Guidelines For The Implementation of New Tools and Good Practice in The Fight Against New Urban Poverty

Guidelines for the Implementation of New Tools
and Good Practice in the Fight against New Urban Povert y

COPERTINA Xpess 11-10-2006 18:37 Pagina 1
INGLESE cap 1 11-10-2006 18:04 Pagina 5
Guidelines for the Implementation of New Tools
and Good Practice in the Fight against New Urban Povert y
GOBIERNO DE LA CIUDAD
DE BUENOS AIRES
PROVINCIA
DI PRATO
MUNICIPALIDAD
DE ATE
ALCALDA MAYOR
DE BOGOT D.C.
COMUNE DI ROMA
MUNICIPALIDAD
DE PERGAMINO
MUNICIPALIDAD
DE ASERR ONG
MUNICIPALIDAD
DE SAN JOAQUN
PREFEITURA DA CIDADE
DE SO PAULO
MUNICIPALIDAD
DE SAN MARTN
AYUNTAMIENTO
DE VALLADOLLID
CITY OF
VAASA
MUNICIPALIDAD
DE RIOJA
ONG
Project coordinated by Municipality of Rome - Italy
Network 10 - Fight against urban poverty
URB-AL Program
European Commission
Graphic project and pagination
Associazione Nero E Non Solo
Via Luigi Gigliotti, 174
00156 Roma
Printed by
Litografica Iride srl
Via della Bufalotta, 224 - 00139 Roma
iride.roma@tiscali.it
May 2006
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents
of this publication is the sole responsibility of Municipality of Rome and his partners and can
in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
Index
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 7
CHAPTER 1:
Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 11
1.1 Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 11
1.2 The Guide-lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 13
1.3 Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 14
1.4 Local Development - Sense of Membership and Permanent Social Networks pag 15
1.5 Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 16
CHAPTER 2:
Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 19
2.1 Set up of a Local Sustainable Partecipatory Development Process . . . . . . . . pag 19
2.1.1 Involvement of the Concerned Population:
Participation as a Winning Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 20
2.1.2 Identification of Possible Strategic Allies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 21
2.1.3 Investigation and Shared Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 23
2.1.4 Analysis of Institutional Potentials and Critical Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 25
2 . 2 Strategic and Local Pact for the Integration of the Social and Economic Sectors . pag 27
2.2.1 Promotion and Strengthening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 28
2.2.2 From Strategy to Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 30
CHAPTER 3:
Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 33
3.1 Social . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 35
3.1.1 Bogot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 36
3.1.2 Buenos Aires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 38
3.1.3 Prato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 38
3.1.4 Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 40
3.1.5 San Joaqun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 41
3.1.6 San Martn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 42
3.1.7 Valladolid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 45
3.2 Local Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 48
3.2.1 Aserr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 49
3.2.2 Buenos Aires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 51
3.2.3 Rome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 51
3.2.4 Cepad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 54
3.3 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 56
3.3.1 Ate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 57
3.3.2 Bogot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 57
3.3.3 Pergamino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 58
| Summary |
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3.4 Health-Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 60
3.4.1 Aserr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 61
3.4.2 Ate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 62
3.4.3 San Joaqun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 63
3.5 Effective Labour Market Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 64
3.5.1 Bogot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 65
3.5.2 Rome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 67
3.5.3 So Paulo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 68
3.5.4 Vaasa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 69
3.5.5 Valladolid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 70
3.6 Social, Economic and Productive Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 72
3.6.1 Bogot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 73
3.6.2 Buenos Aires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 73
3.6.3 San Martn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 76
3.7 Housing Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 78
3.7.1 Bogot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 79
3.7.2 Rome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 79
CHAPTER 4:
The Outcome of Local Fora: hypothetical projects . . . . . . . . . . pag 81
4.1 Hypotetical projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 88
CHAPTER 5:
New Poor and Old Conceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 111
5.1 New Poverty or New Poor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 111
5.2 Old Conceptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 113
5.3 Beyond Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 115
CHAPTER 6:
Practicar - Origin and Methodologies 18 shared months. . . . . . pag 119
6.1 Project Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 121
6.2 Shared Derivative Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 124
6.3 Methodologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 125
CHAPTER 7:
Partners of the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 129
7.1 European partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 129
7.2 Latin american partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 132
Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 138
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag 140
Introduction
This handbook is the final product of Practicar, a significant project. The first and foremost
objective of this handbook is to provide a useful tool to local governments, which consider new
urban poverty as a political priority. Therefore, this is not only a report about the great work
carried out by all the project partners but also an independent product, the result of coopera-
tion between extremely heterogeneous actors. This handbook may be used and transferred to
as many local situations as possible. In two years of busy activity, the project partners focused
on different forms of old and new poverty. Together, they outlined the most effective strate-
gies to fight them. Specifically, a number of new poverty patterns affecting different areas of
the planet have been kept under close observation. Complex forms of poverty, where the lack
of income is one but not the sole one main factor. Along with that, there are the loss of
fundamental rights, the impossible access to social services and claim of the individual polit-
ical rights, the missed participation to the social and cultural life. In short, to be - by full right
- citizens and workers. The analytical part of this handbook makes a focus on the concept of
vulnerability, which characterizes the new forms of poverty. It is important to highlight that,
over the last decades, the global situation deteriorated; and that an increasingly high number
people have fallen into the area of vulnerability. In an unequal world, inequalities are multi-
plying. This challenges the idea that poverty is a sort of natural condition, which affects the
individual and tends to reproduce itself: the condition of the less privileged ones. As a matter
of fact, this phenomenon is something else: it is the product of a specific and dominating
development pattern. It is pointless to talk of poverty without talking of wealth and of how
they have both generated. Therefore, to fight against poverty, it is not enough to promote a
general model for development if such model is not specified in qualitative terms. It may be
meaningful to reconsider the old distinction between progress and development.
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Substantially, the size and the type of the issues at stake call for a clear political choice where
the fight against poverty is established as being a priority, and spurs the governments of rich
countries to meet the obligations taken in the framework of the Millennium Goals. But, in spite
of the size of the issues, there is still a large manoeuvring space for institutions, local gov-
ernments, and for the networks of local authorities. Sustainable options may be designed and
supported in the frame of local development policies and practices, together with new pro-
duction and consumption models which answer to questions on why, what and how to create
new life styles which show that the ongoing development pattern can be modified. The very
local welfare system may become the central tool in order to meet these objectives, provided
social policies can integrate with development policies to promote participation in order to
improve social cohesion.
Hence, these are the topics faced in this handbook. The aim is to describe a number of good
practices and operational guidelines that may be adopted by local authorities to fight against
new poverty. These ones are well aware that poverty is a far-reaching issue and any post-
ponement of global choices would be unjustifiable. Therefore, they refuse, they do not seek
for any justification and they intend to exercise all their power so that poverty is stricken off,
since they are aware that this is all possible.
As a matter of fact, to strike off poverty through the achievement of a new sustainable devel-
opment model is todays challenge for tomorrows peace and progress. We hope that, with the
Practicar Project, we have played our part.
Luca Lo Bianco
Project Manager
XV Department Director
V U.O. Economic and Development Policies
City Council of Rome
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Chapter 1: Principles
1.1 Foreword
It may seem misleading or even useless to speak about new poverty and methods to strive
against it in a world where millions of people are dying every day from starvation, thirst, dis-
eases; people who are reduced to destitution and live just above the poverty threshold.
Actually, things do not stand as such for two reasons. First, there is one additional evidence
if any were needed that poverty is not a natural condition. Structural poverty re-occurs again
and again and feeds on itself. It is a condition where people fall due to unequal development
strategies, which have forced a large part of the world population to live in poverty and con-
tinue to do so. Over the last decades, in spite of analysts warnings, international institutions
and organizations observed an increase in the number of poor. More importantly, the causes
of this serious situation have not been removed. According to statistics, those who where rich
have become richer and those who were poor have become poorer.
However, in the last two decades, another phenomenon - namely new poverty - has become
increasingly important. It deals with the progressive impoverishment of the middleclasses
due to the polarization of wealth. Essentially, new poverty strikes the industrialized and rich
countries where spreading-over social exclusion, suffering and precarious employment
become social and economic uncertainty. However, the fight against new poverty does not
mean to ignore structural poverty, but to be aware that although they represents two facets
of global development iniquities they must be faced by using different approaches and
methodologies in order to keep their social and economic diversity in due account. Not stop-
ping here, the fight against new poverty needs to be matched to measures against exclusion-
and precariousness-bearing mechanisms and situations. These latter provoke social marginal-
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isation, which brings vulnerability, and finally structural poverty. Therefore, the fight against
new poverty has to be designed as a prevention measure against the worst outcome. It is a
founding element of far-reaching measures to combat new poverty, and, like them, it needs to
go to the root of the phenomenon.
| Guidelines for the Implementation of New Tools and Good Practice in the Fight against New Urban Povert y |
1.2 The Guide-lines
Observations about the causes of poverty and methods for fighting it stem out from the iden-
tification of two basic principles: political options and involvement. A clear political commit-
ment to find a solution to old and new poverty has to be expressed. It is necessary to get rid
of the approach, which tends to downsize this issue to the social field without giving it a true
political dimension. Moreover, just because we talk of poverty as a form of social, economic
and cultural deprivation, and more generally, as a form of political and cultural alienation, an
inclusion-oriented fight of poverty should imply the involvement of victims. It is clear that new
poverty and vulnerability must be dealt with at the onset, i.e. before shortterm poverty sta-
bilizes and changes into structural poverty, and feeds itself. This is why it is necessary to over-
come the welfare-oriented approach as it would simply accompany poverty and would not
lay grounds to solve the problem. On the contrary, the focus should be on an integrated
approach to combine development and social policies in the aim to pursue a development
model based on economic well-being and social cohesion. To do so, it is necessary to use the
potentials of the participatory approach. In the awareness that poverty can be defeated only
if those marginalised today are left to be the major players of their rescue.
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| CHAPTER 1 Principles |
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1.3 Policies
Besides poverty, and the overwhelming scale it has taken, one may feel astray and believe it
is an overriding issue; any commitment would be useless; and any measure implemented by
local authorities would be anyway inadequate. For sure, global policies are needed since both
the global development model and national policies against poverty are challenged here.
However, a space of manoeuvring still remains for local authorities to get to viable result with-
out being a witness only. At global level, rich countries should meet their obligations and allo-
cate 0.7% of their GDP for the achievement of the millennium goals, i.e., to halve extreme
poverty by 2015. At national level, various forms of job flexibility have evolved into a kind of
social precariousness, which has brought a widespread feeling of uncertainty among people.
On the other hand, inclusion policies should be stimulated. In this situation, the level of gov-
ernment that operate close to the changing social setting, i.e. local authorities, are realising
the need to provide for policies to offset the spread of new poverty. Although global problems
cannot be solved by the implementation of local measures only, many large cities and small
towns, provinces and regions are including in their policy agendas items as the recognition of
the undeferrable necessity for institutional action against new poverty, which is crucial to
implement a sustainable intervention strategy.
Similarly, another priority for local authorities is a better democracy in decisionmaking , and
therefore, strengthening of the participatory process in the work out of local public policies.
The aim is to transform local strategies to combat new poverty into a mutual assumption of
responsibilities. This sharing of responsibilities must be the grounds for a new social pact
between local authorities and citizens, where citizens become partly responsible for getting
out from vulnerability. Citizens co-operate not only by playing an active role, by being ready to
be trained and to make an appropriate use of the resources available but, most of all, by tak-
ing an active role in the definition of new local policies. Policies can no longer consist of the
supply of benevolent grants non-recurring, totally useless allowances for citizens. They
aim is to establish a longlasting partnership between local institutions and citizens, i.e., a
participatory democracy model based on measurable mutual objectives and, most important-
ly, on mutual assumption of responsibilities.
In this scenario, the crucial issue is consistency between policies, i.e. coordination so that dif-
ferent strategies are not in competition, but well on the contrary, do strengthen each other
while aiming at the same goal.
The fight against new urban poverty certainly requires fund allocations, but the main point is
the implementation of consistent policies focused on one objective only: the fight against
urban poverty. Hence, the need for governmental bodies to share lines of action (or legislative
tools), that may provide consistency and integration between housing, labour, health care and
education policies (just to name the main ones), and give their contribution to achieve the
agreed objective. An essential feature for this type of process is that the outcome of the joint
effort should not only be a political but also a cultural one.
1.4 Local Development - Sense of Membership
and Permanent Social Networks
Based on the above, it follows that the feasibility of any action against new poverty also
general poverty must be assessed not only in technical and economic terms, but also, and
most importantly, in political terms. For local authorities, policy is specifically local, territorial
and direct. Differently from the widespread neoliberalist vision on development based on
local competition, this policy aims to highlight local differences and characteristics. It has to
involve citizens, and reinforce stable social networks. These ones are expected to give rise to
a sustainable selfpromotion of local areas and communities. Developmental measures
should involve also the lessprivileged individuals within local community.
Therefore, local development process do not aim only (if ever they did in the past) to reach
mere economic objectives but to upgrade the overall territorial system. Actually, it may be said
that system build up is the main objective of the development process. In fact, only through
the establishment of a strong identity can individuals play a role within the globalization
process as an active instead of a passive actor. Not only: a strong identity is a requirement
to take part in the establishment of new networks, in the set up of new alliances between dif-
ferent actors who share the same objectives but may live far the ones from the others. This
approach makes it possible to consider globalization as an opportunity. Inclusion, social cohe-
siveness, and reinforcement of the local network, highlight the twofold facets of the partici-
patory process: the one focused on the involvement of the organized actors, and the second
aims at starting a dialogue with the body of citizens. The common knowledge of a given area,
the recognition of its criticalities and opportunities and, finally, the joint design of a develop-
ment project to utilize local resources and involve the interested actors are fundamental to the
above-mentioned systembuilding strategy. Such choices cannot be confined to a matter of
method only. Such approach is absolutely vital if development is assigned a qualitative value,
without reducing it to a strictly economic-related vision. Quality of life, freedom of expression,
entitlement to and protection of fundamental rights are by now an integral part of the vision
of development which cannot be overwhelmed by economic growth. In essence, real progress
can only be achieved when economic development and social cohesion support each other.
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| CHAPTER 1 Principles |
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1.5 Involvement
Involvement in developing social relationships, in spreading the knowledge of local areas, in
involving both individuals and social, economic and cultural actors in the decision-making
process is an important factor for social cohesion and thus for development. Towns have
become the new central stage for politics and its transformation. They are the testing ground
of economic, social, cultural, political and institutional innovation. They bring significant
change to objectives and content. Testing of new methodologies and process, which evolve
into political strategies, like those concerning different levels of involvement: from leadership
to conflict negotiation, and to participatory democracy. The importance of participatory democ-
racy, seen as the most open form of democracy, has been sanctioned at the IV Forum of local
authorities network for the promotion of social inclusion social inclusion requires the involve -
ment and the commitment of citizens to the form of a participative democracy, recognizing the
capacity of citizens to act on their own. Towns cannot develop if citizens do not have a direct
access to direct action mechanisms which allow them to take part to decisionmaking
processes which affect their own lives.
It is therefore necessary to define forms of institutionalisation of the participation practice so
that these ones are not in connection with the legitimisation of one or another political lead-
ership, but they establish themselves as points of strength of the overall system. Such con-
stitutivetype actions, in fact, would have their legal base on regulatory sources, which may
be broadly shared within the political system. The same practices also acquire a broader
meaning in the frame of an institutional reform process that would result further conse-
quences - in synergy with other local policies- as administrative decentralization.
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Chapter 2: Strategies
2.1 Set up of a Local Sustainable Part i c i p a t o ry
Development Process
In a time of globalisation and reorganization of national States, local and regional economies
must rely on their strengths to face the dangers of an increasingly unstable and competitive
economic scenario. In this situation, the business sector often responds by delocalizing man-
ufacturing activities in search for better conditions, with the result of undermining the original
context and weakening the social basis of consensus.
On the other hand, the risks of globalisation may also result in new opportunities provided
business activities and organisations pay due attention to the outer environment not only from
an economic, a social and a cultural view point.
This process gets even more facets when it challenges public national, regional and local insti-
tutions and authorities for the adoption of new policymaking patterns designed to efficient-
ly integrate and coordinate local resources.
This brings the urgent need to adopt more complex and participatory governance strategies to
manage development, based on integrated and multi-sectorial actions, as to coordinate the
relationships between the different institutional levels, between the public and the private
sectors, between the industrial, agricultural and services sector.
In this context, the so-called negotiated planning was adopted in Italy also. It includes ter-
ritorial pacts, strategic urban planning and other local action programmes: the aim is to foster
cooperation between local actors by using appropriate measures and procedures; both hori-
zontal measures (involving community actors and facilities), and vertical measures (between
different institutional levels, from national to local governments).
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These models brought innovation among the usual mechanisms of re p resentative democracy.
And the word governance was coined. These models are not based on a bare negotiation for
development (and the costs involved), but they test enlarged negotiations where national and
local institutions and associations adopt specific pro c e d u res. The aim is to define a series of
s h a red and mutually responsible strategies to define a system beneficial for every b o d y.
The Italian case deserves some brief investigation to serve as an example of this process. Not
haphazardly, negotiated planning began in Italy in the early 1990s. The situation showed many
different elements which led the focus on the local context as a new dimension of the demo-
craticrepresentative practice: the delegitimation of an entire political class, as a result of the
Tangentopoli (bribesville) affair, the end of the special funding to the South of Italy (and,
more generally, to many local authorities), the reform of the communal and provincial electoral
system and the ever increasing interest of EU policies to local areas suggested to promote the
local context due to the closeness between decision-making and people.
At the same time, the local context (particularly towns) began to suffer from the fallback of
macroeconomic dynamics (the so-called negative externalities). Such dynamics were hard-
ly predictable and even less governable by the National government. The local context
observed defenceless the enlargement of social exclusion to an increasing number of people
who, until little before, seemed to be free from such risk of exclusion.
The above picture is useful to understand the importance of a strategic approach in the fight
against urban poverty risks and opportunities, costs and benefits, sudden fortunes and unex-
pected impoverishments blend chaotically into town communities.
It seems difficult to define how to curb the former and stimulate the latter (as well as how
to decide when and where to intervene). Only a participated process gives local communities
the chance of being leading actors (rather than passive receivers) of sustainable development
p o l i c i e s .
Time is running short, and much has been lost since George Bernard Shaw rebuked: Poverty
is the greatest of evils and the worst of offences.
2.1.1 Involvement of the Concerned Population:
Participation as a Winning Method
The fight against urban poverty does not simply mean to be committed in a series of ad hoc
actions and policies: a cultural struggle to foster the involvement of local communities and
give them a forefront position is equally important.
To fight poverty is also a matter of method, which implies the rereading of peculiar practices
of procedural democracy, i.e. the testing of participation patterns to town government based
on the support of local actors (local politicians), and global actors (intergovernmental institu-
tions, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union).
Given the deficiencies of representative democracy institutions in finding a solution to certain
townrelated issues, many local decision-makers, experts and intellectuals find it necessary
to involve local communities in the local decisionmaking process even though this inevitably
downsizes the exclusive central position of the elected decision-makers.
However, this is a very complex issue: participation is placed inside an urban political situa-
tion characterized by changing dynamics which affects issues as cohabitation and mutual
respect of different cultures, religions and traditions.
Not only: participation means to get to a joint definition about the contents and the objectives
of public policies, but also (however only when the process is further on) to argue about town
governing patterns and, more generally, about the political system as a whole. It also means
to call the attention of policymakers on the needs and problems of citizens, according to a
bottom up approach of policy definition of intervention priorities. This approach is opposed to
the traditional and longadopted top down approach, often not respondent to governing
demands coming from local areas.
The quality of urban life and of its environment, the social regeneration processes and the con-
cept of govern based on cohesion, participation and enhancement of the social capital (to
be described below) become the factors of a sustainable development, which is no longer
indiscriminate and irrespective of the environment.
More precisely, not only the objectives and the patterns to manage public policies on the ter-
ritorial scale are modified. Wider action networks are set up, involving the bearers of interests
falling within the civil society: therefore, not only enterprises and privately-owned organi-
zations are involved but also the third sector and EU organizations.
New organizational solutions acknowledge greater powers to the so-called institutional
peripheries, whereas the involvement of public and private actors fosters the set up of the
so-called governance systems.
In the frame of such governance systems, the relationship between the actors who partici-
pate to the public action are under stricter regulation than in the past. Such regulation is based
to criteria, resources and principles that go beyond the usual democratic and representative
legitimisation approach (the mainstay of modern systems of government) towards new partic-
ipation systems whose linchpins are Involvement and cross-cut action.
