The European meetings contribute to the right of people living in poverty to participate in and access information relating to the decision-making processes that affect their lives and well-being. The European meeting is the most visible point in the process of fostering this but perhaps even more important is the fact that they act as a catalyst for national participation processes.

The short name for these meetings is PeP.

The European PeP Meetings are organised by the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) with support of the European Commission.

EAPN also identifies National Coordinators to assist with the preparation of delegations and the follow up of the PeP Meetings.

The country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament are often associated to the organisation of the Meetings.

In addition, other anti-poverty NGOs assist with the organisation of the Meetings.

Leo Williams is the coordinator of the PeP Meeting ().

What are the European Meetings of People experiencing Poverty?

The European meetings of people experiencing poverty are annual gatherings of delegations of people with direct experiencing poverty coming from EU and EFTA countries who meet to exchange, on policies that are impacting on their daily lives, with each other and guests coming from National and EU Institutions, Social Partners, Social NGOs, Academics and other relevant actors

The European Meetings contribute to the stated EU goal (in the Social OMC, Europe 2020, Declaration of the 2010 EU Year to combat Poverty, Social Investment Package) to foster the participation of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion.

Objectives of the European Meetings of PeP

• To empower the delegates in their journey from People experiencing Poverty to Activists with direct experience of poverty engaged in their communities and organisations.
• To strengthen the participation of people experiencing poverty in Anti-Poverty NGOs and relevant policy making processes at local, national and EU levels.
• To facilitate exchange and learning and to stimulate further exchanges and joint projects.
• Reality Check: On the similarities and differences in different countries and for Guests to check the reality of their approaches to fight poverty against the experience on the ground and to adjust their policies and actions as necessary
• To strengthen the participation of people experiencing poverty in relevant EU processes

Who are the European Meetings of PeP for?

Delegates

• People experiencing poverty who are starting to connect to anti-poverty organisations and are interested to engage in policy making processes
• Some previous delegates to help with continuity

Guests

• Rep of National and EU level Institutions (Political and Functionaries)
• Rep of NGOs, Social Partners, Academics and other relevant actors

General Public

• Some elements of the meeting are open to the General Public. The meeting can be followed on this blog-space, twitter and facebook.