2010 – A European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

In recent months, the economic crisis has shattered the world. Millions of people have lost their jobs. Forecasts indicate that the crisis is not over. For the poor and excluded, this means even harder times and extreme anxiety about the future.

In Europe and worldwide, hundreds of thousands of Caritas staff and volunteers are working on a daily basis to bring relief and hope. From the starving families in the devastated countryside of Myanmar to social excluded HIV-infected youngsters in Ukraine, from the victims of war crimes in Eastern Congo to the homeless people in Western Europe. Caritas is there, because it cares for everyone.

Through Zero Poverty – Act Now, the Caritas Europa network (including 48 member organisations in 44 European countries) provided an active and solid contribution to 2010 proclaimed by the European Union as the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

A common effort to bridge the gap between rich and poor is needed from those in positions of political responsibility, society as a whole and each and every one of us. Only this can make it possible for people in dire need to escape their difficult circumstances and find hope again. 

The Zero Poverty – Act Now campaign concretely asked men, women, young people and children to make a commitment to people in need and to send a strong and clear signal to governments that no one should live in poverty. Our vision is Zero Poverty.

Change is possible, poverty is not inevitable. Caritas contributes every day to this approach through both its social projects and advocacy work towards decision-makers. Anyone can help to make the ZERO POVERTY vision a reality.

Zero Poverty has succeed in gathering more than 177,855 signatures from all over Europe. 135,000 of them were handed over to the Belgian EU Presidency by Caritas Internationalis Secretary General and EY2010 Ambassador, Lesley-Anne Knight, seconded by Caritas Europa Secretary General, Mr. Jorge Nuño Mayer. The hand-over took place at the closing conference of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion that was held in Brussels in December 2010.