2.1.2 Identification of Possible Strategic Allies
Below a list of the various actors potentially interested to local development plans providing
important spin-offs to the fight against urban poverty:
a) Private individuals: their role presents a twofold factor, which can be hardly tackled. On
one hand, large-sized enterprises represent a modernization factor for local communities,
since they authorize an integrated salary scheme for workers, limit unregistered labour,
involve (also indirectly) local communities in development projects (recycling plans, rege-
neration of disused facilities and waste lands, agricultural mechanisation in rural areas)
and boost investments on technological research.
In this connection, an example is given by the project Talentos y oportunidades para la
generacin de ingresos by the Administrative Department of Social We l f a re, District of
Bogot, which aims to the recognition of each individual capacities for the assignment of a
empleo digno (a worthy job). The alliance between public and private bodies and the third
sector aims at creating more human and liveable cities, enhancing social inclusion, dignif-
ying the activities that suffer from cultural stereotypes, and giving professional training to
i n f o rmal workers. On the other hand, the promotion of entre p reneurial activities by means
of interinstitutional alliances creates a professional tie between workers and their firm, to
the detriment of the bargaining power of the formers with respect to the latter.
More generally, the development model based on largesized enterprises is being recon-
sidered: the benefits provided by the enterprise at local level require a favourable pricing
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| CHAPTER 2 Strategies |
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policy for material and nonrenewable resource supply. The result is that local populations
risk to pay a higher price for electric power than the multinational company established on
the same area.
Many people state that if large enterprises contribute by enhancing technological innova-
tion and the diffusion of labour laws only, failing to comply with the principles of social
responsibility, no local development will ever be achieved.
Therefore, the enterprise would build confidence with the community, in particular with
the human capital, which guarantees the prospective success of the enterprise in the mar-
ket economy. An issue which had already been anticipated by Marshall, who observed that
the market tends to reward the enterprises that support the workers latent skills.
By so doing, the industrialized production would not act as a deterrent to selfentrepre-
neurship, nor to the sustainable development of natural resources, it would instead pro-
mote a mentality oriented to the set up of microenterprises and local cooperatives.
More generally, a development model based on sociallyresponsible enterprises would
prevent especially in areas rich in natural resources and with little manufacturing tradi-
tion the legitimisation of market supremacy and state subordination, which would fur-
ther increase social discomfort and weaken the development programme.
For this reason, several projects proposed by Practicar partners focused on the need to
make local communities accountable for the management of their local resources by
modernizing their political and social life (e.g. the Rioja and Ate projects).
Proposals are therefore suggested to establish new institutions, to foster dialogue bet-
ween public and private actors, and associations. Negotiation is required as a tool to redu-
ce isolation between the political and the entrepreneurial classes.
Above all, the re-foundation of politics based on new institutions and on a renewed con-
fidence of citizens towards local decision-makes is called for to avoid that transformation
take place in a social vacuum situation.
b) University: the coalition with academic institutions, research centres and educational
institutions plays a fundamental role (as stated by several projects presented by Practicar
partners) as well as some examples of good practices implemented by the same partners.
As far as the aforesaid projects are concerned, attention must be paid to the project for
the third age implemented by the Municipality of Valladolid, supported by the University
of Salamanca, and to the role of vocational training and research institutions of the San
Martin project.
With regard to the second case, attention must be paid to the Territorial Pact to develop
the urban suburbs of Rome. The Pact involves the Lazio Region, the Province and the
Municipality of Rome, the V and VIII Municipalities, the Towns of Guidonia Montecelio and
Tivoli. The Tor Vergata University of Rome is considered as an asset, as well as the tourist
pole of Tivoli, the widespread craft industry and the efficient railways and subways system
which link Rome to its outskirts. The University was established to the purpose of increa-
sing the number of integrated programmes between the entrepreneurial and the research
sector and to promote territorial marketing actions.
The Tor Vergata University was assigned a specific role within the Territorial Pacts (the so-
called Research District Tor Vergata University), in sight of setting up a university cam-
pus and to improve the relationships between research institutions and entrepreneurial
system, through technological innovation projects.
c) Associations: the high number of associations established in local context has always
been considered a main indicator of local development. The link between citizens com-
mitment and high quality of life refers to a concept frequently associated to local deve-
lopment, that is to say, social capital. The term indicates a property belonging to the
entire social system, which favours democracy and economic development by spreading
confidence and reciprocity rules among people. The way social capital is intended in this
framework can be compared to citizens engagement, since it positively affects social
organization, collective action and degree of cooperation among people, improving effi-
ciency and bringing vitality to society.
The rationale is that homogeneous structures and procedures alone do not guarantee the
adequate performance of an institution. The empiric evidence is given by Putnams renow-
ned study on the Italian regions (La tradizione civica nelle regioni italiane, 1993 Civic
Tradition in Italian Regions, 1993): institutional reforms have given positive results and
spurred economic development in several regions, whereas no similar process has taken
place in other regions. Moreover, the increased autonomy (the Italian Regions were esta-
blished in 1970) did not generate efficient selfgovernment models. The difference
according to Putnam was that the Centre-Nothern Regions possessed a widespread
social capital able to generate a high number of associations and a healthy and vital civil
society. A base of values, rules and moral rules shared by all citizens fostered mutual con-
fidence, partnership and cooperation.
Although the conclusions reached by Putnam have been widely argued (the success or the
failure of a community is judged afterwards, by the presence or lack of social capital,
where social capital is the cause and the effect of a given phenomenon), other studies
confirm the strong link between social capital and institutional efficiency.
2.1.3 Investigation and Shared Analysis
Of the labour market and production
The specific characteristics of these two sectors in the dynamics towards urban poverty
results from a number of empirical analyses. On the other hand, the difficulty to adopt a holis-
tic approach in facing this new issue suggests to separate the economic aspects from the
sociodemographic ones which lead to new urban poverty.
As far as the former are concerned, a series of variables observed in the diagnostics carried
out by Practicar partners appear to be coresponsible for the middleclass impoverishment:
high unemployment rates in the labour market; the reduced purchasing power of lessprivi-
leged individuals; the prevailing number of atypical and informal jobs; the prevalence of farm-
ing activities and the irrational exploitation of the territory.
Those who are on the fringe of the labour market are often at risk of entering the area of mar-
ginalisation (even if the middleclass impoverishment also affects openended contract
holders and fixed wage earners, often employed in governmental institutions). On the other
hand, if the lack of labour risks to cause social exclusion, a work that is respectful of human
dignity gives workers the opportunity to redeem, within a sphere that goes beyond the pro-
duction system.
The matter deserves some analysis and specific information: at the end of the 19th Century,
the English economist J. A. Hobson asserted: When a man asks for a job, he does not ask for
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a job but for a salary. This quotation is useful to remove any mystifying value from the theo-
ry of work centrality: if work is poorly paid, uncertain, and detrimental to human dignity and
limited in time, it does not help to become emancipated from a marginalized condition. On the
contrary, it paradoxically favours the fall into the area of social vulnerability (as shown by the
experience of the working poor).
A worthy job, on the contrary, is remunerated with an adequate and fixed income funda-
mental condition to promote the involvement of workers in the community life and to build
mutual solidarity. For this reason, in the last few years, some intellectuals and political actors
have focused on the income of citizenship (amount of money which every individual is enti-
tled, as a citizen, to receive on a monthly basis). This income turns to be very useful to those
who lost or are seeking a job: to have an income, not simply a benefit, also adds value to the
culture of living together and to the community-oriented dimension of everyday life.
For this reason, labour and manufacturing have gained a central position in many pro j e c t s
p resented by Practicar partners (e.g. the Vaasa project called Drawing of Employment
Strategy for the Vaasa Region or that of Aserr to spur the development of small and medi-
um enterprises), and in the interviews with local administrators and social development
workers: employment as an incentive to come out from social exclusion (or as a deterrent to
enter it) has the clear advantage of providing both material and psychological benefits. If a
s a l a ry or a wage is paid instead of a benefit means to pre s e rve the individuals dignity, to
favour his/her integration within community and avoid his/her adjustment in a depre s s i n g
w e l f a re-based culture .
Labour reintegration has already given satisfactory results with regard to individuals who do
not belong to the so-called new poor category, considering that their exclusion from socie-
ty can be ascribed, for instance, to long periods of imprisonment.
The experiences of social operators describe that this last category of individuals for whom
the legislator arranges an independent assistance plan in the frame of social services feel
to be part of the municipal and town system only if they can actually get a job again.
More generally, an employment becomes sort of a educator to citizenship, or an antidote to
(old and new) poverty: selections made by employers to give a job requires the compliance to
a strong social pact between those who are re-integrated and local institutions which pro-
mote re-integration through the assignment of maintenance works or small building works to
cooperatives of former prisoners.
Of course, the exclusion from work of a forty-year-old educated person is a different matter:
in these cases, reintegration must be achieved taking into consideration the past experiences,
the needs and the personal skills of the individual.
Of the territory of reference
The impoverishment of the middleclasses is a phenomenon affecting essentially the urban
areas. Although it is impossible to deduce the urban reality from the overall social context, if
one considers a town-centred vision which separates the town from its resource-providing and
lifesupporting hinterland, it is unquestionable - in the light of todays changes - that the
analysis on the new forms of poverty has implied a theoretical reflection on the role of the
towns: a globalized economy and a governanceruled policy.
The urban environments, therefore, risk to be not only wealth - and vitality - generating cen-
tres but also places where high poverty and exclusion rates are observed. The local policy-
makers are faced with the challenge of giving the town an intermediate position between two
edges, enhancing the potentials to transform the town into participation and solidarity cen-
tres.
Globalization turned towns into new and central arena for politics and its transformations, as
well as a social, cultural, political and institutional testing ground and innovation space. Every
town had a specific reaction to the challenges issued by the new global economic order, as
shown by the new strategies and innovative suggestions that have been proposed.
At the same time, the plans to control globalization contributed to emphasize imbalances and
inequalities at urban level: town-council political agendas assigned a great importance to mar-
keting and urban promotion initiatives, to the detriment of other resources and actions as wel-
fare and townplanning activities.
The experience of the cities (not to mention their increasing role in international policies, with
the involvement in development and cooperation projects) thus confirms that economic glob-
alization not only provides growth opportunities to world economies, but may also implies the
risk of exclusion.
All large cities present the contradictions of globalized communities, to the extent that they
end up by hosting simultaneously both the North and the South of the globe. These two poles,
in fact, do not symbolize any longer different geographical or cultural areas. They symbolize
the differentiation between peoples entitled to fully vindicate their civil, political and eco-
nomic rights and people who are not entitled. Social and space divisions become stronger in
the city, new urban exclusions appear, and the standards of living of entire social classes
become more and more uncertain.
It is for this reason too that local governments are making a series of reflections on policies
with different methods and intensity, according to different ways of expressing social and cul-
tural instances taking into account the emerging difficulties and the need to re-plan the pub-
lic action.
Together with a widespread economic growth in towns as regards global flows, there is one
more objective: to reduce negative externalities, the inevitable result of an environmental
and social development.
2.1.4 Analysis of Institutional Potentials and Critical Points
There is no doubt that the government and the municipal authorities play a fundamental role
in the fight against urban poverty: the micro dimension of local development plans (which
enjoy great favours today) cannot set aside a governmental action that would considerably
affect the macroeconomical plan, through the offer of regional policies and local welfare ini-
tiatives in support of citizens.
To act at local level and to promote decentralization of measure-taking and resource manage-
ment does not mean to weaken the role of national policies, or to suggest a lethal dichotomy:
either local or central policies.
It is clear, that the above two aspects are strictly connected to the extent that that the lack of
efficiency at governmental and local level may determine the failure of all governmental pro-
grammes. Such lack of efficiency is particularly frequent in young democracies with extreme-
ly weak economic and social structures and high corruption rates.
On the other hand, citizens grow indiff e rent to the mechanisms of parliamentary democracy due
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to the lack of those points of re f e rence in relation to which peoples sovereignty was actually
e x e rted: one Nation, one Society, one national economy, one culture and one political space.
Such indifference outlines contemporary politics: the inadequacy in adjusting the state action,
the incapacity to face the dilemma between benefits of economic growth versus distribution
of the environmental and social costs associated to such growth, and the frequently conflict-
ual response of people towards local development and private investment projects.
The difficulties faced by the central government in settling the conflicts arising from the devel-
opment process are based on the insufficient re s o u rces allocated to local welfare policies. This
t h w a rts the adoption of an effective system of social protection supporting the body of citizens.
Apart from suffering from the lack of funding, local welfare policies lack of adequate strate-
gies, as shown by the local forums organized by Practicar. Local welfare policies tend to repeat
themselves and find it difficult to find an efficient process to combact poverty, sometimes
wasting resources since the certain distribution channels intercept (and benefit to) a limited
number of people over the total population. Most of all, they lose sight of the main objective:
the emancipation of the people in trouble through the implementation of a joint action
between citizens and institutions.
The local level, in fact, shows the shortfalls any diagnostics on new poverty highlighted in the
relationship between citizens and social services is repeatedly observed.
The social services find the same difficulty in defining the new poor as the balance sheets and
the other documents providing for their resources and skills:
A strict break down into categories, used like watertight compartments (women, elder
people, minors, disabled people );
The failure to match a needing condition to a health-care problem (a temporary disability,
drug addiction but also the outbreak of a psychological pathology);
A focus finalized to the individual (without considering his social environment or family
context).
It can be affirmed that the interaction of local institutions with the less privileged brackets of
population shows some strategic limits (lack of connection between sectors and lack of inte-
grated plans); methodological limits (lack of network-based approach, both for the needy indi-
viduals associated to his family and neighbourhood and at municipal level associated to
the town); technical limits (use of stiff and out-dated categories, excessive focus on the mid-
dleclasses as an indicator of national prosperity without considering that an individual can
have an average status on social scale but his/her economic standard and quality of life can
drastically deteriorate).
A c c o rding to the evidences collected at the local forums, it is clear that the social services can
potentially transform themselves from weak points into strong points in the fight against new
urban povert y. They can really observe from a privileged position the hardships affecting today the
population. This frontier position also results from the pro g ressive reduction of the gap between
social operator and the demanding individual, as for quality of life and employment conditions.
Based on their experience, the social operators have outlined the features of a rational reform
of the sector:
a) a focus not on the individual but on his group of reference, on networks rather than on sin-
gle individuals. A vertical but also a horizontal integration, with a dialogue open between
different sectors of the public administration (e.g. the social and health care one), which
are still bound to a strict division of actually overlapping powers;
b) an update of the interpretation categories, in the light of the increased number of impo-
verishing events affecting those groups of people who used to live above the poverty
threshold: several events are still unexpected (diseases, loss of employment), others can
be adequately foreseen (to retire today means to have ones economic budget halved, and
to be at risk of poverty). In both cases, it is a culpable negligence not to arrange the ade-
quate measures to limit, at least, the situations that drive to poverty;
c) a rejection of a watertight compartment approach, with inevitable spin-offs on resour-
ce allocation: today, the new interpretation categories overlap and get mixed up, calling
for adequate tools to easily keep up with the changes in the social texture;
d) acknowledgment that certain cases of poverty occur at local level but are motivated by
global events: the loss in the purchasing power of a currency, migration flows, de-locali-
zation of manufacturing activities and the subsequent loss of jobs, the depletion of natu-
ral resources and the increased costs of nonrenewable public assets refer to macroeco-
nomic dynamics which the local context only perceives in terms of draw-back;
e) foster the active response of the community, about care services to the needy ones. The
beneficiaries of public allowances should not linger on the welfare system but be adequa-
tely trained with technical skills to get a job where they live. The fact of pre s e rving the indi-
v i d u a l s dignity is favourable for the individual, and cost-effective for the welfare system;
f) build up the credibility of an institution not only on fundallocation efficiency and effecti-
veness, but also on the type of relationship with citizens/users: citizens cannot be asked
to trust institutions if these ones do not behave in a transparent and consistent way;
g) interpretation of urban poverty also as a cultural paradigm, by starting a struggle against
poverty supported by strong relational links and by the networking of all the local actors.
This cultural struggle will not approach the daily difficulties of life with narrowmindedness,
but aims at creating solidarity and participation dynamics. In this way, the individual would
shake off his habitual passiveness (which leads the individual to accept more and more inva-
sive privations). He would re-discover his condition as an active citizen (he would be able to
influence, with his behaviour, the evolution process of public matters res publica).
2.2 Strategic and Local Pact for the Integration
of the Social and Economic Sectors
An efficient and high-performance localgovernment action cannot ignore the transformations
occurred at different levels and to varying extents in the international environment: new
global actors (the European Union, the World Trade Organization, NAFTA ) have become so
important as to affect the authority of the NationsState.
The recent political debate has consequently been enriched with an expression that indicates
a new and widespread form of government, i.e. governance (see paragraph 2.1.1).
The concept refers to a form of government that emphasizes the spread and dispersion of the
political authority towards decentralized and horizontal process, where the State no longer is
the political focal point. The municipal, regional, national and supranational governmental lev-
els do not show a vertical structure, but a complex order formed by relations and intercon-
nections which are structured often quite fluidly between the above-mentioned levels, to
favour communication between institutions and civil society.
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Civil society has acquired a new central position within the economic and social development
processes, placing itself as a third level of political involvement (after the citizens and the
State) and as a trustworthy actor of the decisionmaking process.
The silent revolution carried out by the civil society has benefited from the reduced regula-
tory structure established by national States in the frame of global politics: it has been repeat-
ed that the expression governing-beyond-the-state does not simply involve the impact of
supra and post national institutions (like the European Union), but also verifying significant
role acquired by local governments.
If governance means to involve the associations in the decisionmaking process and foster
external technical co-operations, the civil society (seen as a set of organizations that act as
go-betweens of political and social environments) carries out a twofold fundamental task: it
provides local development policies with the social capital necessary to generate the so-called
local collective goods for competitiveness; and it identifies new democratic legitimisation
tools to support sub and supranational institutions which do not hold such tools.
2.2.1 Promotion and Strengthening:
Of participatory systems of political, economic and social actors
Local governance has already generated many interesting cases, the most interesting are the
territorial pacts. Their introduction dates back to the Memorandum of Understanding on
Intervention Instruments and Modalities Aimed to the Economic and Social Cohesion of the
Country, stipulated in 1994 by the Government and the social partners.
Territorial pacts are publicpolicy models directed to the endogenous development of an
area through the active involvement of single and collective individuals, as well as institu-
tional and social individuals working at the local level.
The objective not only aims to achieve economic development to be verified by specific indi-
cators but also to favour less measurable mechanisms, such as collective involvement, con-
fidence in the system and cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Territorial pacts are based on the principle that only public policies based on negotiation will
provide positive results for the development of a specific area: to avoid selfcentred interests,
to reduce social conflicts, to convince the single individuals to bear the (material and symbol-
ic) costs for development allow to increase the potential resources of a specific area. This atti-
tude would tie both institutional political actors, i.e. regions, provinces and municipalities, and
private actors, i.e. enterprises, cooperatives and associations, to a combined development
strategy.
Political theory highlights that no all governance instruments can provide fair local adminis-
tration standards: cooperation, sometimes, is rhetorically used by the Government to strength-
en its authority and reduce the manoeuvring space of local administrations. This happens
when the Government chooses selectively the organizations to have a dialogue with, scarify-
ing the others on the altar of governability.
To promote concerted actions, instead, territorial pacts put local authorities and associations
in touch solving their communication problems and favouring the creation of strong partner-
ships. Or, in the case of existing partnerships, they cater for rules to improve stability.
The factors determining the proper functioning of the Pact are, in the first place, a strong lead-
ership to bind the individuals involved convincing them of the advantages of mutual coopera-
tion, the co-ordination of sector-based measures, and the respect of basic principles (an exam-
ple is the Memorandum on Legality, with anti-Mafia finalities, of certain pacts in southern Italy)
Secondly, the high level of participation of the actors involved in locallyrooted partnerships
is necessary to develop territorial competitiveness. Partnership is a form of participation which
originally involved economic and institutional actors in managing a series of agreed actions in
search for mutual advantages. The dynamics of governance and the increased integration of
additional targets enlarged the partnership to a wide range of actors, especially with regard
to local policies against unemployment, poverty and social exclusion.
Thirdly, a territorial pact calls for continuity between the initial phase and the implementation
phase, that is to say, between the political moment (personified by local policy-makers) and
the technical moment (the management company/ies).
Of strategic alliances with associations working at municipal and local admini-
stration level
The strategic aspect of territorial pacts has an even further weight in urban strategic plans:
the town, active and leading actor of development strategies and provided with specific cul-
tural identity, deserves, today, particular attention by the programming agents. It is not anoth-
er case of topdown measures, but a political process that stimulates the involvement, the
debate and the direct action in the urban area.
The urban strategic plan is a sort of political process that identifies and magnifies the value
of individual and collective resources in the urban environment. Compared to the territorial
pact, it implies the interaction of a higher number of actors (local policy-makers, governmen-
tal representatives, experts, organized groups with equivalent interests, representatives of the
entrepreneurial sector, associations etc) including entities which do not usually take part to
the decisionmaking process (environmental movements, study centres, universities).
