On 5 May Social Platform hosted its annual General Assembly. This was the first time such an event was organised virtually under the confinement circumstances.
As Social Platform’s current Strategic Orientation 2014-2020 is coming to an end, one of the central points of the General Assembly was the adoption of the organisation’s new vision and mission. Members of the Social Platform overwhelmingly supported and adopted a new vision and mission which clearly define the type of society we want to live in and the means to achieve our vision. The current COVID-19 crisis, which is transforming all aspects of our lives, only confirmed and reinforced the need for a fundamental systemic transformation which is needed to successfully address the current crisis and to build resilient society. Read more about our new vision and mission here.
Following the General Assembly, Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Democracy and Demography, addressed Social Platform members.
She highlighted that the current COVID-19 crisis has created an enormous impact on health, economic and social issues and that the European Commission is working with social sector organisations to ensure instruments and solutions to support providers and users of services. She also stressed the need to assess the sustainability of our social security systems and ensure intergenerational fairness, to improve work-life balance, and women’s participation in the labour market. She highlighted that no one should be left behind, particularly in times of crisis.
Speaking about the Conference on the Future of Europe, she explained that citizens’ greater participation in decision-making can only strengthen democracy. The Conference remains a priority for the Commission and during the pandemic it is even more important for the institutions than before to hear people’s voices and to ensure a greater say on what the EU should do. She underlined the importance of civil society organisations’ role to engage with members of society who are traditionally underrepresented in decision-making processes.
Piotr Sadowski, President of Social Platform, said:
“We are delighted our members overwhelmingly supported a new vision and mission, which we believe lays down a strong foundation and clear guidance on what changes we want to achieve and how we can do that. We hope such clarity and precision will invigorate and mobilise our members even more and will create a solid foundation for our collective efforts towards a just, equal, sustainable, dignified society where no one is left behind.”
Kélig Puyet, Director of Social Platform, said:
“We thank Vice-President Šuica for speaking to our members to confirm that the Commission is fully committed to securing a sustainable future for the social sector. We are reassured to hear about the Commission’s plans to make the Conference on the Future of Europe a meaningful process where civil society organisations will play a significant role to ensure that the voices of people are heard and taken on board by the European institution.”
