University of Applied Sciences, ENSA coordination team

Any need to contact by phone or mail 
General: 
Elena  +32  471 30 35 28 elena.curtopassi@regione.veneto.it
Andrea + 39 174 22 833   andrea.deste@regione.veneto.it
Miltos for online participation +30 697 220 43 56  miltosakellariou@gmail.com
Jos  for on-site participation Odisee University:  jos.sterckx@odisee.be
Looking forward to welcoming you and to the joint programme of work, initiatives and projects to be developed together.