Supported by the everyday interactions affecting the urban environment, the strategic level
seems to be more flexible than the local level; it seems to adjust itself to the town require-
ments and to the (townplanning and identityrelated) transformations associated to such
requirements. The ultimate objective is to force the coexistence of economic growth, equi-
ty and social justice, whereas the focus on urban competitiveness risks to increase inequali-
ties and social exclusion.
The regeneration of entire neighbourhoods, the construction of new public areas, the institu-
tion of civic centres, the enhancement of cultural activities, the upgrade of communication net-
works are just some of the issues faced by the urban strategic plan: the politicians involved in
such issues pursue the dialogue between public authorities and civil society, certain that high-
er levels of equity and social justice might favour the consensus of the latter with the form e r.
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2.2.2 From Strategy to Action
To efficiently support the fight against urban poverty, it is essential to take into account the
attentive re-consideration of public spaces and open areas and give such places a new political
meaning.
This can be achieved by implementing new democratic methods on a supraand trans
national scale which, combined to a local re-evaluation of democracy, alter the traditional bal-
ance between state sovereignty and autonomy.
This new equivalence is based on the States partial dismissal of its sovereignty, which should
not be seen as a loss of autonomy: no one affirms that the State would be deprived of its
importance (on the contrary, it would continue to be fundamental), but that democratic politics
cannot exclusively fall under the State jurisdiction. The scope of the State is too small to face
global issues and too large to regulate local problems.
The role of the State seems to consist in acting as a go-between of the above-mentioned two
levels, recognizing the new quantitative and qualitative importance to regional entities. On
one hand they have taken a central position in terms of selfgovernment and, on the other,
they have modified the quantitative terms of the decisionmaking process between institu-
tions and citizens/civil society. The new twofold role of local authorities justifies the basic
hypothesis which introduces the concept of governance: local governments can be seen as the
strategic dimension to study democratic transformations in contemporary societies. Local gov-
ernments promote a new development model where the localgovernment elites give up their
decisionmaking role to become the directors of an enlarged decisionmaking process. In
this process, all the actors of the civil society play a leading role, either directly (participating
to the ongoing dialogue with the public authorities) or indirectly (giving their assent to the
process in progress).
In this new structure, local authorities become the promoters of a local development by mobil-
ising the material (infrastructures and services) and immaterial (relational capacity and social
capital) resources of the community. Obviously, all innovative policies are affected by the com-
bination of elements at stake: the environment, the pre-existing social capital, the local polit-
ical system, the leadership, the cultural environment etc.
The new dynamic patterns undergo substantial changes over time, and hardly guarantee the
creation of new theoretical models. In spite of this, two recurring aspects can be outlined in
different governance models:
1) the governance models include and does not abolish certain forms of government.
However important is the role of the civil society, the public authority and the bureaucratic
apparatus are never deprived of their powers: in every negotiated planning (like territorial
pacts and urban strategic plans), the political and administrative institutions carry out specif-
ic and crucial organization and integration tasks. They arrange the set of infrastructural and
entrepreneurial projects (often in competition with each other). They have to provide trans-
parency, security and compliance of Law. They have to oppose any possible departure from fair
play and find a difficult balance between efficiency and flexibility;
2) the implementation of governance models still limited as to the number of cases and
implementation timing (the survey carried out by Iter for Sviluppo Italia in 2000 identified
46 Pacts underway in Italy at the time; the research study carried out by Formez Centro di
Formazione Studi, in 2004, identified 250 Pacts; sixty of them were empirically investigated),
show that the best results (as to be considered examples of good governance) are achieved
through the implementation of negotiation. Such actions combine economic competitiveness
and social cohesion (the ultimate objective of the A Network of Opportunity project, devised
by the Province of Prato, Tuscany).
Manufacturers associations, trade unions, Chambers of Commerce, banks, religious organi-
zations, environmental associations and local superintendences have contributed to the set up
of consensussupported public policies (as far as Practicar is concerned, for instance, the
Tendiendo redes project of Pergamino and the number of vocational training programmes
carried out in San Paolo).
More importantly, this dialogue was assigned a further significance: the actors at stake have
a new approach that is the definition of political involvement is not exclusively based on the
voters capability to influence the voted candidates, but on the capability to get involved inside
an open decisionmaking process.
As to the output of the decisionmaking process, territorial pacts and strategic plans reflect
many of the elements characterizing the governance issue: they form a kind of public policy
which organizes collective action through co-operation, mutual commitment and mutual
adaptability between public and private actors; they emphasize the role of civil society and of
nongovernmental actors; they make decisions that form the process of involvement of the
actors external to conventional political institutions. Both of them, finally, suggest new strate-
gic objectives and even new identities to the local decision-makers and to the community as
a whole, since they transform the traditional concept of territory and its population: the con-
cept of the community enclosed within a defined geographical frontier leaves room to the idea
of an ever changing territory and community.
The decisionmaking authorities, on the other hand, cannot ignore the logical leap, since they
affect a variety of sites, each one provided with specific subjectivity: municipalities, provinces,
regions, ministries, management companies, national States, Europe, Latin America.
For this reason, the ultimate definition is that of multilevel governance, since it pursues the
twofold aim of building a horizontal co-operative game between the civil society and the
interestbearing sector and of allowing vertical communication between these same levels.
In both cases, an important concept has been stated: politics matters in the third millennium too.
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Chapter 3: Practices
The new forms of poverty are associated with a dynamic rather than a static conception of
social relationships: in the past, poverty was studied as the ultimate condition of a biograph-
ical course. It was often inherited from parents and it was handed down from father to son.
Poverty as such was a condition which the State attempted to stop by means of grants or serv-
ices purposely addressed to the less welloff.
Today, it is impossible to analyse the phenomenon of new poverty without associating it to
time and to social relationships of the individual stricken by poverty.
The new poor have never been accustomed, for generations, to coexist with destitution, but
now they are forced to face this phenomenon due to a weakening process of their own status,
which, today, is becoming more and more frequent than it was in the past.
Single events, which in the past would not bring to a life of povert y, if applied to an individual
who is in the area of social vulnerability, now force the individual to plunge into marg i n a l i t y.
The microfractures in the life of an individual (the failure of a marriage, the illness of a rela-
tive, an unexpected and nondeferrable expense, the unemployment or underemployment
condition of a partner, the necessity to personally invest in the education of children) have
effects that go beyond the personal outreach, and create economic and social conditioning.
According to this description of poverty seen as a process, rather than a condition, the system
of social shock absorbers tested on structurally poor individuals seems to be unsuited to com-
bat poverty.
The measures adopted to fight poverty, described by the partners of the Practicar project, suf-
fer, on one hand, the prime objective attached by the local authorities to most marginal forms
of poverty. On the other, they suffer the difficulty to statistically assess the new target, even
if the focus is on those groups inserted in the area of social exclusion.
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Such difficulty to be sure does not derive either from the quantity or the quality of the
social initiatives undertaken by local governments. Several actions, in fact, are part of expen-
sive projects aimed at reducing social alienation - Programme URB-AL - Red 10 (Fight to Urban
Poverty), Practicar Project -, whereas other projects show a reasonable level of innovation
(active employment policies, local actions that go beyond the old welfare-oriented conception,
which did not satisfy local requirements).
On the other hand, this type of policies suffer from the interpretation difficulties of the new
poverty phenomenon, and they are essentially due to:
- the underestimation of their relative dimension, as priority intervention area: the new
poverty nullifies the social capital of the individual involved who feels alienated from the
social network or who alienates himself since he feels ashamed not to be able to defend
his social status. Equally, an efficient policy in favour of new poor must confront the rela-
tional sphere. This can be done by helping the individual in trouble to re-build the social
capital through the reactivation of such immaterial but fundamental resources as those
based on trust, information, and characterforming;
- the lack of a preventive strategy to avoid the area of vulnerability, to prevent rather than
cure the state of marginalisation. Actions and measures should try to limit before (and not
after) the issue, and reduce the risk of economic and social degradation for entire sectors
of the population. The creation of appropriate services would provide an important shock
absorber for the individuals at risk, and would not force these individuals to play the humi-
liating and unusual role of pleading subjects.
Specifically, the phenomenon of new poverty presents itself as the umpteenth challenge
against local administrators, governments of States-Nations and the community as a whole.
The difficulty of defining this issue does not exclusively involve the political class but also
associations and other more prominent sectors of the civil society.
The constitution of an area of socially vulnerable individuals has even caught social operators
unprepared. They have devoted years of activity to the fight against poverty. The new poor that
are more shifty and less visible, must be offered the possibility to construct a local network of
experiences, both in terms of areas of actions and in terms of results achieved.
The partners of the Practicar project have been asked to describe experiences which they con-
sidered more interesting and significant, in terms of strategies and policies in fighting the new
poverty phenomenon (or somehow related to the fight). The idea was to analyse in depth these
experiences and, if adequate, to use them as good practices in the fight against new poverty.
Below a brief description of the good practices implemented in the partner-cities, and the
hypothetical projects that may arise from such practices, divided into the following interven-
tion sectors, which are prevailing in the fight against new urban poverty:
- social
- local development
- education
- health-care
- effective labour market policies
- social, economic and productive development
- housing policies
3.1 Social
The comparison between good practice implemented by the partners of the Practicar project
in different sectors is useful for two reasons: firstly, it provides the opportunity to investigate
about the rationale underlying public measures and action in the social sector, according to
approaches and traditions which are peculiar to each context; secondly, it allows the prob-
ably approximate assessment on the status of the considerations made by every local
administrator regarding the changes affecting the poverty phenomenon.
In this sense, the area that is generally defined as social represents a residual category of
interventions which are carried out in order to meet needs that cannot be identified as old
poverty needs, and cannot be classified yet as new needs (which, as such, to be included
in the categories below).
The good practices inserted in the social sector concern tout court the inclusion of those cat-
egories with regard to which social exclusion would risk to become not a transitory condition
but an ultimate outcome.
It is the case, for example, of the social emergencies supported by the Social Operational
Department arranged by the Organizational Unit for Social Emergency and Reception of the
Municipality of Rome. It is also the case of families who live in extreme poverty in favour of
which the Province of Prato has implemented a programme defined as Fight against Poverty
and Social Inclusion, with the support of private associations (Caritas, Societ di San Vincenzo
de Paoli, Associazione G. La Pira).
The Latin American partners, instead, focus on younger brackets of the population at risk of
inheriting the (new) poverty conditions suffered by their parents, to the extent of transforming
their new poverty condition into structural poverty. The municipality of Buenos Aires, through
the Programme of inclusion for children and young people at risk of social vulnerability, tries
to instil such principles as self-management, solidarity, social economy, and local develop-
ment in young people for the purpose of freeing them from poverty and, most of all, from the
welfare-oriented culture. On the other hand, San Martn, Bogot and San Joaqun local author-
ities devote a great deal of care to youth.
The defence of most vulnerable categories of the population is not only limited to economic
support. It also concerns curbing home violence, supply adequate food, look after lonely chil-
dren whose parents live in other towns, express interests and potentials for employment pur-
poses. It goes hand in hand with the growth of the minors in trouble.
There are, however, numerous drawbacks, as experience in Valladolid showed: when aid takes
the form of an integrated project (i.e. see the Spanish partner project) it does not entirely make
up for the social alienation caused by unemployment (especially in the case of singleparent
families) and for the inadequate social capital of the individual.
In these cases, local administrations have to find a solution through alternative policies.
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| CHAPTER 3 Practices |
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3.1.1 Bogot Without Hunger - Bogot D.C. (Colombia)
Objective: Group, promote and supervise actions providing consistent and efficient food and
nutritional security policies and strategies.
Target population: Citizens of Bogot:
- Breast-feeders or under-2 children: population with high rate of malnutrition and anaemia,
exposed to the risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases.
- Pre-school children: between 2 and 5.
- School age: children between 6 and 12. Hunger reduces the powers of concentration and
learning skills.
- Teenagers: population in a period of fast physical development. Therefore, the food scar-
city can seriously hinder growth.
- Pregnant and breast-feeding mothers: due to their physiological condition, their nutritio-
nal requirements increase and they are, therefore, particularly vulnerable.
- Elderly: they frequently get abandoned, with no income, and they are, therefore, limited in
getting and preparing their food.
- Displaced individuals: Bogot was the city with the highest rate of displaced individuals
between 1985 and 2001. According to data published by Codhes, in this period the city
hosted 457,188 displaced people, who represent 21% of the national overall number.
- Homeless: about 11,000 people live in the streets of Bogot and Soacha, 14% of whom
are women and 13% are under 16.
- Poor and unemployed adults
Description: The Development Plan and Public Works of Bogot for the period 2004-2008 -
Bogot sin indiferencia Un compromiso social contra la pobreza y la exclusin (Bogot
without indifference - Social commitment to combat poverty and exclusion), provides the fight
against hunger as a crucial action. The Developmental Plan is based on three pillars: social,
urban-regional and reconciliation. The main nutritional and feeding actions provided by the
Bogot Without Hunger programme are included in the social pillar. The Principal Plan of Food
Supply System is developed within the framework of an regional-urban pillar and, finally, the
Social Responsibility Action are included in the reconciliation pillar and are fundamental to
achieving the involvement of different sectors of the society.
The actions aimed at improving nutrition and feeding. They include community canteens,
school canteens of various schools, nutritional supplements, assistance in case of severe mal-
nutrition, food vouchers, promotion of breast-feeding and nutrition, and public canteens.
The catering system provides for the creation of three operating components: Agrored,
Nutrired and Nodi Logistici.
The priority objectives: Implement actions to enable the poorest and most vulnerable sec-
tions of population to obtain access to food under the same conditions in terms of gender,
generation and ethnic group.
Provide a training activity related to inform and educate about food.
Promote and support regional supply, in compliance with the quality, the quantity and the pri-
ces set forth in the Main Plan of the Food Supply System. Spur the local creation of food chan-
nels and supply networks, promoting partnership models and job- and income-producing
opportunities.
Expected and achieved results: achieve a coverage of 625,000 people who will benefit
from food and nutritional support on a daily basis. The action is essentially addressed to chil-
dren, elderly and disabled persons.
Reduce by 30% the rate of malnutrition of participants.
Provide guidance, training and qualification to 125,000 people on the subjects of nutrition and
healthy habits.
Promote a Network of Food Banks starting from the alliance with the Archidiocesean Food
Bank.
Period: 2004-2008
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3.1.2 Inclusion programme for children and young people
who live in a condition of social exclusion - Buenos Aire s
( A rg e n t i n a )
Objective: Partnership programme for the social inclusion of young boys and girls and teena-
gers who are subject to extreme social vulnerability
Ta rget population: Young people, boys and girls, who are subject to extreme social vulnerability.
Description: This programme is composed of a series of individual projects, which are all in
all targeted to a social inclusion partnership programme focused on young people and teena-
gers subject to social vulnerability.
The integration of young people in the promotion of micro-entrepreneurial and cooperation
activities begins during the training period. It is focused on activities in sectors where there
are potentials for entrepreneurial growth. At the same time, the project aims at supporting the
organizations that work with young people who are subject to social vulnerability. It also aims
at promoting entrepreneurial activities. It encourages the introduction of concepts such as
selfmanagement, solidarity, social economy and local development. This will help to
strengthen development opportunities for the young people involved in the projects. In order
to guarantee the continuity of the project, this one will co-operate with other actors.
3.1.3 Fight to Poverty and Social Inclusion - Prato (Italy)
Objective: Promote social inclusion by means of five strategies
Target population: Young people, immigrants, vulnerable individuals and families at risk of
social exclusion
M e a s u res and actions were designed and funded by the Town of Prato in 2004. They are all includ-
ed in a program called Fight to Poverty and Social Inclusion, which consists of 5 lines of action.
Description of initiatives
1 Food distribution and Reception of pregnant mothers with children.
The service is provided by the Centro di Aiuto alla Vita (CAV) of Prato, a non-profit volun-
tary association. A loan of 57,000 euros has been granted to finance the activity, which
consists of:
- a Listening Centre, that takes in pregnant mothers and mothers in trouble, by means of
a listening service and a service of moral and material support (economic support, dis-
tribution of commodities and essential infant goods, babysitting services, home-care,
support to get out of a needy condition);
- a Distribution Centre, where essential food and infant goods are distributed on a weekly
basis;
- a Reception House, Casa Aurora, to provide a temporary and free-of-charge accom-
modation pregnant women or mothers in trouble. They are introduced into a listening
and helping circle, a volunteerassisted process for the construction of a new freedom.
2 Support of families at risk and prevention of extreme poverty
Set up by the Societ di San Vincenzo de Paoli, this intervention basically provides dis-
tribution of provisions and clothing, in the framework of activity based on assistance and
backup of unaccompanied disabled and old people, payment of bills and rents in emer-
gency situations, backup/support to families with great selfmanagement difficulties.
3 Supply of dinners to people who live in extreme poverty
The service is aimed at meeting a primary basic need, i.e. feed people who suffer a
selfevident destitute condition. It consists in the provision of warm meals in the after-
noon and the evening. This mission, assigned to the parish church Santa Maria delle
Carceri, is financed by the municipality and consists of 50,000 for an average of 50-60
people served on a daily basis.
4 Four assistance programmes, set up by Solidariet Caritas della Diocesi di
Prato, a not-for-profit organization (ONLUS)
- Reception Centre for homeless people with behavioural troubles. The service pro-
vides for reception of homeless people, who are on a customized project of reinsertion
into society, through the reconstruction of their dignity and selfconfidence, by means
of genuine relationships and debate to highlight characteristics that may used for some
job. The first contact is just at the reception centre, composed of seven beds and orga-
nized for the distribution of evening meals and breakfasts as well as health and perso-
nal hygiene services.
- L a b o r a t o ry of manual labour skills for individuals hosted at the Reception Centre
and for other needy people: the initiative aims, through the enhancement of manual
skills and personal creativeness, to create and sell small handmade crafts; and re i n f o rc e
the individuals selfesteem and enrichment in terms of selfconfidence, capacity of
making proposals and relational and communication capability, necessary to support the
i n d i v i d u a l s active role inside community. These activities take place in a lively and invol-
ving atmosphere, where the individual may be with people in a similar condition and
reach a good selfawareness level through the relationship with volunteers.
- Monitoring and tutorship of homeless individuals - Homeless SOS Night
Patrolling: the service provides first assistance and aid to homeless. It consists in
patrolling the area where these unprivileged people are used to meet for the night after
9.00pm. The service provides material support, through the distribution of meals, blan-
kets and staple commodities, but also immaterial support through the establishment of
relationships. It also gives these people the opportunity to tell about their life experien-
ce and to share it with the others, with the awareness that such work of conscious and
aware reconstruction may lay the foundation for the reinsertion of people who have no
contacts with public communication networks, inside community. The service also
makes it possible to identify the most complicated cases and to report them to the rele-
vant social and health-care structures.
- Advice and back-up of individuals at risk of social exclusion: it is based on the
necessity of seeing the individual as a citizen and on the individuals right to re-possess
his relational, communication, verbal, trustworthy and even financial instruments, in
order to have access to the aid and support tools provided by the public/private welfa-
re institutions from which they are excluded as a result of their unsocial and destitute
condition. It is therefore a listening and care-provision service inspired by the principle
of strengthening the independent capabilities of the individual.
5 Enhancement of the current Night Sheltering Service for homeless people
Managed on behalf of the Municipality, the Association G. La Pira has 25 beds, which may
be increased in wintertime, with bathrooms, showers and washing machine. Given the
necessity to have new premises for enhancing the intervention capacities, a property close
to the municipal estate has been added.
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3.1.4 Social Emergency and Reception - Rome (Italy)
Objective: Enable a large number of people to get out from the state of emergency and build
their personal development process
Target population: People in a condition of serious social emergency
Description: After an experimental period in the social emergency area, in 2004 the
Municipality of Rome set up the Organizational Unit for Social Emergency and
Reception in order to enable categories of people children, old people, women and men
to get out from poverty. These people as well as many other individuals risk to get in a dead-
end situation, due to an build up of economic, cultural poverty, and health-care problems and
the lack of a regular job.
In particular, a specific service, the Social Operational Department was established using
the framework of the Organizational Unit for Social Emergency and Reception. The purpose
was to face social emergencies in town and intercept distressed conditions, by starting up a
personalized strategy that gives efficient responses to individuals in trouble.
The Operational Department takes action both after notification from the call centres, and
through the equipped mobile units, which provide a consistent monitoring service of the city.
It addresses old people in trouble, unaccompanied minors, disabled people and homeless
adults. It is operational 24h every day.
