Themes
IDELE themes 2006
In this final year, IDELE considered regional or national programmes that have a significant local dimension. We identified good practice local initiatives that demonstrate the value that national or regional administrators place upon them. Each theme formed the basis of research and the identification of good practice examples, leading to an international seminar and culminating in a thematic report. Theme specific pages on this website outline the thematic background, relevant policy documents, good practice examples and key lessons and recommendations. The full thematic reports provide a summary of the lessons from experience, and conclusions for policy.
The IDELE 2006 themes were:
- The new round of Structural and Cohesion Funds: bringing the local into play in the context of convergence
This theme explored how best to bring local employment development to the right audience in the Convergence Objective countries. At the same time the theme discussed how to position local employment development as a practical policy tool capable of adding value in dealing with the most pressing problems these countries are facing. The lessons from previous local employment development experience in the EU15 and their relevance for the New Member States were also discussed.
This seminar was held in Budapest on 8-9 March 2006.
- Fresh approaches to employment activation and sustainable communities: lessons for the competitiveness and employment regions
This theme focused on those regions that will benefit from the Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective within the EU Structural Funds. These regions will continue to display endemic and sustained unemployment and social exclusion but with far less EU funding. They will be anxious to find the most efficient and effective solutions for their long standing problems.
This theme demonstrated examples of national or regional policies that have recognised the value of local approaches to employment development and enabled a diversity of local partnerships and local actions to flourish. The seminar demonstrated how such local approaches can meet specifically local needs whilst simultaneously contributing to the objectives of national and regional policy - provided that they are given significant freedom and not squeezed into rigid national frameworks.
Key issues considered were job activation (for the young, the old, the minority ethnic groups etc); developing social capital and the social economy; sustainable communities and the strategies that can bring them together in a concerted programme of locally driven regeneration.
This seminar was held in Bologna on 27-28 April 2006.
- Sustainable rural communities: local approaches to job generation and learning and skills development
This theme considered the challenges for local employment development as the EU continues to reform its Common Agricultural Policy and increase the focus on rural development. It considered good practice in designing policy frameworks for rural areas. Case examples included programmes that address the most pressing problems that rural areas face with a particular focus on enterprise and entrepreneurship and learning and skills. They demonstrated the benefits of local agents working together over a long period of time with their government counterparts to bring about sustainable rural development. The particular focus of the seminar was on the employment dimension - the creation of new enterprises and jobs and the preparation of the workforce for these jobs through learning and skills development.
This seminar was held in Santiago de Compostela on 1-2 June 2006.
- The local and the European Employment Strategy: lessons from IDELE
This seminar was the showpiece event for the key findings and policy propositions of the three years of IDELE. The 'best of the best' local projects and policy community representatives will be taking part, together with European Commission representatives to complete the cycle of learning and exchange of experiences. A final thematic report summarises learning from the previous eleven thematic reports.
This last seminar was held in Brussels on 13-14 July 2006
Each theme forms the basis of research and the identification of good practice examples, leading to an international seminar and culminating in a thematic report. Theme specific pages on this Web site outline the thematic background, relevant policy documents, good practice examples and key lessons and recommendations. Full thematic reports and summaries will be available soon, each providing a summary of the lessons from experience, and conclusions for policy.
