Period of exchange : 2010
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Whether you are or not a member of the network, this page enables you to take an active part in the exchange of practices for street workers. All contributions are welcome. To simplify the process of exchanges and interactions, each year a generic theme is chosen on which we concentrate.
Later, based on all your productions, a synthesis will be done and put on-line on this website.
THEME : street work, children rights, poverty and social exclusion
Period of exchange : 2010
This exchange aims to collect content to feed the discussions, debates and workshops in order to prepare the 2nd International Forum of Social Street Workers which will take place in Brussels, from 26 to 30 of october 2010 around the theme : «Street work, children rights, poverty and social exclusion ».
This exchange work and your contributions will also serve as a base to elaborate a book of recommendations which will be presented to the various belgians, europeans and international political authorities on the 29 of october 2010.
Introduction
Our thinking now revolves around the themes of rights of the child, poverty and social exclusion. We can make proposals based on your experience as street workers. Here are a few avenues for exploration, but please don’t hesitate to come up with other ideas and issues which you think are even more relevant.
- In terms of poverty and young people, it would seem that we need to take into account two different situations at the same time:
- How poverty can have an impact on respect for rights of the child ?
- How non-respect for rights of the child can itself generate precarious situations ?
This double situation must be studied at three different levels: practices, policies and finally directions, insofar as it is this particular development model which not only makes poverty possible, but which also means it is reproduced. It is essential to draw international comparisons at this level if we want to ensure that these circumstances become unacceptable.
Several subsequent matters :
1. It should cease to be possible to talk about child poverty, as there should be no poverty other than that of parents. What are you seeing in situations of family breakdown which plunge children into a situation of poverty which they themselves must deal with? How can we describe these situations? What are the practices and policies which could attempt to stop this?
2. Does family poverty lie behind problems in the street? What have you seen of the consequences?
3. Does compulsory schooling bring with it attitudes of rejection and disengagement as regards experience in the street? How can we interpret this issue? And how can we interact with it?
4. Can we not say that widespread stigmatization of young people and in particular young people in the street is a new cultural and social element which intersects with social and economic problems in various ways: “first” stigmatization which leads to marginalization processes: difficult socio-economic situations which in turn result in other forms of stigmatization? Is it possible to draw a map of these differing forms of stigmatization of youth or of part of it?
5. Is the social cohesion model a relevant benchmark model for street work? If this is the case, what appropriate practices does it inspire among street workers?
6. Can poverty be linked to social exclusion? How is social exclusion experienced in the street?
Good work !
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or send them to Dynamo International,
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