The Assessment Unit is the office of the O.U. for Social Emergency and Reception that
works in close contact with the Social Operational Department. It was established due to the
requirement to know and monitor the various projects started by the reception centres of the
Municipality of Rome for homeless people. It is a tool used to verify and monitor the activities
carried out by the reception centres, a permanent interface between the Social Operational
Department which provides help on demand and all the Territorial Services responsible for
the safeguard and support of those who suffer a condition of social distress.
The Reception System (connected to the Social Operational Department and the
Assessment Unit) is made up of different facilities according to the type of emergency, e.g.
emergency reception centres, semiautonomous apartments etc. The emergency reception unit
is committed to the solution of emergency problems (night lodging and a warm meal), where-
as the other emergency intervention centres work at reconstructing the family and social net-
work of users to the purpose of starting a social and working inclusion strategy.
Results: in 2004, the Social Operational Department received 83,314 phone calls, exceeding
2003 by 26,444.
Among the interventions carried out in 2004, 2,953 adult and younger users were forwarded
to the reception centres of the Municipality of Rome, and 1,538 unaccompanied minors were
placed in special institutions.
Over 1,000 actions implemented by Territorial Social Services and Health Care Facilities
helped in the reconstruction of social and family networks.
In 2004, the networking activity carried out by Assessment Unit enabled 35% of women with
minors to be hosted in the reception centres of the Municipality of Rome, and find
autonomous work and lodging in six months.
3.1.5 Municipal programmes and policies in the most
vulnerable sectors of local population - San Joaqun,
Santiago (Chile)
Objective: Foster the exercise of citizenship through social development
Target population: Vulnerable citizens and families.
Description: The strategic lines of action of the Municipality of San Joaqun include: the full
development of San Joaqun dwellers through the promotion of the exercise of citizenship in
order to find a solution to local problems.
To implement such strategies, the Municipality spurs solidarity and associative work, provides
specific technical counselling for different groups of interest according to age groups.
Social development has included two intervention areas:
1 Social care service: care programmes for vulnerable families: access to grants, Chile
solidario programme. The method of action is established according to specific pro-
cesses and mechanisms defined by the central authority since most funds are allocated
by the central and regional authorities.
- Puente Programme, between the family and its rights, targeted to families who
live in a state of poverty, i.e. below the poverty threshold. Coverage for the year
2004: 271 Families. Investment for the Puente programme:
Labour and Employment Reintegration Programme 2004: US$ 46,000,000;
IRAL Investment (Local Regional Investment Action): US$ 71,000,000.
2 Social promotion: programmes aimed at fostering associations, leadership and the
activity of different social actors operating at municipal level in the aim of favouring citi-
zens involvement. The method of action was designed by the Municipality. A great
emphasis was put to foster associations and solidarity groups in the purpose to get an
effective involvement of citizens in the solution of local issues. To this end, various pro-
grams were provided:
- Community Organizations Pro g r a m m e : the aim is to strengthen the role of
Community organizations, to foster their establishment and provide technical advice
to each of these organizations helping them in the solution-finding process. The pro-
gramme is carried out with the support of consultancy services, training of emerging
social entrepreneurs, training of managers for leadership activities, social skills, use
of new technologies, management of resources and sustainable organizations,
design and execution of social projects, advice to social organizations for the deve-
lopment of projects.
- Social programmes directed at different age groups: Infancy: there are six
committees for Children Support; advice is provided with regard to the necessary
requirements to apply for or to propose any project. Young people: promotional
events, debate and awareness-raising fora on the subject of safe sex; support for
the organization of art exhibitions and cultural events, and technological transfer
(Youth Information Centre at the Youth Centre). Elderly people: support to social rein-
tegration and involvement of elderly people to contribute to the improvement of their
standard of living. Women: work with women takes into account the different facets
of the situations presented, and to intervene to solve every aspect of these issues
presented. Sport: programmes supporting sports clubs and sports activities at the
municipal level.
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- PREVIENE programme: operates through an agreement signed between the
town council and the National Council on Narcotic Drugs. It is committed to prevent
drug use throughout the municipal area; it implements preventive actions at school,
community, family and workplace level.
- HUMAN SECURITY programme: community involvement is a fundamental factor
in facing such issue at municipal level. Four working tables were set up: the mee-
tings analysed the security issue affecting different town districts, with the indica-
tion of the most insecure neighbourhoods; a network of local actors was established
for enhancing effective involvement. Several agreements with the National Militia
of Chile have been settled to carry out the plan of preventive and crime-reducing
actions. The Municipal Security Council of the City of San Joaqun is also involved
in the programme.
3.1.6 Programme of initiatives in the social area against
child labour and poverty - San Martn (Arg e n t i n a )
Objective: Provide the minimum requirements to entitle the less privileged individuals to
express their rights of citizenship.
Ta rget population: Youth, vulnerable individuals and households at risk of social exclusion
Description: The initiatives of the Municipality of San Martn consist of an intervention pro-
gramme divided into three projects.
1 Tren Blanco Project
This project is aimed at abolishing child labour in a marginalised group of population who
is involved in the collection of recycling material. These people commute to Buenos Aire s
e v e ryday by train from the neighbouring region to collect paper and other materials.
The night centre for Full Care Service of the neighbourhood of Carcova in Jos Len
Surez opened in August 2002. The Tren Blanco (White Train) night centre for Full Care
Service to Children called takes care of about 100 children of both boys and girls aged
between 6 months and 6 years who are the children of the unofficial wastes collectors.
During the working hours of their parents, children participate in learning activities,
plays and recreational activities. A teaching staff and a group of cuidadoras mother
(infant guardians) and assistants takes care of them. The cuidadoras mothers are selec-
ted among families of waste collectors; they receive threemonth preventive training
and economic support during the execution of the project.
2 Pro Huerta Project
The situation of poverty is rather critical especially in large towns and in the suburbs,
where a significant part of the population has no access to proper feeding. To face this
situation, a series of food-assistance plans have started up and the Inta has established
the Vegetable Gardens Project. The Municipality, through the Secretary of Social
Development, participates in the project by helping to create family, school and com-
munity vegetable gardens.
The objectives of the project are: to spur the independent-production of food on a small
scale. This works as a form of complementary feeding for sectors with insufficient re s o u r-
ces; it promotes community involvement; it improves the allotment of family expenses.
The main recipients are those with no possibility for access to adequate feeding.
The Action Plan of the project provides for the execution of 4 components: activity pro-
motion (through the realization of character-building meetings), training of multiplying
Agents (promoters), technical assistance and supply of seeds. The meetings are carried
out in different centres (civil, religious associations, schools etc.), by means of TVs,
videos etc. to obtain a higher-quality training activity.
3 Shoe-making Courses
In the late 1990s, the population of the Municipality of San Martn experienced a seve-
re socio-economic crisis, many jobs were lost in the manufacturing sectors.
This crisis paralysed the labour market and had substantial effect on young workers. A period
of economic recession followed, poverty became even more acute. Additionally, training
opportunities diminished for young people.
Since 2005, the economic cycle inverted its trend and the manufacturing system received a
new boost. Demand for specialized manpower increased in various production sectors, such
as the textile, the shoe-making and the plastic material. It encouraged the organization of
immediate response for promoting the implementation of training strategies to meet demand
from the local labour market, thus avoiding a vicious cycle on the small scale. Therefore, train-
ing courses are required due to:
a) demand of skilled personnel for the ever increasing labour market in specific manu-
facturing sectors;
b) the availability of young unemployed people who could not enter the labour market
due to deficient professional training;
c) the local availability of human resources and raw materials to establish the training
process necessary to cover skilled workplaces;
d) the commitment of the private production sector to engage young people who have
been trained within the framework of this initiative.
Training was targeted to young unemployed people under 27. It consisted shoemaking
courses. The courses were carried out with the support of an international funding sche-
me, which carried the costs of a labour fund for young people. This helped about 80%
of them to find a job.
P rogramme for preventing and assisting home violence -
San Martn (Argentina)
Objective: Reduce home violence against the weakest individuals
Target population: Children and teenagers.
Description: Although it is commonly known that violence is a phenomenon that transcends all
social classes, poverty is an element that tends to increase the number of cases. The new poor
now supplement structural poor. Although, the latter can rely on fewer mechanisms for adapta-
tion, they constantly attempt to finding a solution to fight the crisis and seem to be expecting a
way to overcome the issue. Despite this, it is possible to observe an increase in the number of
acts of violence as a reaction to the new poverty condition that the new poor have to face.
The attempt is to mitigate such a reality by implementing alternative preventive solutions to
fight the occurrence of conflicting events. For this purpose, the General Municipality of San
Martn has established care services, composed of interdisciplinary staffs. They have been ini-
tially involved in centralized assistance services and, successively, from the year 2000, they
have been decentralized into Rights Protection Offices called Defensoras de nios, nias y
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adolescentes (Offices for the Defence of Children and Teenagers), essentially addressed to
minors. Lawyers, social assistants and psychologists operate in the offices. Below a list of
their objectives:
- Defend the rights of young girls and boys, and teenagers, in compliance with the
International Convention on Childrens Rights. This is in whatever case they are threate-
ned or abused;
- Provide multidisciplinary guidance, both to children, teenagers and their families, in the
purpose to prevent critical situations;
- Give their right to be heard according to an alternative solution-finding scheme against
conflicts;
- Promote the strengthening of family ties;
- Follow up the complaints or charges of inexistent or insufficient compliance of institutio-
nally acknowledged rights of children and teenagers, including the rights of children or
teenagers, even minors, who have been directly damaged;
- Supervise the proper enforcement and compliance with the national and provincial laws
on the subject-matter by public and/or private officials and agents, in defence of children
and teenagers rights and guarantees. To manage with the competent authorities the solu-
tion of cases being notified.
Scholarship for the vocational training of teenagers - San
M a rtn (Arg e n t i n a )
Objective: Develop the teenagers vocational skills
Target population: Teenagers.
Description: The project gives teenagers the possibility of following vocational training cour-
ses, according to their preferences and skills. It also provides for covering of all the expenses
that are borne from the purchase of materials and equipment.
Considering that teenagers are forced to face deep changes and that youth is one of the most
significant stages of life cycle in terms of personal development, it is necessary to envisage
the introduction into the closest and more receptive social networks and to promote the acqui-
sition of values and moral judgements. Moreover, it is really important to look for alternative
solutions in order to provide adequate training.
Youth, as any other period of life, is conditioned by background situations imposed by histori-
cal circumstances, social and economic situations and cultural patterns.
Less well-off teenagers express their crisis in a more powerful way than in other social classes.
Considering that the characteristic of every teenager is to look for his/her own identity, and
that such identity takes shape within every single moment of everyday life, education
becomes a favourable moment to promote and facilitate such personal growth.
Less well-off teenagers, who often enter the labour market too early with poor training and
without finishing their primary studies, fall in a condition of extreme vulnerability, at the edge
of social exclusion.
Given the critical situation, a Project called Vocational Training Scholarship for Teenagers has
been kicked off to facilitate the access of teenagers into vocational training courses. The main
objectives of the Project are:
Finish the formal education with specific training activities in different areas; provide alterna-
tive to teenagers to promote their future integration into the labour market;
Spread the culture of making an effort to achieve a goal among teenagers and young peo-
ple, by spurring their sense of responsibility and commitment to meet their goals;
Facilitate the contact with the labour market and assist them in the construction of their proj-
ect for life.
Considering that this Project is supplemental to the Youth Programme, Advocacy and Social
Building, all the teenagers who are being involved take part to laboratories on violence,
growth, development, rights, social links, sexuality and prevention of risky behaviour.
Laboratory are conceived so that they are suitable to the age of the participants.
3.1.7 Support service to households and coexistence -
Valladolid (Spain)
Objective: To assist families at high risk of under-employment and unemployment.
Target population: Vulnerable households
Description: The current social and economic situation and the evolution of the family are
generating groups of people who are vulnerable to exclusion, and who are defined as new
poor.
The single-parent families are significantly exposed to the risks of under-employment, low
wages, insufficient social protection and problems to gain access to a viable housing condi-
tion.
Among households who live in poverty, those where the householder is a long-term-unem-
ployed, poor-skilled young woman with dependent minors are prevailing.
The programme is divided into a network of 19 Social Action Centres, divided into 4 zones. The
objective of the programme is to provide information and guidance about resources available.
It also make them aware of their rights and the availability of all services, programmes and
social resources which they can access to meet their requirements.
The Family Support Programme is implemented through: the Management of Economic Aid:
- Minimum Insertion Wage: Economic complimentary temporary loans granted by
Community of Castilla y Len to local actors, to cover the subsistence needs of people or
households who suffer a shortage of capital to meet their fundamental needs.
The priority objectives: achieve the social integration and employment of the members of
the recipient household. For this purpose, a series of actions are implemented to provide social
integration and an employment for project beneficiaries.
The allocating organization is the Committee of the Community of Castilla y Len is the fund-
ing entity, even if the whole project is carried out and managed by CEAS.
The beneficiaries of this economic allowance can be households living in the Community of
Castilla y Len who have all necessary qualifications provided for by the Decree about the
Regulations on Minimum Integration Revenues of the Community of Castilla y Len.
- Aid for Baby Food: Economic aid to achieve the physical and psychological well-being of
infants during the first year of life. This prevents critical situations in the future due to an
unbalanced development as a result of inadequate feeding or lack of adequate sanitary
measures.
- Fund to Kindergartens: Economic aid to cover the expenses both private and public kin-
dergartens addressed to households who, due to specific social and working situations,
cannot handle their children requirements and needs for support.
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- Fund to School Canteens: economic aid to facilitate the attendance of young girls and
boys in school refectories, when necessary, and if their families cannot afford the cost of
the service. The support is aimed both at guaranteeing adequate feeding for minors and
promoting the integration of parents into the labour market.
Beneficiaries: children registered at public, primary or secondary schools or schools that ope-
rate within the national school system.
- Aids for Social Emergencies: Extraordinary economic aid to handle transitional condi-
tions of poverty affecting individuals or families:
Expenses for temporary housing in case of emergency or accident;
Fundamental support for serious and urgent subsistence needs, and expenses related to other
fundamental primary needs;
House upgrade, urgent repairs;
Other hypotheses set forth in the Aid Regulations.
This support measure has special characteristics when it is addressed to female victims of
home violence.
- Baby Sitting Service: support service for the immediate care of minors to help in the
social and working integration of parents. The Service can be provided at home or at a nur-
sery school.
- Other Household-Supporting Services: household Support Team: the aim is to provi-
de an integral, individual and household support for family problems identified by CEAS.
- Career Education and Vocational Counselling Service to support users in their per-
sonal and vocational training to prepare them to find a job.
Key Elements: Support women in their increasingly frequent role as householders. The serv-
ices have the following objectives:
- Provide the basic resources to supply adequate care service to minors.
- Support family dynamics in order to prevent household disintegration in risky situations
affecting minors.
- Provide guidance and channel labour integration of women to help the household to beco-
me independent.
Financing: A Framework Agreement for the Co-Financing of Social Services and Basic Social
P e rf o rmances has been established between the Municipality of Valladolid and the
Department of Social Services of the Council of Castilla y Len. It is an instrument aimed at
financing the local entities in a cooperative manner.
Results: Financial Grants to school canteens: 1,705 grants in 2004
Financial Grants to nursery schools: 243 grants in 2004
Aid for Baby Food: 244 grants in 2004
Economic Aid for Social Emergencies: 373 grants in 2004
Minimum Integration Revenue: 939 recipients of such allowance
Baby Sitting Service: House-to-house service: 42 cases; in nursery schools: 51 cases; collec-
tive service: 177 assisted groups.
The greatest difficulties that have been encountered to overcome situations of social dis-
placement for single-parent families result from unemployment.
The labour market offers occasional jobs and inadequate wages which add to the problems con-
nected with conciliating a working life and family life, when no external assistance is pro v i d e d .
No adequate re s o u rces are available to handle the care service re q u i rements needed to take care
of children of these families. This need increases when children are on holydays from school.
Many households frequently and inevitably depend on institutional aid and such dependency
can hardly be overcome in the short term.
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3.2 Local development
The local development sector appears to hold a prime role in the strategies for fighting new
poverty. It combines the release from a needy condition and the territorial development
according to sustainable criteria.
The actions are often implemented synergistically with the actors of local service networks
and labour.
They differ from actions and measures inserted in the previous Social category. They offer
a strong background of action from the local administration. Despite this, the target popula-
tion is, in this case too, composed of vulnerable categories (old and unemployed individuals,
drug addicts).
For the latter, the potential release from the area of social exclusion is proposed by means of
mechanisms of local involvement and the community-building a network of monitoring struc-
tures that have controlled the territory for a long time (as in the case of the Support
Programme for Networks of Community Action of Buenos Aires). Special Development
Agencies have also been set up to improve the interaction between cooperation entities and
institutions (such as the projects implemented by the Bolivian NGO Cepad). Training agree-
ments have been made with the local entities so that local resources can be properly used and
managed at local level without the interference of outsiders (in this sense, the upgrading of
the Corviale complex XV Town Council of Rome is emblematic).
Regarding the actions to be implemented, a major portion has been concentrated on self-
entrepreneurship and the development of small and medium enterprises e.g. Pyme pro-
gramme (Small and Medium Enterprises) of Aserr. The cultural sector has also received great
deal of importance. This is a factor that spurs the integration of individuals excluded from the
social life (immigrants, elderly, disabled individuals), and a propellant to help them expressing
their subjectivity, which is a primary condition for improving their sense of belonging to their
neighbourhood.
The local Laboratory of the Corviale district west Rome and the work carried out by the
Antropos association of the VII Municipality of Rome indicate how cultural activities are not a
luxury restricted to the well-off brackets of the population, but also a form of investment in
the human capital of the individual.
3.2.1 Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises
(PYME) - Aserr (Costa Rica )
Objective: Job searching and enhancement of job expectations.
Target population: Small and medium enterprises operating in the fields of industry, food
industry, trade, craftsmanship and services
Description: Among the most important factors to fight against urban and rural poverty, there
are a series of funding mechanisms for the set up and upgrade of production projects. Funding
opportunities to implement such projects sets the conditions to improve the standard of living
of households with poor financial possibilities, thus giving them the chance to become eco-
nomically independent.
In most households of the district of Aserr the householder is frequently a woman. This is due
to cases of home violence, extreme poverty and to other important psychological factors
affecting the Country. It is extremely prejudicial for these women to provide for the support of
the large family, which is the rule in the case of traditional aserriceas families (from 4 to 6
children). In fact, due to the low educational level caused by the high rate of school drop-outs,
the job expectations of these women are severely limited. Such a situation implies that it
would be impossible to meet fundamental needs (house rent, instalment payment, purchase
of clothes and food, etc.). For all of these reasons it is necessary to devise better economic
mechanisms to solve this difficult situation. The she-householders carry out farm work, pro-
duce different handmade articles and sell different products, always in an effort to meet their
needs and those of their children. The Municipality of Aserr is seriously committed to finding
possible measures to help these underprivileged families. Its assistance is focused on the
inter-institutional alliance between the bank called Banco Popular and the Local Development
Project G.T.Z. Many efforts have been made, in cooperation with the local administration, to
support and to grant facilities to this vulnerable share of population. The general objective of
the PYMES programme (Small and Medium Enterprises) is to strengthen the competitive level
of national enterprises, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (PYME) through the stimu-
lation, promotion and support of modernization strategies. This is achieved by fostering the
execution of integral plans, programmes, projects or actions. The intervention actions are
intended to reinforce strategic development areas in relation to such areas as: training, tech-
nical assistance, marketing, formal education, innovation, technological development, infor-
mation, international cooperation and production connections.
The functions of DIGEPYME:
- Provide the technical assistance requested by the ministerial authority for the design, exe-
cution and assessment of SME-oriented policies and programmes.
- Carry out the functions of the Technical Secretary of the Joint Council for Counselling of
Small and Medium Enterprises in compliance to the conditions set forth by AoL 8262 and
relating to the General Regulation Framework.
- Implement inter-institutional cooperation mechanisms in order to provide full assistance
to the enterprises and guarantee the efficient use of institutional resources. The Support
Network in favour of SMEs becomes a coordination and definition mechanism.
- Form working groups with the participation and integration of officials coming from priva-
te and public institutions, entrepreneurial chambers, associations, trade associations,
entrepreneurs etc. This is for the purpose of devising, structuring and proposing work
plans, programmes and projects in alliance with the entities of the Network. This is achie-
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ved through the implementation of sound assistance and financial support actions aimed
at promoting a competitive level of Small and Medium Enterprises.
The above-mentioned actions imply the following strategies:
Identify small and medium enterprises in the fields of: industry, food industry, trade,
craftsmanship and services, in the purpose to identify their characteristics in designing
programmes and defining sector indicators.
Define adequate tools to identify care-service requirements.
Apply such tools aimed at identifying assistance requirements, both through inter-
views and through a form, which the entrepreneur must fill-in, and which will be suc-
cessively collected to clarify whatever doubt that might have arisen on the subject.
