Building social capital for more inclusive societies. Partnerships for innovative approaches in Europe. Report of a European Conference, March 2008

In March 2000, the heads of State and Government launched the Lisbon process, intended to make the EU 'the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-driven economy by 2010'. This is a challenge not only for Europe’s economic performance, but as well for its social cohesion
and solidarity.

In fact, that challenge is to be understood in a double sense, as a threat to and as an opportunity for social cohesion. The Lisbon Strategy can be a tool for EU member states in the process of adapting to the more competitive environment brought by globalisation. Yet, is this
process of adaptation compatible with social protection needs? This is a difficult question as some analysts and politicians depict the role of the state in social protection as unsustainable or even counterproductive in the new global scenario. Moreover, EU member states face the
challenges of culturally diverse societies and changing social patterns.

However, the risk of social exclusion remains. A possible answer to these new challenges is to associate closely the creation of more competitive economies and the struggle for social inclusion.

The conference held in Bruges on 14 March 2008 tried to explore some of these paths. Three main questions came to the fore: Can social inclusion be effectively incorporated into the European social agenda? how to promote the necessary partnerships in order to ensure that
economic growth is accompanied by and fosters social inclusion? Which new actors can participate in the response to the new social cohesion challenges, and by which means?

This report summarises the discussions held during the conference in these areas. It considers firstly the place that social inclusion has taken in the EU social agenda. Secondly, it demonstrates how partnerships for social inclusion contribute to tackling some of the new challenges
to social cohesion by fostering social capital. Thirdly, it focuses on innovative partnerships by considering the role that each social sector can play and analysing the innovative aspects of some partnership initiatives.