At a conference on 4 October, the WLGA will bring together the key individuals responsible for the delivery of EU funds in Wales, to discuss how the new round of European Funds should be used to tackle poverty and social exclusion in Wales.
The event, ‘From poverty to prosperity: achieving change through EU funding 2014-2020’ is timed as the current round of EU funding (2007-2013) comes to a close and preparations for the next round (2014-2020) intensify at European, UK and Welsh levels. Over 70 delegates will attend the event in Llandudno, North Wales, from Welsh councils, the Welsh Government and the third sector, and the event will also feature key European decision-makers, from the European Parliament and the European Commission, as speakers.
Cllr Bob Bright (Newport), WLGA Spokesperson for European Affairs and event speaker said:
‘“Local Government is a key partner in the delivery and implementation of vital EU funding programmes in Wales. This event is a chance to join up with our partners from the Welsh Government, the third sector and community groups to share views on how best to address poverty and social exclusion through the future European funding programmes. It demonstrates that those who deal with European funding on the ground on a daily basis are ready and willing to take full advantage of the next round of EU funding to ensure the biggest possible benefit for Welsh communities.”
Cllr David Phillips (Swansea), WLGA Spokesperson for Anti-Poverty and event moderator said:
“The focus for this event is on tackling poverty. This is an issue that affects all parts of Wales. With the Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty, Vaughan Gething AM, and representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament and Welsh Government as speakers, participants will learn more about the proposed delivery instruments for the future European Funding Programmes and how we develop interventions to tackle poverty and social exclusion across the European Structural and Investment Funds.
“Our local authority anti-poverty champions are achieving change on the ground and we are looking at ways to coordinate efforts to tackle poverty at the local and regional level and how European funding can complement domestic funds to support that. This event will demonstrate that Welsh councils are extremely keen to play a full and central role in the future EU funding programmes and I am looking forward to having the key players from across Wales in one room to have a lively debate on the opportunities available to communities in the 2014-2020 period.”
This event has been organised to coincide with the Committee of the Regions (CoR) (The European Union’s assembly of regional and local representatives) Open Days week, the European week of regions and cities, which is an opportunity for local and regional government to showcase good practice in implementing EU funds and policies. The WLGA (through its European Team) is involved with this event every year.