Carry out sector diagnoses and surveys to identify if and how business activities are
aware of the support programmes, plans or projects that might be proposed.
Prepare full support programmes, plans or project that might be required and diagno-
sed by following the method previously described.
Promote and disseminate among the different sectors, the full support programmes,
plans or projects that have been developed.
Coordinate and organize seminars, conferences or other dissemination activities in
line with the identified needs and those urgently requested by the different sectors.
Identify the national and international bodies or institutions that may provide financial
or technical assistance in the execution and implementation of programmes, plans and
projects targeted to small and medium business activities.
Manage, in cooperation with the national and international bodies or institutions
which allocate financial or technical assistance, the use of the resources necessary for
the execution and implementation of support programmes, plans or projects.
Select the entrepreneurs who will take part in the support programmes, plans or pro-
jects.
Support, both during the execution and the monitoring phase, the programmes, plans
or projects implemented by other institutions.
Assess the results obtained and the effect obtained by the execution of the support
programmes, plans or projects, so that they can be used as a basis for implementing
corrective actions or developing new support strategies.
A group composed of 125 women involved in the programme has been formed on the munici-
pal level. The objective is for them to go on profitably in their labour activity which was once
almost negligible and to receive useful information on credit facilities and benefits for their
business activity. The Municipality is also committed to cooperating to carrying out all those
files necessary to obtain a licence or to open a line of credit for the purchase of machinery,
raw materials and equipment. Such measure has been warmly welcome by the beneficiaries,
who have expressed the desire to go on with such an advantageous process. Under the impe-
tus of such an advantageous process, they could, in fact, develop their entrepreneurial skills
and meet their family requirements.
3.2.2 Community Action Network Support Programme
- Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Objective: The intervention programme presented by the local administration of the City of
Buenos Aires is based on two projects. It is aimed at social involvement and strengthening
social and community activities locally. It also promotes community involvement to analyse the
social issues and to participate to solution-making strategies, through the creation of organi-
zational and apprenticeship actions, as well as training strategies and strategies for financing
projects having an impact at community level.
Target population: Non-governmental organizations, social networks, and network of district
neighbourhoods.
Description: In 2003 the representatives of different social networks operating in the City of
Buenos Aires met on the occasion of the Network Day (Jornada REDES), in the purpose to
establish an operational agenda on labour-related issues and matters.
Two hundreds people from different networks and governmental organizations took part to the
event. They agreed on a common and lasting database of social networks operating in the City,
and on the objectives, issues and lines of actions to be implemented.
3.2.3 Territorial integration for work guidance, introduction
in the labour market, and fight against to poverty - Rome
(Italy)
Objective: Set up an employment programme to get to an effective the introduction on the
labour market, especially for individuals who live in poverty or social exclusion. The project
includes an awareness-raising campaign targeted to the companies operating on a local level
about their social responsibility. The establishment of an integration bureau to promote the
integration of the less privileged of the population, and 24 vocational training courses for the
individuals identified by the local services. The specific objectives are:
Increase support actions in favour of needy people and households;
Foster actions to promote labour integration models, and develop, at the same time, a series
of policies to prevent drug addiction and social displacement;
Extend and upgrade the service network;
Implement labour policies, based on an integrated, multidimensional approach between the
Labour Guidance Centres (Centro di Orientamento Lavorativo COL) (see also the Schedule
on COL), the labour office and employment centres, to foster their effective coordination and
integration.
Target population: Socially vulnerable individuals and those at risk of poverty.
Description: With this initiative, the VII Municipality of Rome, intends to fight poverty and
social exclusion through interventions of social mediation and territorial education to be inclu-
ded within the framework of local community integrated strategies. All this, has to be in
synergy with the actors of the territorial service network and the working world.
The VII Town Council of Rome has promoted the project in cooperation with the Career
Education Centre of the Municipality of Rome and the Antropo Association. This one is tasked
for handling activities.
The expected duration of the project is 12 months (March 2005 March 2006); the expected
overall cost is 107,308.76, financed by the Town of Rome.
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Initiatives in the social and labour sector of the XV
Municipality of Rome - Rome (Italy)
Objective: Face and focus on cases of new poverty (the reason why the Council of Voluntary
Work was established) experienced by old people who are isolated or no longer self-sufficient
and find it difficult to reveal their destitute condition. The victims of the game of chance (lot-
tery or video-poker) and common usury (identified by the Council in cooperation with local
parishes). The matter, at the moment, deals with interventions on single cases but everyone
is firmly hoping the implementation of an organic and specific project for the entire territory.
Target population: Socially vulnerable individuals; people at risk of poverty.
Description: The initiatives indicated here have been undertaken by the local administration
(of the XV Muncipality of Rome) both to upgrade the infrastructures of the area (streets, side-
walks, gardens, etc.) and to give identity and social cohesiveness to the neighbourhoods with
social and cultural functions (upgrading of the Teatro India, upgrading of archaeological
remains on the municipal territory etc.). Several projects have been implemented to foster the
inclusion of immigrant communities and of the Rom community settled in the nomad camp in
Via Gandoni. Most resources are obviously devoted to special projects in order to solve the
distress of the most needy individuals.
- Protected Discharge: Project aimed at supporting, for a maximum period of 60 days,
elderly people living in the area, whether alone or with relatives who are unable to afford
specific care service and health-care requirements after discharge from the hospital.
Assist individuals with a protected discharge initiative so that they are effectively inte-
grated into the National Health-care System. To this purpose, Protocols of Understanding
and Operative Protocols have been signed with the XV Municipality of Rome, the Local
Health Authority - District RMD III, the San Camillo Forlanini and the Poi Portuense
hospitals. The service, which began in January 2004, has already processed 127 files.
- Apprenticeship and Guidance to Labour. The service addresses teenagers and young
adults (under 23) identified by the local social services. For these people, the intervention
is a tool to supplement their ongoing educational programme, which is followed by the
reporting Social Service.
This action is, therefore, an important resource for the Social-care since it supplements
projects addressed to young people in trouble. It also provides the inclusion of the young
individual in a working environment for a period of six months to be possibly renewed for
six more months. The first training courses started in February 2004 and were attended by
18 young boys. The project is funded for two years.
- Alzheimer Project: Support and relieve the families who are forced to take care for a
member of the family affected by this complicated and difficult pathology of Alzheimer.
- Inter-Generational Laboratories: Inter-generational meetings, where a number of
elderly individuals become sort of cultural proponents. The aim is to help children to recon-
nect and to connect themselves with the passing of time, through the exchange of perso-
nal experiences. The laboratories intend to establish the connection among school chil-
dren, interested parents and elderly individuals registered at the Senior Citizens Centres.
The project is funded for two years.
- Youth Fellowship Centre: the centre stemmed out from the activity of joint project
laboratories established that have started up to for arranging the 1
st
District Plan It pur-
pose is to carry out regional cultural activity in the Trullo district. The objective is to pro-
mote, support and enhance the fellowship experiences of young people. It also follows
their projectual, decisional and managing paths. This is done in the places where such
paths are manifested and expressed. Specifically, the project aims at stimulating growth,
independence and the teenagers training needs. This helps to re-build a more participa-
tory and responsible community fabric. It develops a sense of belonging by means of spa-
ces and routes that are applicable to the youth at this age phase. The project, which has
just been implemented, has financing for two years.
- Emergency Housing: Support for no longer than 4 years to Italian and foreign house-
holds who received an eviction notice because of their inability to pay and whose income
is lower than e12,248.00/year.
Initiatives of economic and social support in the Corviale
district - XV Municipality of Rome. - Rome (Italy)
Objective: The economic and social development support of the Corviale district.
Target population: Young people; vulnerable people; people at risk of social exclusion.
Description: The initiatives described below have been undertaken by the Municipal
Administration to support the economic and social development of the Corviale a district in
Rome (XV Municipality). The area is the result of an extremely functional design made by inter-
nationallyrenowned architects: Fiorentino and Quaroni. It is sort of a dormitory district,
whose functions are being finalised today only, through a substantial upgrading activity of the
area and its unique characteristics.
Regional laboratory of Corviale, West Rome
The regional laboratories were established in a number of Roman suburban districts to pro-
mote the involvement of citizens on local sustainable development issues. The laboratories, in
this sense, aim at playing a venture-like and go-between role among the different public enti-
ties and already-existing associations. They operate on issues like culture, employment, envi-
ronmental protection, and social cohesion.
Below a list of activities implemented in the Corviale laboratory:
- the neighbourhood contract, to upgrade the two-story buildings in Corviale. They also addre s s
the green areas and the external facilities, as well as the construction of sport facilities;
- Immaginare il Corviale, a social and cultural project, which responds to the need of local
citizens in re-appropriating a new image of Corviale; a different image than the one por-
trayed by the medias, which have made the area a symbol of suburban hardship. This has
blocked developing any positive image for the local area. The initiative involves the
Adriano Olivetti association and the Nomade observatory set up by the Third University of
Rome. Artists, associations, architects, sociologists and students are fully involved. A
creative-art and multimedia laboratory has been established. An experimental local TV
channel has been established as well.
Business Activity Incubator
This Facility has been provided to responds to the organizational and technical needs of those
who wish to set up a business activity. The facility hosts new enterprises on their onset stage,
at agreed prices, and for a period not exceeding 18 months. The Corviale business activity
incubator began operations two years ago. It can accommodate 10 business activities in busi-
ness premises of about 35 square metres each. The premises are fitted with IT equipment,
Internet connection (Adsl), and telephone connection. The incubator provides several services:
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photocopy, fax, and meeting hall. Moreover, this new business may receive fiscal and legal
advice from experts, provided free of charge by the municipal authorities.
Small enterprises, cooperatives and one-man businesses and crafts are the type of business
activities hosted in this facility. In addition, there are companies providing support services,
including social services.
Vocational Training Centre (Centro di Formazione Professionale, CFP)
It addresses young people between 15 and 18 years of age who must accomplish the Basic
Training Obligation. The following courses have been put in action for the period 2004-2005:
hairdresser, graphic designer for publishing and audiovisual production, hairdresser for entre-
preneurial operation, computer graphic designer for publishing activities, multi-purpose mod-
ular course, computer graphic designer, organic farming operator, graphic work for publishing
and audiovisual production. To enter the first year of course, trainees have to be aged between
15 and 18. To enter the second year of course, applicants must have attended and passed the
first year of vocational training in another CFP, or must have attended the second class of an
advanced school with classes where similar subjects are studied.
Training Pact
This think tank was established to define vocational training strategies which consider the
needs and the resources of the region. The sectors that have been identified as having the
best development perspectives are ecological tourism, organic farming, accommodation near-
by Fiumicino Airport and the activities connected to the Fiera di Roma (which, according to
estimates, will yield about 45,000 internal or induced workplaces). In this regard, in June
2004, the provincial and municipal authorities as well as the representatives of the trade
unions CGIL, CISL and UIL of the Fiera di Roma signed the Corviale Agreement, to provide
specific training courses at the Corviale CFP for young people aged between 15 and 18.
Corviale Multi-Task Cultural Centre
Multi-task facility established to hosts social, cultural and vocational activities. The Vocational
Training Centre, the Labour Guidance Centre, the territorial laboratory, one library, one book-
shop and several local associations have their headquarters in the centre.
3.2.4 Support to Local Development Initiatives in the
Buenavista Town Council: Employment and Micro-business
set up - CEPAD Buenavista (Bolivia)
Objective: Upgrade and support local sustainable and participative development in the
Municipality of Buenavista.
Upgrade ADEL (Agencia de Desarrollo Econmico Local - Agency for Local Economic
Development) of Buenavista.
Enhance the production levels of existing economic sectors.
Start new micro-business activities.
Explore and open new employment opportunities.
Improve the training level of municipal technical groups and enterprises.
Target population: Essentially Young people
Description: The project is set up in the framework of a cooperative activity with the
Independent Community of Extremadura. It is focused on the transfer of experiences and pro-
jects at local level, which, following the approval of the Ley de Participacin Popular, have
acquired great importance with regard to issues connected with local economic development.
- Upgrade of Adel (Agency for Local Economic Development) of the Municipality of
Buenavista by means of Town-council Decision which provides for an inter-institutional
cooperation agreement with the Sub-prefecture of the province of Ichilo for offices and
equipment use, through negotiation with a local economic development agent.
- Increase in the production levels of the existing economic sectors, through a series of ini-
tiatives such as, joint participation in fairs, support for the organization of fairs, and tou-
rism-oriented promotion activities and events, etc;
- Set of new micro-business activities, as a consequence of the support provided in the pre-
paration and organization of important events, for the supply of services associated with
the main activity;
- Design of a labour observatory, where they define the actions necessary to spur and open
new labour pools;
- Upgrade of the municipal technical group, through the exchange of experiences with
Extremadura (Spain), Ecuador, the District of Crdoba, the Municipality of San Ignacio de
Velasco, and other Adel (Department of Santa Cruz, etc).
Support to the Local Economic Development Agency of
Concepcin - CEPAD Concepcin (Bolivia)
Objective: Increase the managing capacity of the Municipal authority of Concepcin in the
field of economic promotion, by supporting the activities carried out by Adel, (Agency for Local
Economic Development);
Devise the Strategy of Local Economic Development as an integral part of the Municipal
Development Plan.
Target population: Young people
Description:
- Design a local economy strategy by means of an identification, an awareness-raising and
a negotiation process through the institutions and the organizations involved in local eco-
nomic development activities; the whole to become a paper of Local Economic
Development Strategy as an integral part of the Municipal Development Plan (Plan de
Desarrollo Municipal (Pdm);
- Insert the initiatives proposed in the framework of the Local Economic Development
Strategy in the Yearly Operational Planning;
- Execute the Local Economic Development Strategy, through the implementation of the
activities below:
operation of Adel, Local Economic Development Agency;
drawing up of 12 projects to be funded through the Fund of Productive and Social
Investment (FPS);
promotion of traditional municipal holydays as a form of tourist attraction;
obtain maximum promotional value for the orchids as a municipal tourist attraction,
through the organisation at Concepcin of the 1
st
National Festival of Orchids; esta-
blish the orchid protected areas;
execution of plans for tourist promotion;
final format for the promotion of cultural events and local to be launched as tourist
attractions.
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3.3 Education
The education sector is directly linked to the cultural dimension of local development strate-
gies. It is based on different types of action according to the partners involved.
Educational programmes are never exclusively restricted to disseminate literacy among popu-
lation. On the contrary, even when they refer to less socially privileged groups, they take in all
the general meanings of the word education. They promote occasions and places where
young people can not only learn but, above all, express their artistic skills (theatre, singing,
dancing, painting, drawing, and playing).
An example of this approach may be provided by Cassa Selva Girona project implemented
in Ate. The House of Culture was established to foster individual development and to the pro-
fessional growth of the young individual (in a close future). This must be seen as a deterrent
of potential poverty, apart from being an antidote to ongoing illiteracy.
However, educational programmes do not ignore the risks of a communication deficit due to
the so-called digital divide. Ate implemented the Educ@te: Internet del Saber project, where
the teaching and learning process between trainers and trainees is supported by the use of an
IT centre. This one acts as a propeller for the self-education process based on the assumption
that IT know-how has become a must in a globalized world.
Other projects implemented in the educational sector show that social inclusion also tran-
scends education and culture: the Bogot experience uses this sector as a income generator;
Pergamino local authorities provides IT-training to young individuals to help them to find job.
In the first case, the Bogot Mission project provides training to young graduates, unemployed
householders, former prostitutes and drug addicts who are trained to take in the role of town
guides. In the case of Pergamino, computer and data-processing skills are taught by means
of monthly courses organized by the Direccin de la Juventud, and financed by municipal
funds. The beneficiaries of this programme are young people aged between 16 and 23, with
poor financial resources and high school performances.
The cases above show a desire to go beyond the simple need to disseminate literacy skills
among population: the objective of the good practices that have been investigated is the pro-
motion, the access to, the use and the maintenance of communication spaces, as places to
spur public solidarity and a sense of belonging to the city.
3.3.1 House of Culture - Cassa Selva Girona, Espaa
Ate-Lima (Per)
Objective: Contribute to the social and cultural development of San Antonio population (Ate),
with particular care to young people and teenagers
Target population: Young people and teenagers.
Description: The House of Culture Cassa Selva Girona, Espaa is a place where young peo-
ple and teenagers can develop their artistic skills: theatre, singing, dancing, painting, drawing,
plays etc. thus enhancing their individual and professional growth.
Educ@te: Internet del Saber - Ate - Lima (Per)
Objective: Improve the teaching and apprenticeship process developed between the teachers
and the students of the municipal boarding schools of Ate, through the implementation of an
IT centre, to be a propeller of self-education.
Target population: School-age young people and teenagers.
Description: The project is focused on students basic education. The aim is to have a sharp-
minded follow up of IT perspectives and changes which are now taking place globally. This
process discloses achievable targets.
G rowing Among Children: An Opportunity - Ate - Lima (Per)
Objective: Improve and integrate emotional, cognitive and social skills of children, through
the involvement in individual and collective games.
Description: The project is aimed at improving and developing the cognitive, emotional and
social skills of the children living in the Ate district. This is achieved through training and orga-
nization strategies implying the exchanging of positive experiences in order to foster indivi-
dual and collective development.
The activity of skills development is given great importance in the project. This is for spurring
both individual and collective development in the framework of equity, fundamental rights and
city involvement.
3.3.2 Misin Bogot - Project for citizens cohabitation and
security - Bogot (Colombia)
Objective: To contribute to the proper use, the appropriation and use of public spaces, thro u g h
the promotion of good practices and values, in the framework of the urban culture of fellows-
hip
Target population: Citizens of Bogot. Major aged men and women belonging to social clas-
ses 1, 2, and 3 (based on a specific Colombian classification these are the lowest classes)
available to have a paid temporary job.
The project involved young school graduates, unemployed householders, displaced people,
prostitutes, homeless, recyclers, natives, peddlers, people who had formerly participated to
guerrilla warfare groups and got again inside society, drug addicts in desintoxication.
Description: This project was made in 1998. It is a social-inclusion proposals. It aims at pro-
moting the capacity of claiming ones own rights and duties. It promotes the appropriation of
the city and the improvement of local skills, through a working activity to be paid for six
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months, including the training period.
The project is divided into two different contexts: Citizenship in the Public Space and
Collective Management.
The first context promotes the access to, the utilization and the preservation of public areas,
as well as coexistence and fellowship within the public space.
The second context promotes collective involvement and organization, as well as the coexis-
tence and access to social services in the most vulnerable districts of the city.
Since the launch until 2003, 4,699 citizens have been involved in the project; 1,370 in 2004. In
the period 2005 -2007, 1,630 people/year is expected to be involved.
As far as gender is concerned, women have been predominantly involved (78%).
The Bogot Mission signed agreements with several entities of the Capital District for the
negotiation of new guide. Such entities are: the District Institute for Recreational and Sports
Activities (171 guide in 2004); DABS (230); the General Secretary (63); Transmilenio (160); the
Institute of Culture and Tourism (22), the Ministry of Justice (80).
The main problem is the temporary character of the employment assigned.
Bogot Mission is defining a programme of skills for life and employment, based on self-suf-
ficiency, which will develop a series of skills to provide the city guide with the necessary skills
to autonomously find a sustainable job.
3.3.3 Youth information and incentive programme for
students of technical schools - Pergamino (Argentina)
Objective: Improve labour opportunities for new generations
Target population: Young people at risk.
Description: The working group of Pergamino collected information by means of a series of
interviews, which showed there are:
1 Programmes addressed to structurally poor people, where the new poor is cur -
rently being introduced
The Food Programme (Critas Santa Julia), the Programa de insercin en el empleo for-
mal de personas desocupadas, asistidas por programas sociales (Programme for the inte-
gration of unemployed people in the formal labour market, assisted by social programmes
- Labour Directorate of the Secretary for Production Activities); the Programa de becas
(Scholarship Programme - Education Directorate of the Social Promotion Secretary); the
Mas Vida Comadres programme (Direction of Social Action of the Social Promotion
Secretary) and the Programa de prevencin de enfermedades de transmisin sexual y pla-
nificacin familiar (Programme for the prevention of sexually-transmitted illnesses and
family planning - Undersecretary for Health of the Social Promotion Secretary).
2 Programmes specifically addressed to the new poor.
Programa de informatizacin de jvenes (IT skill development programme for young peo-
ple - Municipal Directorate for Young People). The objective of the programme is to increa-
se the employment opportunities of young people trained for computer and data-proces-
sing application programmes (i.e. Ms Word and Excel, World Wide Web).
Programa de incentivo para alumnos de escuelas tcnicas (Incentive programme for the
students of technical schools - Labour Directorate of the Production Secretary).
