In a context where social protection systems are put under pressure in Belgium and Europe, AGE’s Belgian organisation Enéo supports a two-year national campaign to promote social protection in developing countries and strengthen existing social protection systems in Belgium and Europe.
While some try to pass social protection for an unattainable luxury – because it would be both too expensive for the poorest countries and too costly in terms of competitiveness for the rich – this campaign aims to demonstrate that social protection reduces poverty and inequality while increasing economic productivity. As the recent experiences of developing countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Rwanda has demonstrated, it is possible to lay the foundations of a social protection system whatever the level of development of a country. By reducing inequality, universalizing access to consumption, guaranteeing workers’ the social protection enables everyone to participate in economic and social life of his/her country and benefits the whole society. That is why the financing of formal social protection systems should be a priority of public policy; this involves tax justice, the fight against tax evasion, but also international cooperation and the establishment of a global fund for social protection for the poorest countries.
To support this campaign, NGOs, unions and mutual societies have created the website: www.protectionsociale.be. Citizens willing to support the campaign are invited to take pictures with a special adhesive ‘Social Protrection for all’ tape and post them on the website. The goal is to reach as many people as possible in order that social protection becomes everyone’s business.
In that context, Enéo is organising a workshop on 1st June 2015 on social protection and intergenerational solidarity. Read more in French here
Vous pouvez lire cet article en français sur le site d’Enéo
