LAUNCH OF THE UPDATED VENICE DECLARATION
And Assembly of the European Local Inclusion and Social Action Network (Elisan)
Seat of the Veneto Regional Council – Palazzo Ferro Fini
Venice, 1st-2nd March 2023
The two days in 8 minutes
The Venice Declaration is focused on Goal 11 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and it aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, durable and sustainable. It was drafted in 2017 by experts from different parts of the world under the sponsorship of the Veneto Region together with the International Federation for Family Development. It has been updated this year, in light of the experiences acquired during the pandemic. The new version was presented on 1st March 2023 at Palazzo Ferro Fini, headquarters of the Veneto Regional Council.
More than two hundred cities and regions, including Marseille, Sao Paulo in Brazil or Chihuahua in Mexico, have already signed the Declaration, which includes topics such as access to adequate, safe, affordable housing; access to new technologies to increase social; inclusive and quality education, with increased accessible facilities for children, in close proximity to workplaces; promotion of a healthy lifestyle, particularly for the prevention of mental disorders, through health care and appropriate facilities; security, through the creation of a safe environment, based on solidarity, social interaction, the presence of volunteers, neighborhood policies, the use of video cameras, public lights, and information on how to behave in case of natural disasters or emergency situations; reduction of the negative per capita environmental impact of cities, paying special attention to air quality and the management of municipal and other waste; safe, convenient, accessible and sustainable transportation systems, enhancing public ones, with special attention to the needs of the most vulnerable; housing accessibility plan for the most disadvantaged citizens, including the promotion of smart cohesions of people from different receptive groups, united by the use of the same services; promotion of volunteers for the preservation and renovation of the cultural heritage of cities and the support of tourism; the establishment of specific programs to recognize the value of unpaid work and care to address the needs of families in vulnerable situations, including those of single-parent households, large households, migrants…
Following the global trend of urbanization, as has been pointed out by the United Nations, it focuses on the common interest to ensure safe and healthy growth for all family members, from children to parents and young people, with special attention to the elderly and those with special needs.
The commitment shared by the signatories of the Venice Declaration is to submit an annual report on the progress made concerning one or more of those points, in order to collect the relevant good practices to be then examined and assessed by academic experts.
The President of the Veneto Regional Council, Roberto Ciambetti, introduced the proceedings by stating how “the Venice Declaration has revealed common strategies to overcome and avoid the risks of isolation, loneliness and dependence on technologies. A home can never become a prison or, even worse, a technological prison, marked by the domestic violence suffered by women and children. The different crises we undergo have reinforced phenomena such as exploitation, conflict, domestic violence, human trafficking, and the abuse of children or the elderly, while the Ukrainian-Russian conflict has shown how balances that were thought to be consolidated can suddenly break down.” This is why, he recalled, a year ago, in Brussels, we decided to rewrite the Venice Declaration, to adapt it to the new scenario, based on the extraordinary contribution that each of the signatories has been to make. He concluded that “the family is the basis of that extraordinary architecture that can guide the whole of humanity in the great challenges that await us, starting with the fight against poverty, hunger, climate change: if we want to save the common home and its inhabitants, we must start again from the family.”
During the presentation, the focal point on the family from the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations intervened to highlight the relevance of the Venice Declaration for the Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the contribution of signatories to the preparations and celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family, to be held in 2024.
Other contributions were made by the president of the International Federation for Family Development, Olivier Yao, and the director of International Relations, Ignacio Socias; the president of the European Local Inclusion and Social Action Network and former Vice Mayor of the City of Marseille, Sylvie Carrega; the executive director of the Network, Jean-Max Trouillet; and the President of the Kujawsko- Pomorskie Region in Poland, Piotr Calbecki, representing the new signatories.
Ignacio Socias emphasized that “the Venice Declaration was promoted in light of the challenges families have been facing during the past decades around the world, especially those who live in urban areas, such as decreased fertility, as they cannot benefit from the availability of good paying jobs brought on by industrialization, with the consequent growth in inequality; later age at marriage and rise in cohabitation, closely correlated with the feminization of poverty and more inequality; rising divorce rates, due to a variety of factors including an emphasis on romantic love in marriage, women’s increased economic opportunities, a decrease in employment opportunities for some men, and alternatives to marital relationships; and finally, the increase in life expectancy, from 64.2 years in 1990 to 72.6 years in 2020.”
He added that, then, the pandemic and other contemporary crises have brought new realities and problems that required attention as part of the contents of the Declaration: the increase of inequalities, especially for women and children; the loss of population, the decrease in net migration and life expectancy as a result of the impact of COVID-19. He ended by quoting the United Nations World Cities Report in its 2020 edition which states that “when cities are well-planned and managed, they can lift families out of poverty, liberate women from gender-based discrimination, point to bright futures for children and youth, offer comforts and supports to older persons in their golden years and welcome migrants looking for a better life.”