The need to disseminate computer literacy and its data-processing know-how has led the
local authorities to develop a training programme for youth aged between 14 and 30. This
provides better opportunities to find an employment.
Each course lasts approximately 1 month. Lessons are held twice a week. Each course is
attended by 30 young people.
The programme is set up upon the initiative and at the expense of the Directorate for
Young People (Direccin de la Juventud). It is paid for by municipal funds. The
Municipality of Pergamino specified that the IT-training course is specifically addressed to
meet the requirements of young people who live in a condition of new poverty.
Incentive programme for students of technical schools (Direccin de Empleo de
la Secretera de la Produccon): The objective of the incentive programme for students
of technical schools is to promote the vocational training of young people whose poor
financial resources do not allow for technical training. This would help them to be hired by
private business activities.
Beneficiaries are youth aged between 16 and 23, with poor financial resources and high
school performance levels. The experience started in 2004. It involved 60 young people,
80% of whom are boys.
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3.4 Health - Care
The health-care sector provides for one of the primary needs of the population, which is as
more serious as the financial difficulties of the average citizen increase.
The adequate and prompt care service for those who live on poor financial resources is not
separate, however, to a necessary redefinition of the relationship between social-care servic-
es and type/number of users: as shown by the good practices that have been investigated, the
measure implementation timing seems to have changed (not only before but also after the
moment of need), as well as its recurrence (no longer una tantum, but continuous and rela-
tional) and its target (no longer indiscriminate but focused on the demander).
Generally speaking, the projects implemented by individual partners in the health-care sector
show the characteristics below:
- They are decentralized, since they go towards the poor instead of waiting for their
requests. Both the municipal pharmacies, the so-called botiqun of Ate, and the coun-
cillors of San Joaqun, and the Equipos Bsicos de Atencin en Salud EBAIS of Aserr
(Basic Structures of Health Assistance Care) try as well to cover the remote.
- They propose integrated actions and measures, based on the different environments of the
needy individual (the household, the municipal district of domicile, the workplace) in order
to contribute to a participative local planning strategy.
- They focus on the individual during the entire life cycle. They follow the individual in the
different development phases: infancy, youth, adult age, third age etc. with the aim of pro-
moting the individuals integration in a social network, on top of for health-care services.
They also stimulate solidarity and participation models as the one implemented by the
Family Health Assistance project (San Joaqun) which establishes the networking of fami-
lies living in the same area.
3.4.1 Basic Health-care Facilities (EBAIS)
- Aserr (Costa Rica)
Objective: Public health-care system decentralisation in villages.
Target population: All population
Description: in Costa rica, the welfare system is based three fundamental principles: univer-
sal coverage, equal opportunities and Joint liability in financing methods. Within this model
of health assistance, since 1995, the Basic Structures of Health Assistance (EBAIS) were
implemented as a general and positive health-care practice. In 2003 these facilities covered
90 % of population ( 3,599,939). This system consists of the decentralization of the public
health-care system. Decentralisation was implemented by setting up several health-care cen-
tres to be located in various towns and villages, both urban and rural. Such a system contri-
buted to establish closer contacts between patients and the health-care structures since these
ones were placed just where people live. Therefore, access to health-care services was easies
as well as relationship between physicians and patients.
Description of the Model: A full health-care system is the main pillar of this model is a full
health-care service to be provided to each and all Costa Ricans according to the concept of
universality and solidarity. The Programme aims at protecting the population from the risk of
falling ill, providing the fundamental conditions for the full development and achievement of
potentials and expectations of the individual.
EBAIS Functions:
- Take part in the definition of priority issues that fall under the jurisdiction of EBAIS, inclu-
ding ASIS, to define local planning on a basis of participation.
- Provide integral care service to family, municipality, school, workplace and health-care
services.
- Control and assess management activities by efficiency, efficacy and quality indicators.
- Promote and participate in the development of human resources within EBAIS
- Collect and record relevant local information necessary for the health-care information
system.
- Promote social involvement in order to stimulate different social actors in the analysis,
planning, execution and assessment of programmes at local level.
- Design and carry out an educational and communication programme about health-care
addressed to every relevant sector of population.
Minimum guaranteed care-service are provided to the entire population, which must be sup-
plied independently from their condition and geographical position.
Service provision is based on preventive surveys on the morbidity profile of each group, and
on specific problems and on large-impact programmes.
Basic service provision is provided in compliance to the Regulations on Integral Health-care
Assistance.
To carry out the functions and the activities described in the above-mentioned Regulations,
EBAIS and the Support Teams will have to carry out a coordinate, systematic and precise work
to take into account the needs of the community and in compliance to ASIS and the Main
Health-care Plan.
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Integral Assistance to Children
Medical check-up to control childs development and growth
Disease-prevention medical care
Immunization
Oral Health
Identification and monitoring of children at risk
Basic Rehabilitation
Early interception of the newborn
Integral Assistance to Teenagers
Medical check-up to control teen-agers development and growth
Disease-prevention medical care
Immunization
Oral Health
Interception and assistance for teenagers at risk
Contraceptives
Integral Assistance to Women
Prenatal and postnatal medical care
Contraceptives
Specific morbidity
Diagnosis of cervix and breast cancer
Preparation / Assistance to delivery
Diagnosis and assessment of sterile couples
Diagnosis and assistance to cases of violence
Oral Health
Vaccination in reproductive age
Integral Assistance to Adults
Morbidity
Diagnosis and monitoring of mental troubles
Integral Assistance to chronic disease
Prevention and diagnosis of the risk of professional disease
Immunizations
Oral Health
Basic Rehabilitation
3.4.2 Roof and covering of the local municipal pharm a c i e s
(botiqun) - Human settlement of Tupac Amaru - Ate - Lima (Peru )
Objective: P rovide low-cost basic health-care services to the population of the
Asentamiento Humano Tupac Amaru, Ate.
Description: The project will draw a focus on health-care and on providing adequate and
prompt health-care provision to for the population with low economic resources.
The project relies on adequate infrastructure. There are skilled physicians who are willing to
provide emergency medical care. It is possible to rely on a large stock of medical drugs.
The location of the municipal botiqun is inadequate. There is no Mobile Unit to provide
emergency medical care in suburban areas, and along uneven roads. The available public
transport is inefficient.
Therefore, the flow of users is very low, and a door-to-door information campaign is neces-
sary to inform population about the opportunities offered by the town botiqun.
3.4.3 Health Programme through the implementation of the
Family Health Model - San Joaqun - Santiago (Chile)
Objective: Setting up health structures for every sector of the neighbourhood.
Target population: All population
D e s c r i p t i o n : In the municipal area, there are three counselling offices for basic health-care
o rganized according to the Family Health Model. They are: The Counselling Office of San Joaqun,
the Counselling Office of Dr Art u ro Baeza Goi and the Counselling Office of Sister Te resa de los
Andes. This certification released by Ministry of Health makes the Municipality of San Joaqun
the first area of the southern Metropolitan Region with 100% of accredited facilities.
The accreditation certifies that the facilities comply with the parameters provided for in the
Family Health-care Model, meaning that every single centre is provided with:
A Health team for every sector (of the area/neighbourhood): every team is formed by
Physician, Nurse, Social Assistant, Administration Assistants, Midwife, Assistants etc. They
attend to the Promotion, Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Health problems of peo-
ple during their life cycle: Infancy, Youth, Adult Age and Old Age.
This health-care service method allows for being in contact with the family and living condi-
tions. It also allows to:
Work with families: Records and special working files are collected in order to get to know the
family.
Quality and results: Emphasis is placed on training the Health Teams to deal with different
health problems. They try to solve them at the local level, within the facility, the family or in
the neighbourhood of the person concerned.
Integration within a social network: The Health-care Centre is an element of a Network of
local resources which stimulates the Organized Involvement of the population who live in the
area where the service is provided.
Support of sectorialization in the neighbourhood Mini Health-care Centres: Since sectorial-
ization is a strategic element to work on the Family Health-care Model, several actions have
been fostered to improve and to set up small centres in the area where the health team is
operating.
Fonadis Programme (National Aid Fund for Disabled Persons)
This programs aims at providing home-care support to severely disabled patients. It is essen-
tially provided by the Consulting Office of Dr A. Baeza Goi. The three centres in town will
soon provide care serviced to people inserted in the programme of Pain Relief and Palliative
Treatments (patients with cancer) to respond to the requirements of the population affected
by permanent or temporary disabilities. In 2004, Fonadis provided technical assistance tools,
such as chairs, wheel-chairs, walkers and sticks for people with motor disfunctions.
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3.5 Effective Labour Market Policies
It is crystal clear that labour plays a primary role in release from poverty.
It is equally certain that effective labour policies provide local decision-makers with a funda-
mental tool to demonstrate their clear-headedness in the analysis and provision of effective
response. Actually, over the last few years, the labour sector has shown the greatest changes
both in terms of different organizational (and territorial distribution) methods, and with modi-
fied job-offer strategy.
The Labour Guidance Centres (Centri Orientamento al Lavoro COL) established by the
Municipality of Rome represent the best aspect of this evolution pattern.
Centres no longer provide job placement opportunities only; they also work on their users
vocational training and upgrade in order to increase their possibilities of choice. They try to
make professional skills and labour demand meet.
The ultimate goal is to build a personal route for the individual: so all job-finding activities are
merely the last stage in a process made up of intermediate steps, which are usually skipped
by the old welfare-oriented structure. Motivation to labour, educational and vocational train-
ing are the chain links that bind together the educational and therapeutic process. In this con-
text, labour becomes important per se, it is no longer a bread-winning activity only.
Sometimes, measures are focused on the household (as in the case of the labour guidance and
integration strategies in Valladolid), since local authorities are also interested in the multi-
faceted causes of new poor condition; sometimes, the focus is on specific groups of popula-
tion at risk of exclusion, as single-parent families, young unemployed people, and immigrants
who have not integrated. In this set, the Bogot project Generacin de empleo como her-
ramienta de recuperacin para jvenes de la calle y pandilleros (Creation of job opportunities
as a tool for recovering young people living on the street belonging to baby gangs) stands out
as a unique project: it is explicitly addressed to young people belonging to street gangs (the
so-called pandilleros). It is clear that none of the objectives established would be reached
without the coordination between institutional, economic and social actors, according to a
programme of regional stimulation promoted by the local administration aimed at reduc-
ing the disparity between labour demand and supply.
3.5.1 To generate employment generation as an instrument
for the recovery of young people living in the street and gang
members - Bogot (Colombia)
Objective: Motivational, educational and vocational training
Target population: Young people living on the street belonging to baby gangs (pandilleros)
Description: It is in this framework that the programme promotes socio-working integration
as a method of fighting poverty. The Capital District of Bogot proposes a project which con-
siders labour as a tool of social inclusion. In particular, it places the attention specifically on
the experience of the District Institute for the defence of children (Instituto Distrital para la
proteccin de la niez Idipron).
The project predicates that the educational and therapeutic process be developed according
to different stages: motivational, educational and technical training, working practice and fol-
low-up, where labour and study form part of an important socialization instrument and
process. The programme offers young people the opportunity to enter an educational project
characterized by special methods. Such methods allow for moving forward in the education-
al process according to the rhythm of the individual. The programme offers training courses in
the areas of information technology, electricity, construction, music, pottery, glassworks, danc-
ing, painting and weaving; the institution hosts 87 laboratories.
Young people are given the opportunity to work in a number entities of which Idipron has
agreed to participate.
Main Objectives Obtain social inclusion for young people living on the street based on their
need for assistance. It assists in helping them to enter a technical training course and to ini-
tiate a working activity.
The project contributes to reducing unemployment among un-trained young people, and it gen-
erates positive effects enhancing the security of the city, the cohabitation and the overall level
of quality of life.
The applicants have carried out work in repairing streets, building sidewalks, repairing road
signs, and also park maintenance.
The number of recipients has gone beyond 150 in 1998 to 1,723 in 2003.
In 2004, 1,659 young people entered the programme, 90% of whom were male. 2,000 addi-
tional recipients/year are expected between 2005 and 2007.
Promoters and executors of the project: Idipron, in agreement with other entities of the
Capital District with which it enters into specific agreements to carry out the work practices.
Duration and execution period: The project started in 1995, with little financial funding.
Overall funding increased dramatically from 1999.
Problems faced and solutions adopted: The main problem is that the agreements offered
by the entities providing job opportunities are of a very temporary nature.
To find a solution to the above-mentioned problem, Idipron prepares young people for mana-
ging partnerships. This aspect has led to the incorporation/establishment of 3 cooperatives
and 3 pre-cooperatives, formed by groups of 40-50 young people.
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Talent and Opportunities for labour and income creation -
Bogot (Colombia)
Objective: To offer training and revenue-producing opportunities
Target population: Extremely vulnerable people and at risk of poverty
Description: The initiative was launched by the Administrative department of social well-being
of the District (Departamento Administrativo de Bienestar Social del Distrito - DABS) in 2001.
The initiative follows a method based on gradual personal, collective, institutional, technical
and entrepreneurial learning. This initiative is divided into six different and graduated stages:
Identification of talented individuals;
Selection of personal and occupational profiles;
Training, qualification and accreditation;
Production practices;
Social and productive assistance;
Incorporating entrepreneurial establishment as a form of partnership; productive perspective.
Main Objectives: Provide training and income generation opportunities to extremely vulne-
rable and overtly poor citizens (in particular, female head of families, people living on the
street, and those living in depressed urban areas).
To strengthen strategic alliances between the institutional, economic and corporative agents
of the city in an effort to generate higher qualification levels for the labour market. It also aims
to create more social acknowledgement, dignity of role and development of entrepreneurial
organizational patterns.
Since its creation until 2003, 7,112 people have been inserted into the talented-person data-
bank. 13 inter-institutional alliances have allowed the negotiation of 5,114 training and rev-
enue-producing opportunities. Between 2004 and 2008, at least 6,840 are expected to be
involved in the programme as a result of vocational training processes and negotiations. This
then will be made to provide job opportunities for 6,225 individuals.
Promoters and executors of the project: Dabs, in agreement with several public entities
(IDRD, IDU, Jardn Botnico, Misin Bogot, UESP, DAMA, Empresa de Acueducto de Bogot),
and private entities (Permoda) and such entities of the tertiary sector as the Casa de la Mujer
trabajadora, Corporacin Minuto de Dios, Fondo de Desarrollo Empresarial Corona
Duration and execution period: The project started in 2001 and it is expected to continue
with no cut-off.
Problems faced and solutions adopted: The main problem is the temporary character of
the job generated.
3.5.2 Labour Guidance Centres (COL) of the Municipality of
Rome - Rome (Italy)
Objective: Facilitate employment for job-seekers
Target population: All socially-vulnerable citizens and individuals at risk of poverty.
Description: the Town of Rome has established a number of centres opened to the public cal-
led COL (Centro Orientamento al Lavoro Labour guidance Centre) to provide free-of-charge
services.
Services are addressed to all categories of users. They provide: information and educational
career strategies for entering the public and private labour market; information about job
offers and training or specialization courses. In addition, it co-operates in preparing curricula
and career-education interviews in conjunction with customized job-seeking projects.
Hence, particular attention is given to the specific needs and characteristics of the demanders.
They often belong to the socially-vulnerable categories (over 40 unemployed, short-term and
transitional workers, etc.), that are at risk of, or on the verge of poverty.
This service-providing network of the Municipality of Rome is committed to promoting effec-
tive labour policies.
Mains Objectives: The task of the Labour Guidance Centre is to provide individuals with ade-
quate and consistent information in order to motivate them. This encourages them to make
their own decisions.
In other words, it acts as a go-between for the needs and requirements of the users and
existing opportunities, the Centre has to be aware of.
This action carried out by COL begins with the analysis of the users needs and ends with the
planning and construction of a customized programme. This is achieved by following a num-
ber of phases to evaluate the psycho-social skills as well as the users professional skills.
Guidance to labour is always provided from the point of view of the users capability to make
independent-decisions. It should favour and facilitate the capacity of the user to take respon-
sibility for his/her choices, according to a self-centred and explorative process.
In Rome, there are 23 Labour Guidance Centres. The specific Nomadic and the
Apprenticeship service desks offer a network system that covers all the areas of the city.
Their purpose is to provide these people with easily accessible COLs throughout the region.
Such COLs cannot simply be defined as job-seeking centres. These centres also provide
upgrade and re-training strategies as well as consultancy for new business and cooperative-
business, in sight of increasing the opportunities of choice and personal capabilities to utilize
information coming form the labour market. The labour guidance process consists of 5 stages:
1) Reception and analysis of demands and needs;
2) Information;
3) Evaluation and advice;
4) Techniques and tools in job-seeking activities;
5) Very specialized stage. Actions and measures to help the most underprivileged and wea-
ker groups;
COL is gradually implementing the services described in 1 5.
COL is also promoting a series of stimulating programmes at regional level aimed at inform-
ing and involving local entrepreneurs and other local actors. It provides support services for
the set up of business activities. This being achieved through counselling and start-up support
initiatives as well as specialized services for underprivileged groups. Particular attention is
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given to the designing and development of reception and information measures along with
vocational training and counselling. Moreover, specific targeted training, tutorship and voca-
tional guidance is also offered for helping integration in the working environment. Services are
essentially addressed to socially-vulnerable people and at risk of exclusion.
COLs also intervene to prevent school drop-out, which is known to be one of main the factors
generating a high risk of poverty in adults.
In this sense, COL operators are continually in contact with schools, especially secondary
schools, all over Rome. They carry out, in co-operation with teachers, specialized career-edu-
cation strategy programmes, both for future educational choices and professional projects,
especially with students at (real or potential) risk of dropping out of school. This is accom-
plished through individual interviews with those students and with their families.
COL operators cooperate with the operators of the Province of Rome to build up a data bank
(handled by the Province) of individuals at risk of irregular school attendance. They also cater
for guidance interviews with youngsters and their families. Such interviews are provided for
by regulations for youth re-integration in schools or guidance to vocational training courses, or
apprenticeships.
3.5.3 Projects for the Public University - Sa Paulo (Brazil)
Objective: Guarantee the vocational training of university students
Target population: Young people who have finished the secondary school.
Description: The project is part of a vocational training programme and is addressed to young
people between 16 and29 years of age: it aims at fully and worthily employ new generations
to properly develop the employment potentials of the City of San Paolo, the fourth largest city
of the world. More than 70thousand events are organized in the city every year for a total of
15 million visitors.
The capacity to organize and manage workshops, congresses, and national and international
holidays on different themes calls for specific skills and professional abilities, since these
events provide an immense consumer basin (which develops over an area of 430 square
metres filled with exhibition spaces), but also remarkable accommodation capacities from the
tourist structures and human resources.
Pr -Jovem - So Paulo (Brazil)
Objective: Social inclusion and introduction on the labour market of young poorly-trained
people.
Target population: Young people who have not ended their educational training.
Description: Even if reduction in the Brazilian rate of unemployment has been recorded in the
last years (below 10%), the city of San Paolo still has to face up to the problems affecting a
large number of young people who do not finish their educational training.
The Pr Jovem (For the Benefit of Young People) programme (in co-operation with the
Federal Government) is addressed to young people between 18 and 24 years of age with little
educational training: supported by a scholarship, the project aim is promoting an adequate
vocational training addressed to emerging market sectors, in order to reduce the gap between
labour demand and offer.
3.5.4 Jupiter Foundation (Tyvalmennus) - Vaasa (Finland)
Objective: Job security for young people and social groups in trouble; school attendance for
poorest students; personalized and collective support of unemployed individuals;
Target population: People who risk to be excluded from the labour market, Jupiter is a foun-
dation and an integrated programme.
Description: In order to meet its objectives, the Jupiter foundation seeks for donations and
sells articles produced by the members of the labour guidance programme.
Jupiter implements many vocational training activities: joinery, craftsmanship, electro-
mechanical repairs, car washing...
Project beneficiaries are also involved in the catering sector (cafeterias and restaurants),
building cleaning and maintenance, wastes disposal, transport services.
A team of psychologists, financial advisors and a nursery-school service for the children of the
members of the Programme is utilized to carry out every single activity.
Only 30 persons out of 330 who entered the Jupiter Programme since 2001, have abandoned
the Programme.
The social actors who took part to the local fora stressed on the requirement to earmark some
of the funds allocated for the unemployed to labour-oriented investments. This would be a rad-
ical change of the approach local authorities have always had vis--vis this issue. A preven-
tive action on labour would save resources for unemployment bonuses, therefore economic aid
may be provided in the form of loans to those who can not apply for a loan.
At the same time, the need for long-term strategic plans was underlined, since short-term
projects do not seem have a real effect on the lives of the individuals.
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3.5.5 Counselling and Career Education Service
- Valladolid (Spain)
Objective: To offer assistance to families in relation to the needs shown, without parcelling
out the problems presented, and always treating them within their framework.
