Developments N° 5/ February 2002 Editorial The CDCS will play a major part in pre- “Social responsibility in a globalised paring the Council of Europe’s contribu- world: the role of the State, the mar- tion to the discussion. It is already plan- ket and civil society?” (see page 9). Sustainable develop- ning a debate to be held in autumn on ment - the contribution the link between human rights and sus- The debate on sustainable development of the Social Cohesion tainable development during which Ms and its links with social cohesion will of the Social Cohesion inevitably have an impact on the funda- Strategy Mary Robinson, the United Nations Strategy High Commissioner on Human Rights, mental work conducted by the CDCS in will be invited to speak. the area of access to social rights. Ms In 2002, there will be a great deal of Mary Daly – professor at the School of discussion on sustainable development, Of course, in all sustainable develop- Sociology and Social Policy of the particularly in connection with the ment strategies a substantial role is Queen’s University, Belfast (Northern United Nations Summit to be held in played by the family because it is the Ireland) and Council of Europe consult- Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 Sep- starting point for the construction of ant – is currently preparing a report on tember 2002. This event will be a rare social cohesion in the private sphere. As access to social rights in Europe in five and outstanding opportunity to recon- a result, two other United Nations meet- key areas: social protection, housing, sider a number of fundamental con- ings will have a major impact on our employment, education and health (see cepts. future discussions, namely the Second page 4). This report will have to take World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid account of the debate on the social con- There are a number of reasons why we from 8 to 12 April 2002 and the Spe- sequences of globalisation and their im- think that our social cohesion strategy cial Session of the UN General Assembly pact on the effective enjoyment of fun- can make a positive contribution to the on children to be held in New York from damental rights. It will be officially pre- debate. It is based on human rights, it 8 to 10 May 2002. Bearing in mind sented at the Conference on Access to addresses social issues from the angle of recent demographic trends and upheav- social rights to be held by the CDCS in social, economic and cultural rights and als in the organisation of families, the Malta on 14 and 15 November 2002. it raises the fundamental question of the position of children and elderly people in status of these rights in the context of contemporary societies has taken on The same applies to the other two min- sustainable development. increased significance because they isterial events scheduled for 2002, th need to be fully integrated into this proc- namely the 8 Conference of European The strategy, which is based on the as- ess of change. This issue of “Social Co- Ministers responsible for Social Security sumption that there is a strong link be- hesion Developments” includes de- to be held in Bratislava on 22 and 23 th tween social and economic develop- scriptions of two activities concerning May 2002 and the 7 Conference of ment, notes that “sound economic these population groups carried out by Ministers responsible for Migration Af- policies, while crucial in establishing DG III - Social Cohesion (see pages 4 fairs to be held in Helsinki on 16 and stable conditions for growth, cannot and 6). 17 September 2002. These events will be directed solely by market mecha- go to the heart of the key questions nisms without risking damaging social In addition to families, there is also the raised by globalisation: labour market consequences”. It also says that question of getting other partners in- flexibility, mobility of labour and the “economic development without accom- volved, such as governments, businesses, modernisation of social protection sys- panying social development will result in NGOs, employers’ organisations and tems through analysis of the movements serious problems sooner or later” and trade unions. This alerted us to the need of migrant workers and recognition of that social cohesion must be seen “as a to think about the social role that these their social rights. preventive strategy designed to re- partners should be playing in the current duce the risk of future social and po- context in view of their new responsibili- Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni ties, a question that will be discussed at Director General of Social Cohesion COUNCIL CONSEIL litical disruption”. In other words, it is OF EUROPE DE L'EUROPE up to us to build sustainable societies. a conference scheduled for autumn on Council of Europe CONTENT Social EDITORIAL: Sustainable development - the contribution of the Social Cohesion Strategy 1 Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Director General of Social Cohesion , Council of Europe Cohesion • Interview with Dr Christine Bergmann - German Federal Minister for Family Affairs, senior citizens, Wommen and 2 Development Youth • The role of social services in sustainable development (Berlin Conference, 25-26 October 2001) 3 Division Elsewhere at the Council of Europe DG III-Social Cohesion • Progress of the programmes: Access to social rights; Im- 4 • Cultural policy and cultural diversity 4 DG III proving the quality of life of dependent elderly persons; Working • Two Council of Europe integrated projects 7 Social Cohesion to improve the economic situation of Roma/Gypsies in Europe; • The times are a-changing “Youth - actors of social change?” 8 • Studies, analysis and research: Social Researchers Net- 8 F-67 075 Strasbourg Cedex work; Regional Seminar in the Southern Caucasus; Social responsi- International Conference bility in a globalised world: the role of the State, the market and • World Summit on sustainable development 10 civil society Tel. + 33 (0)3 90 21 47 94 Fax:+ 33 (0)3 90 21 49 52 • Discussion by the Forum for Children and Families 6 • Spanish Presidency of the European Union 11 Civil Society - Latest http://www.coe.int/t/e/ • “Citizenship, solidarity: what sort of Europe do we want?” Joint 11 Adopted Texts Social_Cohesion/ NGO and Parliamentarians Conference Bibliography 13 Analysis_and_Research/1 • Soci Socialal protection: Cohesion: an essential developments tool for social - N°5/Februarycohesion 200212 - CouncilCalendar of Europe - DG III - Social Cohesion INTERVIEW WITH DR CHRISTINE BERGMANN - GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTER FOR FAMILY AFFAIRS, SENIOR CITIZENS, WOMEN AND YOUTH Newsletter: What do you think nancial frameworks. Not-for-profit organisa- on growth, competitiveness, and employ- were the main achievements of the tions are involved as service providers in all ment. In my view, progress in these areas is Berlin Conference on Social member states. These organisations are impossible without making the key compo- Services for sustainable Social tending to gain importance in many member nents of our social protection systems fit to Development? states but we also see a growing number of face future challenges. for-profit actors. Social development over the last few dec- Investing in social cohesion is an asset and ades has been remarkable in many Member Growing competition between different pro- an important policy instrument in order to States of the Council of Europe. Today, the viders and the increasing reliance on user reach sustainable development goals. How- transition countries have made much pro- fees raises concerns about quality issues. We ever, one has to strike a balance between gress in building up social security systems, should therefore leave no doubt that public available resources and the expenditure on while western European countries need to authorities must play an essential role in set- social protection. If the budget is over- modernise their systems. The traditional divi- ting standards for the quality of services. stretched, this may have consequences for sion between East and West no longer cov- Not-for-profit providers should, however, be economic development. It is important to ers the whole picture. We have to recognise consulted by governments in setting and de- note that there is a variety of actors provid- that countries that formerly were perceived veloping standards for services since they ing resources for social development such as as lagging behind, have now adopted pio- have excellent record of developing services the state, volunteers and business. These neering reforms in certain sectors of their that are adapted to the needs of users. resources have to be co-ordinated well in social systems. order to make use of their full potential. It is In order to enhance the quality of services it equally important for sustainable social de- It was against this background that the Ber- needs to be clearly laid down that all provid- velopment that we define policy goals for lin Conference gave the signal that social ers have to comply with high quality stan- social development and set up clear priori- services are a crucial element of social devel- dards. We need to guarantee equal access ties. opment for all Member States of the Council for all people to high quality services. I do of Europe. Children, young persons, families, not believe that exclusively financial consid- Newsletter: Let's take family policy older persons and other people with special erations or a competition-centred approach as an example. How does the needs particularly require social services. The would provide adequate guarantees of qual- concept of sustainability affect latter therefore have major importance for ity-oriented service provision. Social services policies for the family? the daily lives of broad sectors of the popula- are in themselves a social policy instrument While there exist various concepts of the tion as well as for economic productivity and for fostering social cohesion.