Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Originating from a programme supported by the European Union, the conference wants to promote the short and medium term inclusion of families in matters that directly concern them, such as social policy, economic policy and especially matters related to the integration of people with a disability and those requiring care. This conference fits into the framework of 2010, the European year for combating poverty and social exclusion.

The European confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union (COFACE) will be organising a European Family Conference titled “Social inclusion of families and EU policies: Where do we stand?” on 14 and 15 October 2010 in het Egmont Palace in Brussels with the support of the Family Policy State Secretary. Originating from a programme supported by the European Union, the conference wants to promote short and medium term inclusion of families in matters that directly concern them, such as social policy, economic policy and especially matters related to the integration of people with a disability and those requiring care. This conference fits into the framework of 2010, the European year for combating poverty and social exclusion.

The conference will be preceded by two keynote speeches about two central topics:

• the importance of including family dimensions in EU policy
• on the occasion of 2010, the European year for combating poverty and social exclusion: the EUs role in combating poverty and the social exclusion of families

Several sub-themes will be examined and proposed interactively: the family and social policy, the consumption and health policy’s approach to families and the policy on the integration of people with a disability and those requiring care, such as the training course on new technologies as an integration vector.

Family organisations, social partners and European institutions will be invited to this major conference. The presence of her Majesty Queen Paola will add lustre to the Conference’s opening ceremony.