The intervention is not exclusively centred on employment. It also refers to the number of
causes that are at the base of exclusion.
Target population: People and families at risk of social exclusion
Description: Programme of socio-working integration for people and families at risk of social
exclusion, thanks to a customized intervention in relation to all wanting conditions.
Actions:
- Permanent Information, Counselling and Career Education service in each of the 4 Zones
of Social Action.
- Information sessions on employment directed at people for receiving a Minimum
Integration Revenue.
- Laboratories finalized for the Job Research and Employment.
- Project of Working Integration Processes.
- Personalized support for effective job-finding activities.
- Specific offer of Career Education and Employment existing in the City.
- The team provides for personalized and continued career education strategies over time.
Current situation:
- District Family Intervention Teams are created. They provide for the following program-
mes:
- Programme of Socio-Working Integration for people and families at risk of social exclu-
sion.
- Programme of Family Intervention.
- Programme of Re-accommodation of alienated people.
- Programme of assistance to women.
Resources: The Basic Social Services are strengthened in each Social Action Zone with a
Team made up of the following experts, some of whom come from Programmes already car-
ried out:
- 1 Psychologist
- 5 Family educator
Financing: A Framework Agreement for Co-Financing Social Services and Basic Social
Performances has been stipulated between the Municipality of Valladolid and the Department
of Social Services of the Town Council of Castilla y Len for the purpose of co-financing the
activity of local entities.
Key Intervention Factors:
The local territory and the Basic Social Service network must be the basis for organizing and
defining the Programmes.
The insertion process must be the guiding thread for all of the interventions involving the indi-
vidual or family.
The sectorialization of the responses, achieved with different programmes, can be overcome
through an approach that promotes integrated intervention.
Both counselling and career education are a new strategy that is useful for achieving social
integration by utilizing the economic factor.
The intervention must not be exclusively centred on employment; it must include, on the con-
trary, a variety of factors that lead to exclusion.
The opening of SOAL in the decentralized method favours the access of ultimate users.
A permanent Zone team favours continued and customized career education activities over time.
A single professional man intervenes in every deficient sector affecting the same case.
P roblems faced and solutions adopted: The diff e rent programmes that refer to the Te a m
re q u i re a transverse coordination and provide for specific protocols, collection of information etc.
The financing and justification channels, diversified according to the Programme, are main-
tained.
Challenges:
Need of new strategies to promote the integration of particularly needy people:
- Ethnic minorities
- Single-parent families
- Immigrants
The chronic situation caused by the strong dependency on aid and by the hidden economy.
Lack of flexible budget availability to offer made-to-measure training for users and the market.
Inter-institutional coordination is not in line with the increasing role of social services provid-
ing support to employment.
The provision of jobs focused on a specific environment must be intensified, in agreement with
the employers and the social sensitivity.
The uninterrupted training of professional individuals is required as well as the greater
exchange of experiences within this sector of action.
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3.6 Social, Economic and Productive Development
The co-ordination among institutional, economic and social actors (which has already been
addressed in the Effective Labour Policies section) are the key factors in Social, Economic and
Productive Development.
The projects carried out by the Practicar partners focus on small and medium sized enterpris-
es, consistently with the economic structure of Latin America. The objective is to flush out
from informal labour the multitude of small/micro enterprises that are the last resort against
urban poverty, by establishing them as businesses to best utilize, thus, their resources.
The final purpose of the San Joaqun project deals with integral development (but it does
not define the methods), to the purpose of enhancing small and medium enterprises as in
Buenos Aires so that these small businesses can become sound sources of employment and
not only a refuge against outright poverty.
Within this context, two factors have seemingly played a special role:
a. Training of micro-entrepreneurs defined as development agents (see the Associative
Micro-Entrepreneurship Programme (Microemprendimientos asociativos sociales pro-
gramme in San Martn). In fact, it is clear that the presence of small and medium enter-
prises provides many advantages to the entire region.
b. Access to concessional loans, through agreements with banks or by zero-rate lines of cre-
dit to fund new business and/or to upgrade the existing ones.
3.6.1 Line of credit for strengthening and supporting micro
and small enterprises in Bogot
Objective: The Credit Line for Creating Employment in Bogot attempts at improving the cre-
dit coverage by significantly increasing the resources assigned to micro and small enterprises,
strengthening their economic reopening, spurring the creation of job opportunities or preven-
ting their disintegration.
Target population: Micro and small enterprises
Expected results Following the approval of a line of credit amounting to $30,000,000, the
hope is to assign credit for approximately $650,000,000 to support of about 73,400 inhabitants
of Bogot, between micro and small entrepreneurs.
Since 2002 and until March 31
st
, 2005, the total disbursement has amounted to $105,791,000
in favour of 10,819 inhabitants of Bogot.
3.6.2 Programme for economic and production development
- Buenos Aires
Objective: To optimise the level of productivity of enterprises and the beneficial social relapses
Target population: Unemployed people and recovered enterprises
Description: The intervention programme is subdivided into individual projects addressed to
implementing a programme of economic and productive development.
In order to place emphasis on the overall programme, the manner of presenting the pro-
jects/initiatives adopted by the authorities of the city of Buenos Aires is as follows.
1 Centre for the support of Micro-Enterprises (CAM)
- General and specific objectives To offer technical and financial assistance to new
entrepreneurial activities for the establishment of micro, small and medium busines-
ses to fully utilize the production potential and employment development;
- Expected and achieved results From the beginning of the managing period, 25,000
people have received assistance, through the offering of financial support such as
zero-rate lines of credit, technical assistance and training;
- Direct and indirect recipients Micro, small and medium enterprises. Entrepreneurs
with small ongoing shops or those to be set up, and partnerships for workers;
- Promoters and executors of the initiative General Management of Micro-Enterprises
Government of the City of Buenos Aires;
- Problems faced and solutions adopted The target is that micro-enterprises develop not
for being exclusively considered as social emergency resources. The aim is that entre-
preneurial activities bring into being new business opportunities and contribute in
generating employment and that these enterprises do not transform themselves into
refuges of overt and outright poverty;
- Innovation CAM relies on a group of specialists who promote entrepreneurial deve-
lopment. They address different aspects: business planning, economic feasibility, mar-
keting planning, legal and fiscal aspects, etc;
- The creation of entrepreneurs calls for a variety of training activities: the offering of
heterogeneous and dynamic training strategies is supplemented and supported by the
organization of laboratory courses and practices that are set up to meet the educatio-
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nal needs and requests of the participants;
- The access to zero-rate lines of credit is offered to finance the establishment of new
enterprises and/or the development of existing businesses. A credit line of up to a
maximum 6,000 (six thousand pesos) is granted. This is subject to the possibility of
being extended on demand;
- The development of associative strategies is strengthened in the hope of generating
business activities and sectorial synergies, as well as spurring organizational structu-
re and concerted action among different actors;
- Utilized methods and instruments Technical assistance is a main problem-solution tool
for promoting development. It can also help to improve the ability of enterprises to
release themselves from the economic fabric;
2 Plan Jefes y Jefas de Hogar Desocupados Manos a la Obra and Plan Familias
- General and specific objectives To achieve social inclusion through the development
of production and increased peoples revenue;
- To reorient social policies, from the point of welfare to setting up mechanisms that
may increase the revenue-producing capacity of the population through the integration
of production activities in the dynamic development of every specific region. It works
as a policy-generating strategy, based on three main principles aimed at orienting the
course of social policies: to promote universalization, to integrate social policies
through production and employment strategies and to orient productive re-construc-
tion and bottom-up inclusion processes, starting at the local level;
- In this sense, the Manos a la Obra programme aims to achieve productive inclusion
by means of real production chains; it does not follow the logic of entrepreneurial
micro activities.
- Expected and achieved results In 2004, 2.200.000 re c i p i e n t s / p a rticipants of re v e n u e -
transfer programmes were generated: 1.600.000 were structurally poor (those who
historically live in a condition of poverty) and 600.000 post-critically poor, with serious
working integration problems or those who relied on informal/casual work. At the
moment, the Plan Manos a la Obra programme provides coverage to 400,000 people
- Direct and indirect recipients Unemployed heads of families (men and women);
- Promoters and executors of the initiative Ministry of Social Development; Republic of
Argentina;
- Duration and execution period The enrolment in the Jefes y Jefas plans started at
the beginning of 2002. In May 2003, 56,248 recipients/participants from the City of
Buenos Aires were registered in the programme;
- Costs and financial entity The cost of social policies is expected to be 4 billion
pesos/year, one third of which is included in the public debt;
- P roblems faced and solutions adopted In the Plan Familias, the heads of Hogar re c e i-
ve a benefit of $ 150 (amount which varies in pro p o rtion to the number of sons in the
family). The Plan Familias draws inspiration from the concept of basic universal inco-
me. It aims at cutting down generational poverty (uneducated pare n t s - u n e d u c a t e d
sons), supporting child access to health and educational systems. It aims at stre n g-
thening the access to the system, supporting the offering of existing services. It is not
a matter of co-responsibility or conditionality according to the PJJH which pro v i-
ded for four hours of collective work: the aim is to reduce the conditional thre s h o l d ;
- Innovation The Plan Jefes y Jefas de Hogar Desocupados, as a revenue-transfer
policy, was initially re-structured in January 2005 according to two different plans:
Plan Manos a la Obra, which will include those unemployed individuals who are
found to be in the best condition for re-integration into the labour market (with
employment possibilities in the short term) or who are able to start a production pro-
ject on their own, provided that such a project is tied to the development of local
region; and the Plan Familias, which includes female recipients/participants with
more than three sons, on the condition that they certify health checks and school
attendance for their children.
- Utilized methods and instruments Both plans provide for training courses, together
aimed at re-integration on the labour market and to help women heads of families. The
introduction of a magnetic card tries to fight the patronage system, which causes two
wicked mechanisms: that of people who are left with other peoples money, and those
who manage the ups and downs. The magnetic card, which is meant to fight the first
corrupt mechanism, is a transparency-generating strategy. The programmes rely on a
guardianship and assistance system accomplished by technical groups, which esta-
blish possible ups and downs in the Programme. It is important to note that guar-
dianships have not been conceived as an expansion of the service industry; the objec-
tive is to form a network of partners throughout the local region to make the pro-
duction project more rapid and extensive.
3 Support to self-employment
- General and specific objectives To offer temporary work to those who, having establis-
hed a partnership, and exhibit adequate initiatives and skills for the execution of pro-
jects committed to the cre a t i o n / s u p p o rt of job opportunities in the production sector;
- Expected and achieved results In 2002, $ 1,603,400 have been assigned to projects
involving 1907 recipients.
- Direct and indirect recipients Unemployed individuals over 18, preferably coming from
non-revenue-producing families; support for heads of families with minors and/or
dependent disabled individuals, or whom, because of socio-cultural difficulties and/or
little working capacity find it difficult to enter the labour market;
- Promoters and executors of the project Undersecretary of Social and Community
Management. Secretary of Social Development, Administration of the City of Buenos
Aires;
- Duration and execution period The project can be presented one month before the
expected starting date, offering clear and extensive information, and the required
documents, for the purpose of carrying out an assessment of the following aspects:
technical, economic, financial, institutional and social practicality;
- Costs and financial entity As soon as the project is approved, the recipients receive a
non-remunerative economic aid of $ 200 for up to six months;
- Problems faced and solutions adopted The central axis of the projects execution is
rooted in the starting up, strengthening and/or reorganization of activities on ones
own. This is accomplished through the provision of direct assistance to self-employ-
ment, which can generate production activities for the supply of goods and services.
The projects are to be executed through the implementation of entrepreneurial activi-
ties, cooperatives and/or family-owned businesses, which do not outsource the pro-
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duction of goods and services. In every case, they must have some types of personal
working resources (facilities, work-tools, machinery).
4 Recovered enterprises and Proampro
- General and specific objectives Assistance to recuperated enterprises is offered pro-
vided that such enterprises provide a supply of goods and services of public utility. In
this way, they offer job opportunities, generating added value, and avoiding the break-
down of the investment of existing material assets;
- Expected and achieved results Cases: IMPA Cooperativa de Trabajo Ltda. Work star-
ted in 2000 through many assistance and support activities for the production of inno-
vative projects. The Cooperativa Vieytes (ex Ghelco S.A), the Cooperativa Chilavert (ex
Gaglianone graphic works), the Cooperativa Nueva Esperanza (ex Grisines Savio),
Hotel Bauen, Artes Graficas Sol, etc.
- The Programme for Innovation Culture and Support to Production Upgrading PROAM-
PRO (Programa para la Promocin de la cultura innovadora y el Apoyo a la
Modernizacin Productiva) offered advantages to 88 enterprises, which have taken
on approximately three thousand people. The total amount assigned was $ 3,200,000.
- Direct and indirect recipients Recovered enterprises and PYMES of the City, which
aim at optimising their production processes.
- Promoters and executors of the initiative Director General of Technological Affairs.
Secretary of Economic Development. Administration of the City of Buenos Aires.
- Duration and execution period 2001- 2003
- Innovation Through PROAMPRO, in the PYMES of the City, the introduction of hard
technologies has been supported (machinery and equipment).
- During the second phase of the project, there was an attempt to enhance the produc-
tion processes through the implementation of soft technologies, to create propitious
consensus towards innovation. The third version of Proampro in 2002 issued a chal-
lenge to enhance the quality of products.
- Utilized methods and technologies Among the actions for support of recuperated
enterprises, it is important to underline the exemption of duties of the Ingresos
Brutos of working cooperatives. It is important to underline as well the assistance to
drawing up projects within the framework of the Proampro programme. Assistance is
also offered to optimise production processes, the analysis of the plan de negocios
and the agreements with other enterprises. These could turn out to be potential
clients or suppliers.
3.6.3 Micro-business of Social Partnerships - San Martn
(Argentina)
Objective: Training of Local Development Agents
Target population: Local Development Agents
Description: National programme whose financial resources substantially come from BIRF
Banco Internacional de Reconstruccin y Fomento Bank, to support micro businesses inser-
ted in a programme addressed householders and unemployed individuals at risk of social
exclusion. In the framework of the programme which is actually a partnership between three
or four components representing the family groups advice has been provided to over 400 pro-
jects. More than 60 projects have been presented for approval and only 10 projects have been
approved. For each project, maximum funding provided is 15,000 Argentine Pesos.
Business-activity Incubator - San Martn (Argentina)
Objective: Foster the construction of places to be destined to the development of small pro-
duction centres
Target population: Local population
Description: The Municipality relies on two faculties to achieve its objective. The facilities
are handed over for a period of two years. All facilities have the necessary services to deve-
lop the activities.
Tailored and integrated advice as well as tax relief is provided.
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3.7 Housing policies
Just as with labour, housing is another focal point in the biographical course of an individual
and his family.
The unavailability of a respectable place to live can even jeopardize the everyday reality, and
prevent an individual from implementing personal and professional projects. It derives that a
contingent housing difficulty hampers the possibility to rise from a condition of vulnerability.
Responses provided by local authorities to solve housing problem, which affects the partners
of Practicar (as a result of urban migration from the countryside, increased birth-rate recorded
in the last decades, and changes in family traditions with consequent failing of extended fam-
ily patterns) are necessarily influenced by the new town-planning schemes: environmental
protection, the use of human-health compatible building materials no longer meet the effec-
tive demand of housing through the construction maybe messy and incoherent of new res-
idential complexes.
Consequently, the good practice implemented by the partners in the field housing policies
extend the range of action. They deal with regional consolidation and scheduling of urban-
planning development strategies, being aware that institutions can improve the citizens
level of confidence through the construction of new neighbourhoods and residential area.
In this particular situation, the local authorities can provide three types of actions:
a Promotion of public residential building, especially for the most needy individuals. Houses
are usually assigned as a result of a call for a bidding process. A score is assigned and a
list of applicants is prepared;
b. Allocation of rent contributions by local authorities, to relieve economic problems met by
households who cannot afford the free lease market and, to whom, the rent too high
would weight on their annual income;
c. Incentive in the set up of housing cooperatives, in the aim of raising the sense of respon-
sibility of citizens during the construction and maintenance of buildings.
Almost all Practicar partners provided some housing measures and actions. This shows that to
maintain (or find) a place to live is a crucial problem that an average suddenly-impoverished
household is forced to face. Apart from the programmes described in the pages below, it has
to be recalled that similar initiatives have also been implemented both at Valladolid
(Programa de Alojamentos Provisionales) and Aserr (Banco Hipotecario de la Vivienda
Banvhi).
3.7.1 Integral Neighbourhood Enhancement - Caja de
Vivienda Popular - Bogot (Colombia)
Objective: Development of the Integrated Neighbourhood Enhancement programme
Target population: Population of different neighbourhoods
Description: Provision of integrated and sustainable actions and resources by the district ,
local entities, private and Community organizations by means of the organization, design and
follow up of actions aimed at strengthening and improving social conditions and at creating
the adequate conditions to foster social involvement and organization in some Unidades de
Plantacin Zonal -UPZ- composed of uncompleted, inadequate or illegally-established neigh-
bourhoods.
The uncompleted urbanization process in the capital city highlighted a series of important
challenges:
- Develop the institutional coordination mechanisms to provide long-term policies and pro-
grammes in order to have the sustainability of institutional actions and meet the popula-
tion requirements.
- Modify intervention procedures and methods, shift from a neighbourhood-focused support
to local-oriented project design and development.
- Strengthen the local dimension by institutionalising citizens participation and coexisten-
ce. Reinforce local management, and the methods and mechanisms that improve gover-
nance levels; spur confidence among citizens and institutions, especially in places where
a high percentage of people with Unsatisfied Basic NeedsNBI- is recorded. Such people,
in fact, need new management strategies to improve their quality of life.
3.7.2 Housing Policies - Rome (Italy)
Objective: Provide a solution to housing problems. This problems was deeply felt over the
last few years in Rome, especially by low-revenue social groups. It is the outcome of the boo-
ming prices recorded in the real estate and house rental market.
Target population: socially vulnerable people and individuals at risk of poverty.
Description: The Town of Rome is taking action in favour of socially vulnerable groups and/or
individuals at risk of poverty who are faced with a housing problem. Two fundamental instru-
ments are being implemented: public residential building activities and rent contributions.
As far as the former instrument is concerned (public residential building), the Town of Rome is
taking action in favour of individuals with serious housing (and economic) problems by allot-
ting council-owned low-cost housing.
The mechanism for the allotment of such houses is the participation in a bidding process (the
last one was issued in 2000) and the assignment of a variable score according to the charac-
teristic of the participant (type of household, current housing condition, income etc)., and a list
of entitled individuals is drawn up.
33,404 people or households are currently included in the list (and are therefore waiting for
council-owned low-cost housing).
The Municipality of Rome is taking action to face the housing problem (and to reduce the risk
of poverty) by means of another instrument. That is the allocation of monetary rent contribu -
tions. It addresses individuals and/or families who live in apartments that are actually rented
on the open market, and to whom the rent excessively weighs on their yearly revenue. Also in
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this case, the contribution is first and foremost assigned to those who demonstrate to live
under particularly critical conditions. The instrument was tested in 2000/2001 for the first
time. In 2004, 17,000 contribution requests have been forwarded.
Together with the two above-mentioned instruments, a third instrument is taking shape: the
construction of houses to be sold at fixed prices through the allotment of preferential-rate
mortgages for young couples.
The initiative will be implemented in cooperation with private individuals, according to a for-
mula where private builders build houses on a design made by the Town Rome and on munic-
ipally-owned building areas but are bound to sell lower than market prices.
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Chapter 4: The Outcome
of Local Fora:
hypothetical projects
Defining a hypothetical project has represented the final phase of a process developed
locally mainly in the three citizens Fora through which each Practicar partner has been
involved in raising awareness around the issue of new poverty and defining with the differ-
ent local social and economic players the most appropriate intervention policies. The final
outcome includes all those elements which have characterised the Practicar experience: these
are in fact a series of practical project proposals, conceived within the different local contexts
considering the needs and peculiarities of the new poverty which has arisen within these
contexts, and based on the concerted initiatives and joint participation of local social and eco-
nomic players in the efforts to counter the new forms of urban poverty.
The comparison between the project proposals, presented synoptically, does not mean to disre-
g a rd the diff e rences between the various situations: on the contrary, their peculiarities are
e x p ressed through the traditional social surveys of the individual Countries, the institutional oper-
ational mechanisms (from project development to the bureaucratic phase) and way in which par-
t i c i p a t o rymethods are used to set priorities for intervention in the struggle against new povert y.
The Practicar project, as it is known, has the general aim of improving the quality of local pub-
lic policies in the struggle against new urban poverty: in addition to this, the aim is to devel-
op and disseminate new tools conceived by local institutions and their human resources for
this struggle.
