Decision of 22 October 2008 on the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010)

With a view to supporting Community action to combat social exclusion, the year 2010 has been designated as the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

The European Year should focus on the following themes:

• promoting multidimensional integrated strategies to prevent and reduce poverty, in particular severe poverty, and approaches which would be mainstreamed across all relevant policy areas,
• fighting child poverty including the intergenerational transmission of poverty as well as poverty within families, paying special attention to large families, single parents and families caring for a dependent person, as well as poverty experienced by children in institutions,
• promoting inclusive labour markets, addressing in-work poverty and the need to make work pay,
• eradicating disadvantages in education and training, including digital literacy training and promoting equal access for all to ICT, with particular focus on the specific needs of disabled people,
• tackling the gender and age dimensions of poverty,
• ensuring equal access to adequate resources and services, including decent accommodation, health and social protection,
• facilitating access to culture and leisure opportunities,
• overcoming discrimination and promoting the social inclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities,
• promoting integrated approaches to active inclusion,
• addressing the needs of people with disabilities and their families, the homeless, as well as other groups or persons in vulnerable situations.

Reference: Official Journal of the European Union L 298, 7.11.2008, p. 20-29