Safer Internet Day 2015 - 10 February

The Safer Internet Day is celebrated around the world for the 12th consecutive year. It is the flagship event of the Safer Internet Programme supported by the European Commission, reaching millions of people in over 100 countries. On this occasion, schoolkids, parents, teachers, policy makers take time to learn, engage or discuss ways for creating a better Internet for kids. And this better Internet is #Up2Us!

NO to physical punishment

At an audience Pope Francis made a statement that he approves of physical punishment as long as it is ´not humiliating for the child`. I strongly believe this is not the case and all forms of physical punishment should not only be avoided but also banned by law - an element still missing in an explicit form in the legal sytem of many countries, including a number of European ones. It was a surprising statement from the Pope who so far showed signs of an enlighted head of church, taking human rights and legal frameworks very much into account.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is part of the legal system of all European countries and it is very clear. In Article 19, right after establishing the rights and responsibilities of parents for the upbrining of their children, it says: States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child. This is legal basis for anybody respecting the rights of the child to say NO to any form of physical punishment.

EU Alliance for Investing in Children 2014 report

24 partner networks - EPA among them - have actively participated in the EU Alliance for Investing in Children, coordinated by Eurochild.  We joined forces throughout 2014 to release common statements in advance of both EPSCO Council meetings, on the Annual Growth Survey and the mid-term review ofEurope 2020, calling for the prioritization of children in EU policies.

The Investing in Children Alliance Partners mobilised members in 15 countries to develop detailed case studies that demonstrate how the European Commission Recommendation ‘Investing in Children: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage’ can be implemented in practice. This will be published in an ‘Implementation Handbook’ in early 2015.

When is it OK to remove a child from the birth family? - CoE report

“Children have the right to be protected from all types of violence, abuse and neglect. But children also have the right not to be separated from their parents against their will, except when the competent authorities determine that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child,” Olga Borzova (Russia, NR) says in her report, adopted on 26 January 2015 by the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2015

27th January was declared the International Holocaust Remembrence Day by the UN to commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp that happened 70 years ago today. The day has become an opportunity to reflect on issues around exclusion, xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance. The events first in Paris and since then all over Europe make it even more important to highlight this day even in your family circle and reflect on it from the perspective of living in 21st century Europe while remembering all those millions who perished in the flames of the Holocaust to make sure it will never happen again.

From Political Will to Implementation - New EUCIS-LLL Position Paper on Europe 2020 Strategy

The Europe 2020 Strategy is on the verge of its mid-term review. Inequalities in European education and training systems have increased simultaneously with the crisis, with vulnerable groups being particularly disadvantaged. The level of low-skilled adults, increased numbers of people at the risk of social exclusion and rising unemployment levels in most Member States show that much more needs to be done in order to reach the 2020 targets. This will require a renewed political commitment to foster lifelong learning at European level with a stronger focus on the social dimension of education, training and youth policies and funds.

European citizens should be rightly placed at the centre of the strategy and of all political decisions made at EU level. A common vision for the European Union cannot be reduced to purely economic considerations - says the Position Paper just published, and EPA (not only as a member of EUCIS-LLL) cannot agree more. EUCIS-LLL presents 10 key points on the EU2020 Strategy.

Civil Society Europe - a new network of NGO networks

More than thirty European Networks[1] of civil society supported the creation of Civil Society Europe on 16^th December 2014 in Rome. Civil Society Europe will work towards regenerating the European project around the shared values of Equality, Solidarity, Inclusiveness and Democracy expressed in its Manifesto. (EPA is linked to the new network through EUCIS-LLL and the Social Platform.)