Social innovation day in Brussels

On the occasion of the International day for The Eradication of Poverty, which falls  on the 17th  of  October, the  Brussels Forum Against Poverty (Forum Bruxellois de Lutte contre la Pauvreté-FBLP) is organizing a day of conferences and debates on social innovation, in order to highlight the creativity and innovation of the social sector in the Brussels region and to exchange good practices. 

Through an extensive survey on social innovation, the FBLP has identified 33 projects which constitute the spearhead of social innovation in Brussels in the area of the fight against poverty. An inventory of social innovation in Brussels has been published : this day of debates and conferences will be organized starting from it.  

Some figures about poverty in Brussels: 33% of people in Brussels live below the poverty line; more than ¼ of the children are born in families where none of the parents have revenues from work; 40,000 families are waiting for social housing; in some municipalities, unemployment rate is close to 30%; ¼  of people grow in single-parent families and 30% of homeless suffer from serious mental disorders.  

In  the first part of the day, Brussels politicians (ministers, MPs, municipal officers) will be reading about the 33 social innovation projects. 

In  the second part of the day social innovation specialists  will analyze the local projects, giving them a more global resonance. These specialists will include:  Rosanne Haggerty (Community Solutions, New York), Sandro Cattacin (University of Geneva, WILCO), Frank Moulaert (KU Leuven) et Bruno Gérard (UNIPSO).

Organized as part of the Festival des Libertés,  this initiative   is aimed at professionals of the social sector, politicians,  activists, academics, public services, and to all those who are interested in the issues of the fight against poverty in the Brussels region.