Piotr Calbecki, as head of the government of the Polish Kujawian-Pomeranian region, explained that “our help focuses on supporting poor families, promoting children’s education, and supporting sick and elderly people. In particular, we try to intervene to help those who have to deal with an elderly person on a daily basis to regain a piece of their lives, perhaps being able to go on vacation, knowing that there is our region ready to support them.”
This launch of the updated version of the Venice Declaration took place on the eve of the annual General Assembly of the European Local Inclusion and Social Action Network, hold in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, with the participation of delegations from Italy, France, Austria, Poland, Greece, Netherlands and Spain.
Programme
Welcoming remarks and introduction
Roberto Ciambetti
President, Veneto Regional Council
Renata Kaczmarska
Focal Point on Family, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Jean Max Trouillet
President, ELISAN European Local Inclusion and Social Action Network Steering Committee
Olivier Yao
President, International Federation for Family Development
Ignacio Socias
Director of International Relations, International Federation for Family Development
Piotr Calbecki
Marshal, President of the Kukawsko-Pomorskie Region (Poland)
Gianna Zamaro
Director of Health, Social Policies and Disability, Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia (Italy)
Conclusions
Roberto Ciambetti
President, Veneto Regional Council
Full Webcast of the Launch of the Updated Declaration (1st March)
IFFD Speech at the ELISAN Assembly (2nd March)
Participants
Veneto Region
Roberto Ciambetti, President Veneto Regional Council
Manuela Lanzarin Regional Minister for Social and Health Services
Antonio Franzina
European Local Inclusion and Social Action Network (Elisan)
Sylvie Carrega, President
Jean Max Trouillet, Director of the Steering Committee and Treasurer
Elena Curtopassi, Secretary General
International Federation for Family Development (IFFD)
Olivier Yao, President
Ignacio Socias, Director of International Relations
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Renata Kaczmarska, Focal Point on the Family
Region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Poland)
Piotr Calbecki, Marshal
Adam Szponka, Director of Regional Centre for Social Policy Torun
Mieszko Matusiak, Head of the EU office
State of Carinthia (Austria)
Beate Prettner, Regional Councillor
Stefan Haffner, Project Manager
Christine Gaschler-Andreasch, Department of Children and Youth Services
Martina Rattinger, Director of the EU Representation office
Departmental Council of Bouches-du-Rhône (France)
Camille Salinier, Project Manager
Autonomous Region Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy)
Gianna Zamaro, Director of Health, Social Policies and Disability
Annamaria Cosattini, Brussels Liaison Office
Municipality of Fyli (Greece)
Christos Pappous, Mayor
Elli Katsanou, Councillor on EU Affairs
Athanassios Goumas, Greek Authority in Brussels
Municipality of Carry le Rouet (France)
Valérie Guarino, Councillor and Deputy Mayor
City of Rotterdam
Anthony Polychronakis, project manager
Municipality of Syros-Cyclades (Greece)
Miltos Sakellariou, expert
Union Nationale des Centres Communaux d’Action Sociale – UNCCAS (France)
Eliane Guiougou, Vice-President of European Affairs
Union Départementale des Centres Communales d’Action Sociale de Guadeloupe
Eliane Guiougou, Vice-President
Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe
Anne Marie Chavanon, President of the Environment and Health Crisis Committee
European Social Action Network (ESAN)
Léon Dujardin
Polibienestar Research Institute of Valencia
Jordi Garces, director, Expert
Other institutions represented
Focus on selected European and International activities and partnerships
HOPE Responding to the Heatwaves in the Older People Ecosystem
Erasmus+
IDEAHL, Improving Digital Empowerment for Active Healthy Living
HORIZON.2.1 Health, project
Value Care, Value-based methodology for integrated care
ISRAA Treviso
FABER Europa
Questions submitted and replies to them
What ARE the next steps of the project?
The presentation of the Annual Monitoring Reports by the signatories by March, 31st; the Technical Meeting of Signatories in Torun (Poland) on May, 31st; the presentation of the Working Group on Circular Economy, Food and Energy Security, coordinated by the city of Sao Paulo; and the event to celebrate World Cities Day at the UN Headquarters on October, 31st.
What are the expectations of the New Venice Declaration for the signatories? How can they engage in the new topics?
There are no new topics, but some modified texts for quite a few of them. They can be inspired by this updated version to face the same challenges in new ways, according to the good practices shared by others.
What are the main benefits for a city in signing this New version of the Venice Declaration?
Same as before in a renewed way and access to what has worked in other signatories, as well as getting the chance to show the work done on the points of the Declaration.
With the success of the 1st Venice Declaration, when could we have the repository of countries’ past experience to emulate these positive impacts?
When the Annual Monitoring Reports presented by March, 31st are published.
