CORDIS Express: Researchers tackle poverty and unemployment
Although many countries are emerging from the shadow of the financial crisis, unemployment, poverty and social exclusion still represent a significant problem in the EU. More than 120 million people in the EU – one quarter of our population – are currently at risk of poverty or social exclusion. And while some of us may be enjoying the spoils of the booming tech revolution, others are being left behind – close to 9 % of all Europeans live in severe material deprivation meaning they do not have the resources to own a washing machine, a car, a telephone, to heat their homes or face unexpected expenses. EU leaders have placed the fight against poverty and social exclusion right at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy, and have pledged to bring at least 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020. What role can researchers play in supporting this effort and tackling unemployment, poverty and social exclusion? Horizon 2020 is calling on researchers to, among other things, offer new ideas, strategies and governance structures for overcoming the crisis in Europe, including recommendations for a resilient economic and monetary Union, EU growth agenda, EU social policies, the future of European integration, emerging technologies in the public sector. It is also supporting researchers to develop new forms of innovation in the public sector, open government, business model innovation, social innovation communities and ICT for learning and inclusion. However we don’t have to wait to see researchers in action on these issues. EU-funded researchers, like Nobel Prize winning economist Professor Christopher Pissarides, are already working to support the development of informed policy by examining what kind of jobs Europeans do and future trends in employment. Others, such as the NOPOOR project, are comparing poverty alleviation strategies in various countries, exploring why some strategies worked while others did not. This edition of CORDIS Express looks at these projects and others seeking to tackle issues like poverty and unemployment. - Qualitative indicators of tourism’s role in poverty alleviation - Towards poverty policies - Evaluating employment in Europe - Aquaculture for Food Security, Poverty Alleviation and Nutrition - Poverty Reduction in Europe: Social policy and innovation
Countries
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom