Newsletter May/June 2018

EuroAgeism is a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectorial, science-policy international network of researchers, policy makers and social and health care professionals. The network is dedicated to the training of a new generation of Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in the field of ageism. The European Centre as an institutional partner of this project will host a number of Early Stage Researchers over the coming years to support their research and career development.

Invited Austrian experts representing several stakeholders presented the context of 24-hour care in Austria and Europe, relevant regulations regarding labour law, professional law, available subsidies, the practice of quality assurance, challenges from the provider perspective including monitoring as well as plans for further improvement. Based on the presentation of the current situation in Germany, discussions focused on the complexity of regulatory measures and potential caveats from a German - and European - perspective.

Read more

Over the past few years, the Netherlands’ government has taken a wide range of measures to improve the performance and sustainability of its long-term care system. This entailed the adoption of a new long-term care Act, including re-scaling of responsibilities, but in particular implementing large scale improvement projects across the various sectors, organisations, services and facilities involved in the delivery of long-term care. Professor Henk Nies from Vilans and the Free University of Amsterdam provided an overview of the large-scale implementation of reforms and insights on the new policy instruments that were developed to ensure quality improvements in long-term care.

Download the presentations Part 1 and Part 2 here.

The European Centre contributed to two workshops during the ESF Transnational Platform Seminar 'From ESF to ESF+: From employability to social rights' (18-19 June 2018, Brussels/Belgium), namely to the workshops 'Reaching out to the most vulnerable' and 'The Future of Work'. Anette Scoppetta, expert for the 'Employment Thematic Network' provided insights into results of the recent study 'Tackling long-term unemployment through risk profiling and outreach' and facilitated the discussions on how to address key challenges of the 4th digital revolution by taking holistic (inclusive) approaches in the Member States in the framework of the European Social Fund.

In the negotiations of the Criminal Law Commission in 1955 drug offenders were excluded from the weaning, with alcohol offenders, the committal was limited to psychiatrically inconspicuous lawbreakers with limited punishment and positive treatment prognosis. Part 2 of the study examines the origin of the ambivalent constraints of compulsory treatment according to § 22 StGB (Criminal Code) and examines the influence of four discourses.

The discussion paper scrutinises practices of EU Member States concerning risk profiling and outreach activities by building on an extensive literature review on tackling long-term unemployment. Research suggests that the role of the caseworker is a key success factor throughout the different profiling approaches and outreach activities. Therefore, although scientific evidence on the effectiveness of risk profiling and targeting support is mostly absent, profiling activities used as a complementary practice to support caseworker assessment and outreach work tailored to the needs of vulnerable people are both recommended. Still, outreach and profiling activities are only the starting points: what needs to follow are comprehensive activation
measures to best serve the most vulnerable throughout the entire social inclusion process.

Around 200 researchers, representatives of NGOs and public authorities discussed challenges regarding the Future of the Welfare State in the Western Balkans (6-8 June 2018, Belgrade/Republic of Serbia). Anette Scoppetta contributed to the debate by providing input into the session 'Perception Matters: Myth Busters' and by moderating the session 'Dilemmas and Contradictions of the Welfare State'.

The European Centre invites proposals for paper presentations of the theme of: ‘Life-course oriented social policies in Eastern Europe’ for the Bridge Building Winter School, taking place from 4 to 8 February 2019 in Vienna, Austria.

The Bridge Building Winter School aims at gathering and exchanging expertise from experienced researchers who are either based in or have a focus on (but not limited to) Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and Turkey.

We particularly invite scholars with expertise in life-course oriented social policies related to labour market, employment, gender, ageing, digitalisation, wealth, social inclusion, as well as health and long-term care, etc.

The call for abstracts on academic papers is open until Sunday, 16 September 2018.

For submitting abstracts, please click here

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence

Bridging Function of the European Centre

The European Centre together with ISER/University of Essex (United Kingdom) invites for the Vienna EUROMOD Workshop, taking place at the Austria Trend Hotel Ananas from 17 – 18 September 2018.

The Wokshop comprises the following sessions:

• Tax-benefit microsimulation in Austria (17 September, morning)
• Western BalkanMod initiative of the Eastern European Social Policy Network (17 September, afternoon)
• New research directions using EUROMOD (18 September, morning)

We particularly invite researchers and public representatives with expertise in social protection as well as tax-benefit microsimulation from Austria and the Western Balkan countries, and even beyond (EU, EaP-Eastern Partnership countries, etc.).

We look forward to seeing you on 17-18 September 2018!

The registration for the Vienna EUROMOD Workshop is closed.

Bridging Function of the European Centre

The study aimed at the assessment of quantitative parameters of drug consumption. Five illicit drugs were of interest: Cannabis, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine and ecstasy. The European capitals chosen were Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow, Bucharest, Belgrade and Sarajevo.The comparative findings highlight the impact of two social dimensions on drug consumption patterns: Social class and consumption patterns.

The Slovenian government is piloting the concept of one-stop shops and integrated LTC delivery in a 2-year pilot project (2018-2020) to support the transition into a new system of long-term care delivery. The European Centre has been asked to accompany this pilot project by supporting the Ministry of Health and a team of Slovenian experts in developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation tools. The general objective of this project is therefore to contribute to the implementation of an integrated system for long-term care in Slovenia.

The European Centre hosts the fourth event of the Vienna Evaluation Network. The topic is 'The role of programme theories in evaluation' by guest speakers Karin Kohlweg and Lisa Ringhofer. Thereafter, participants will discuss the topic & exchange experiences, followed by informal networking.

The event took place on 13 June 2018, 3-4:30 pm, at the European Centre.