To achieve this goal, Practicar suggests local working groups as the only stru c t u resuited to
o rganising the planning and, later on, the implementation of the new methods for fighting pover-
t y. Indeed, it is felt that local working groups would have the technical knowledge and would be
motivated to make full use of participation in a decentralised cooperation network, with a work-
ing method based on participation and a horizontal dialogue between the individual partners.
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Through an in-depth analysis of local problems, indeed, it is possible to identify not only the
specificity of each context but also the shared priorities regarding the new poor, to enable
partners to exchange their experiences, institutions to work together, local social-economic
players to agree on initiatives and the directly affected population to participate.
Working within a network thus it helps to define the profile of the problem of new poverty and
the ways the partners have devised to deal with it (as well as sharing existing projects): thanks
to the indication of the general policies and points in common the partners can return to their
own context enriched by a greater awareness and by the strength which lies in having the sup-
port of a network.
The experience of one partner which (through documents providing a diagnosis and good prac-
tices) reaches the network so that it can be shared and processed and then returned to the
partner undergoes an improvement in terms of quality equal to the level of participation which
has characterised the whole process.
For this reason, highlighting the points shared by different projects, as indicated by a cross-
sectional study of the proposals which have been presented, can be useful.
First of all, many of the hypothetical projects underline the need to redefine the system of social
s e rvices according to the needs of the new poor: the new urban emergency re q u i res a flexible
system of services based on network pro c e d u res. The challenge faced by local administrations
involves considering each intervention an investment, rather than just aid. The fact that new
social groups have entered the area of vulnerability should be considered also in the light of the
psychological consequences resulting from the acknowledgement of a state of deprivation by
individuals who are accustomed to better life styles. Acceptance of ones circumstances is
accompanied by a feeling of shame and a state of depression and followed by an unwillingness
to apply for the assistance of social workers. It is there f o re felt that it would be useful to make
the services stru c t u re more dynamic, not just limited to receiving requests, but rather capable
of suggesting opportunities for the groups within the population which face diff i c u l t i e s .
Another aspect worth underlining is the establishment of formal solidarity networks: the need
to identify hardships which are usually hidden or unsaid stimulates activities aimed at pre-
venting urban poverty. The creation of a territorial solidarity network aims at preventing the
problem of urban poverty by encouraging the development of support safety-valves for any
poverty-producing phenomena. Indeed a number of projects suggest the creation of networks
which would link people who have become poor, local governments and the social, economic
and institutional players involved in the struggle against poverty.
A third aspect worth mentioning is the central role of active labour policies. Most hypotheti-
cal projects focus on strengthening the position of individuals on the market so as to enhance
their employability and associated ability to produce income, thus reducing the risk of exclu-
sion and poverty. The aim is to go beyond an aid-based approach in the struggle against new
poverty in order to adopt one based on the initiative and empowerment of individuals, so as
to make them aware of their responsibilities and provide them with the tools needed to pro-
duce an income which would enable them to escape a condition of poverty or the area of
social vulnerability. This would include training, work and capability, intermediation between
supply and demand but also policies promoting self-employment.
A fourth and last aspect to be mentioned, this too is included in almost all of the projects, is
the integration of interventions. On the one hand this reflects the multidimensional approach
to the problem of the new poverty which undoubtedly affects the strictly social dimension of
individuals, but also everything pertaining to work, education etc. and there is therefore a
need for a composite answer to a complex problem. On the other hand, instead, the inte-
gration of interventions would appear to be precisely the result of the above-mentioned shar-
ing (and concerted initiative): the local players involved in the solidarity network created
around the new poor would participate in the project each with their own skills, abilities etc.,
while coordinated and in cooperation with all other players.
The mapping of the projects presented by the Practicar partners provides a further interpreta-
tion of the phenomenon of new poverty in the different contexts, through a synoptic reading
of the individual items characterising each project.
The Overall Goals basically express the philosophy behind the project and the priorities iden-
tified by local administrators and technical experts specifically for their own territory. Several
projects underline the need to re-calibrate social services starting from their basic mentality,
in addition to their organising structure. Rome, for example, suggests a change in the under-
lying philosophy from the current triad formed by Individual Request Assistance to a new
pathway: Community Needs Development.
More generally, the partners projects aim at a strategic upgrading of social services, so as to
make them more efficient with regard to the specific features of every context (this applies to
efforts to reduce unemployment in the project Drawing of Employment strategy for Vaasa
region, to improve the quality of life in the Bogot project and to help the aged within the
population in the city of Valladolid).
At the same time the overall goals confirm the need for a network and an integrated approach.
The network dimension, in fact, makes it possible to sustain the needy on the basis of coop-
eration, rather than aid, by intervening on material needs but also on the psychological con-
sequences of impoverishment (the feeling of loneliness and shame over these new circum-
stances): the project Tendiendo redes for Pergamino is emblematic.
The integrated approach is based on a dialogue between the diff e rent sectors in the adminis-
tration (so as to establish continuity in the services provided to the needy) and the diff e rent lev-
els of local government: indeed it is not accidental that it is the major cities in the Practicar pro j-
ect (Rome, So Paolo, Buenos Aires) that express the need for integrated assistance so as to
limit delays and the dissipation of energy and funds which are typical of sectorial interv e n t i o n s :
the will to integrate economy and society is linked to the goal of a social cohesion which can
be achieved also by enabling citizens to directly and adequately use the services pro v i d e d .
Encouraging an integrated approach means, furthermore, establishing a line of dialogue
between the different players at social and institutional level for the purpose of mutual
exchanges of information and analyses concerning the groups which risk impoverishment: the
Valladolid project focuses on helping the aged through interaction between social services,
private associations and universities.
The Specific Goals enter into the merits of the issue each partner is focused on, defining its
framework and the approach to it. It is still possible to define categories of intervention based
on the needs highlighted by the individual partners.
The struggle against urban poverty is played out through an updating of production mecha-
nisms (through diversification but also by boosting productiveness, as in the Bogot and Rioja
projects); by improving information about the phenomenon, both internally (the administra-
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| CHAPTER 4 The Outcome of Local Fora: hypothetical projects |
| 84 |
tions know-how as regards urban poverty) and externally (disseminating knowledge about the
issue); by promoting job opportunities which consider the local territory (Aserr); by inventing
professional skills which can mediate between society and the world of labour, reducing the
time needed to find a job (as proposed by Prato and Joaqun) and disseminating means by
which to increase monetary income and social capital (as in the case of the micro-credit
included in Romes project).
There are two more general paradigms underlying the specificity of the above-mentioned
goals and they should be considered as a framework for the specific initiatives. The first one
refers to the training of staff specialised in the characteristics of new poverty and equipped
with the appropriate tools to monitor the area of social marginalisation. The second paradigm
refers to the practices of concerted initiative, viewed as a dialogue between the players aimed
at community development and referred to in several projects, both in terms of the creation of
physical meeting places for the social partners (the Economic and Social Council suggested by
Ate, Pergaminos Permanent Forum for the struggle against poverty and the similar structure
proposed by Buenos Aires) and of the empowerment of individuals promoted by the dialogue
between players and aimed at enhancing individual skills.
Individuals are considered in the context of the Beneficiary groups described by the part-
ners projects. Some partners (Bogot, Pergamino) have felt it preferable not to define exam-
ples or categories, but simply to refer to the hypothetical new poor, as a consequence of a
series of gradual deprivations for which the institutions do not offer adequate provisions. In
other cases, the projects examine in detail the target, giving special attention to the younger
generations for whom a positive approach to preventing urban poverty takes on a clearly per-
ceivable meaning.
Projects for the school age young create links between different sectors in the social services
and establish networks with initiatives which have already been implemented: this is the case
of the new Economic and Social Council of the Municipality of Ate, whose policies are aimed
at supporting the existing Home of Culture and the initiative Creciendo entre Nios: a
Oportunidad. Other proposals (So Paulo, Prato) refer to training and providing the younger
generations (between the ages of 16 and 35) with professional skills, establishing a ideal
bridge between social policies for the young and labour policies, since finding employment is
subordinated to their overcoming problems in establishing relationships and educational
deficits caused by a problematic family and environmental context.
Other projects focus specifically on the labour market, with reference to those who are exclud-
ed from it (because they cannot get into it of have been expelled from it) as well as those who
are included but only in a marginal position. In the first case, these are people in search of
employment (young people looking for their first job, mainly people with a low level of educa-
tion and/or limited professional qualifications) and to the unemployed (not only the histori-
cally unemployed jobless for over two years but also people who have lost their jobs
when over 40, professionals without any chance of being included once again in professional
circles, people dismissed from the industrial sector and farmers who have become non-com-
petitive because of the mechanisation of agriculture).
In the second case the projects refer to the workers in the informal market and temporary work-
ers (people under 25 and over 40 who, although they have on average a fairly high level of edu-
cation, are employed with irregular contracts and are dependant on their families). Bearing in
mind the incidence of the informal labour market in Latin America and of the gradual adoption
of fixed-term contracts in Europe, the projects of the partner countries make no distinction
between the unemployed and wage-earners and consider also the quality of the job, as in the
case of the proposals presented by Buenos Aires, Rome, San Joaqun, Vaasa and San Mart n .
An emphasis on the development of small enterprises, which would be in a position to use
local resources and liberate local farmers from a situation of mere survival is the main feature
of the Rioja project, whose priority lies in avoiding the simple exportation of natural resources
and in promoting quality productions directly within the territory.
It is interesting to note how many projects have adopted the approach based on concerted ini-
tiatives considered to be the most useful for sustainable local development going beyond
the division into watertight compartments of the beneficiary categories: in this context, the
Ate and San Martin projects are exemplary with their emphasis on creating networks involv-
ing the labour force and entrepreneurs, in a physical place (the Ate Economic Social Council)
or in a less clearly defined organisation made up of a network of associations which welcome
people in difficulties and, depending on their characteristics, guide them towards a suitable
job or training course.
Needs are the inspiring element in the individual projects and they follow the theoretical
pathway developed by each partner in the inter-municipal meetings and local fora. By needs,
indeed, they mean the most urgent needs identified in the groups within the population which
risk marginalisation.
The projects focus on a new definition of social services (a network approach, new interven-
tion tools, a streamlining of relations between the needy and the local administrations), on the
promotion of a community feeling between citizens (through a policy of convergence capa-
ble of mitigating the consequences on individual self-esteem produced by impoverishment), on
a monitoring of the territory and its entrepreneurial potential as a pre-condition for develop-
ment, on the elimination of the state of dependency of the elderly and people who are not self-
sufficient, caused by their solitude, and on a reform of the labour market.
Many partners feel that this sector is fundamental, both as a cause of the impoverishment of
the middle classes (temporary, badly paid, de-motivating work) and as potential factor of
recovery of a role for individuals in the public area (fair, stable, motivating work).
Bogot, for example, expresses the need for a labour market without any discriminating fac-
tors and which will reject child labour ( on the basis that muchos nios pobres empiezan a
trabajar cuando los no pobres empiezan a aprender a leer), Vaasa hopes that there may be
more activities that might involve the young at emotional level and would be not merely func-
tional and useful in terms of earning some very basic income.
San Joaqun and San Martn, furt h e rm o re, would like to see a kind of work that would also devel-
op the skills of the individual and enhance the social capital (knowledge, ability, experience).
As to the Activities to be developed, they involve the creation of spaces for an exchange
of views between institutional bodies, NGOs, international cooperation networks, entrepre-
neurs, research institutes, training centres.
A monitoring of the territory and of existing good practices, the organisation of the seminars
on new poverty advertising the existence of welcome facilities and projects for investments
on people in difficulties, the setting up of multi-disciplinary courses aimed at understanding
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the needs of newly marginalised people and the organisation of meetings in which to compare
individual experiences represent the practical results of the activities of the previously
described network.
The activities to be developed proposed by the partners show that they have at least two
points in common resulting from a collective awareness-raising and learning process as
regards the issue of urban poverty without leaving out the local peculiarities: first of all the
approach to the development of policies to limit the area of urban marginality can be
defined as participation-based, since it envisages interaction between the political, eco-
nomic and social players. Indeed some projects have attempted to link the different dimen-
sions of public intervention, so as to move away from simple assistance and build up an inte-
grated itinerary of fiduciary investments on the new poor: Romes proposal links monitoring
the territory to acceptance of requests (through the Active Attention Counter) for access to
credit (micro-credit fund) and the strengthening of social participation (beneficiaries should
give a certain amount of their time for voluntary work).
Aserr suggests that cooperation protocols with banking institutions should be signed before
providing a diagnosis on local small and medium enterprises. Prato underlines the need for
continuity between the training of experts to act as employment intermediaries, providing the
needy with benefits for healthcare, culture and consumption and the setting up of technical
fora to assess the projects results.
San Joaqun, on its part, sets up a welcome Network for the users of the programme for the
struggle against urban poverty, which is to serve the purpose of orientating people towards
municipal educational and training courses.
Secondly, networking activities involve the need for physical not just symbolical places
where the social parties can meet and discuss issues and indeed a number of projects sug-
gest facilities such as the Buenos Aires Centre of Attention and Formation, the Pergamino
Permanent Forum and the Ate Economic and Social Council.
The Expected outcomes emphasize above all the importance of the dialogue between the
different players involved in the partners projects working properly: the local administrations
will avail themselves of the advisory contribution provided by non-governmental organisations
and bodies, so as to set up a network between the establishments involved in the struggle
against urban poverty. The administrators tasks involve monitoring the territory (so as to iden-
tify the areas in which to test the project), then training of social workers, receiving requests
for assistance, funding and implementing of the project, assessing the results achieved.
The different levels of local government will dialogue with bodies and organisations such as:
representatives of the industrial and commercial sectors, trade unions, associations/ tertiary
sector, culture/education, sports activities, territorial committees and all the other organisa-
tions involved in political and social issues with the aim of establishing local governance to
fight urban poverty through the instruments of employment, education and social inclusion.
A shared management of economic and political resources seems to be the best form of gov-
ernment of the global world.
A territory as suggested by the Cepad contribution to the Ate fora is never just a physical
framework, but rather a set of social and economic relations through which public and private
institutions interact with the aim of achieving economic development.
At the same time, the possibility of governing a territory is not guaranteed only by the pres-
ence of a strong political majority, but will depend on the ability to include all the economic
players in the given territory itself.
On the other hand, new poverty does not mean only a lack of economic development and the
incapability of mobilising existing skills and of putting the local potential at the service of pro-
ductive activities.
Urban poverty is also difficult to place: new poverty isnt confined to specific places, as in the
case of structural poverty, because it doesnt only affect the territory but also the post-mate-
rialistic framework of values of a society, undermining its foundations.
Consequently, there is a drop in the self-esteem of individuals who have fallen into the area
of marginality: when people are the object of discrimination, they end up self-discriminating
themselves .
Becoming a new poor doesnt only mean a change in ones social and family context, it repre-
sents also a break from the personal standpoint, to the point that individuals discover that they
are something other than what they were.
They loose confidence in their abilities and there is no room for hope either: es muy difcil
esperar, porque no sabes qu esperas (according to a comment made at a Pergamino forum).
How does the Practicar experience fit into this process? The project Laboratorio de prcticas
para el fortalecimiento de las polticas pblicas locals de lucha contra la nueva pobreza urbana
has produced quantitative results (a diagnosis, a paper on good practices, three local fora and
a hypothetical project), but above all it has delineated the transition towards a diff e rent possi-
ble future in which to build up a community based on the new forms of participation: ya no es
un hoy, pero es un maana posible (according to a comment collected by Adeso).
Let us now analyse each hypotetical projects, described concisely for clarity purposes.
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4.1 Hypotetical projects
Aserr
Project Programa de Fomento de las Pequeas y Medianas Empresas (PYMES).
Overall goal To establish a relief programme based on re-orientating the efforts of all the
players in the territory to target small and medium enterprises in difficulties
because of the structural changes in the economy.
Specific goals To improve job opportunities in entire districts to keep a large group in the
population from becoming impoverished; to organise a local management net-
work for the social-economic development of the canton; to implement
mechanisms of coordination between institutions to consider businesses more
comprehensively; to form working groups with representatives from both
public and private organisations.
Beneficiary groups Young people, single mothers, peasants, unemployed workers or workers in
the informal market.
Needs To identify the social-economic characteristics of the canton so as to develop
small and medium enterprises in the industry, agriculture, trade, arts and
crafts and services sectors.
Activities to be developedTo make an inventory of the poor population in the canton and of their techni-
cal and financial needs; to produce a diagnosis for the small and medium
enterprises in the territory and illustrate it through meetings and debates
organised by research centres; to establish a dialogue with international
bodies involved in technical and financial cooperation so as to arrange for the
resources for plans or programmes; to set up a centre of information on exi-
sting municipal projects for public and private players; to underwrite protocols
of cooperation with the municipal Popular and Development Bank and the
Trust Fund of IMAS to guarantee easy access to funding for the Project.
Expected outcomes The development of small and medium enterprises; an improvement in peo-
ples quality of life.
Project Managers The Cantonal Government and the inter-institutional committee.
The Municipalitys role A commission made up of the Mayor and other authorities will supervise the
creation and implementation of the development programmes for small and
medium enterprises. The cantonal Government will furthermore set up a tech-
nical commission to help small and medium enterprises, and to distribute
equitably the Projects resources.
Support provided The research centres shall organise meetings and fora on local poverty and
by entities and on the development of small and medium entrepreneurship.
organisations
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Ate
Project Consejo Econmico Social: A Estrategia de Lucha contra la Nueva Pobreza
Urbana.
Overall goal To revive the towns Social and Economic Council (Consiglio Economico e
Sociale - CES), set up in 1999, but inactive until 2002 and then stifled by the
establishment of other bodies for concerted initiative at national and local
level (Coordination Concil, Municipalities, Organical Unit of Cooperation).
Specific goals To rationalise the Municipalitys different participation mechanisms merging
them into a single action unit (the Economic and Social Council) delegated to
analyse the Municipalitys situation as a whole and to present proposals and
policies for the sustainable development of the district.
Beneficiary groups All the categories affected by local development, especially the young and
school-age children (already supported by other projects, like the Casa della
Cultura (Home of Culture) and the initiative Creciendo entre Nios: a
Oportunidad).
Needs The promotion of sustainable development in the Municipality based on a con-
certed plan.
Activities to be developedThe Social and Economic Council (whose President is appointed according to
the Rules and Regulations on Organisation and Functions of the Municipality)
puts forward management policies for the citys social and economic develop-
ment, promotes forms of participation, disseminates its initiatives through a
q u a rterly bulletin and generally develops concerted actions by the
Municipalitys economic and social structures.
Expected outcomes Promotion of sustainable social and economic development; coordination of
the forms of municipal participation.
Project Managers The Mayor and the entire CES executive council.
The Municipalitys role The municipal administration, in addition to hosting the Social and Economic
Council, avails itself of this bodys consulting services.
Support provided The highest levels of industry, trade, associations/tertiary sector, culture, sports
by entities and activities, services, peoples committees and of all the territorial areas forming the
organisations Ate district are represented within CES.
Bogot
P ro j e c t Pilot project to strengthen institutions and welfare services to improve the qua-
lity of life for households with young unemployed members who live in two sites
in the Capital District of Bogot.
Overall goal To Improve the capacity of institutional response to fight today against new
poverty and tomorrow against other types of issues.
Specific goals To modify the institutional organisation to get to a better flexibility, a better
training provision and an actual political will to face social disruption.
Beneficiary groups The new poor as people having suffered a personal process of progressive
deprivation which institutions address through a poor and partial response.
Needs Full focus on employment- and income-generating issues, on training, educa-
tion, health-care of the new poor.
Activities to be developedSet up of institutional and social coordination mechanisms, design of action
plans between associations and communities, outline of employment and
business-creation alternatives for the share of population who has fallen in
poverty in the areas covered by the pilot project.
Expected outcomes Effective response to this issue for the youth and their families in the urban
areas of Bogot focused by the pilot project.
Project Managers Amministration of the District of Bogot and the most active areas of civil
society.
The Municipalitys role To identify the potentials and the capability of the areas and populations invol-
ved in the project by using the social networks which provide sustainability.
Support provided Active involvement by several entities of the District and of third sector
by entities and community organisations as a function of the upgrade of the social network.
organisations
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Buenos Aires
Project Buenos Aires somos todos.
Overall goal To acknowledge the phenomenon of the new poverty as an urban and social
emergency; to quantify it within the population and redouble the efforts of
local players to eradicate it.
Specific goals Creation of an area of active discussion where alternatives in the struggle
can be generated based on a statistical overview of the phenomenon; conso-
lidation and support to public policies targeting new poverty, bringing also the
middle classes into the municipal programme for social reintegration; esta-
blishment of a solidarity network capable of acting locally (involving tertiary
sector associations and public institutions) as well as at the national-interna-
tional level (involving cities affected by the phenomenon) so as to facilitate a
sharing of experiences in terms of activities and efforts to fight new poverty.
Beneficiary groups Workers in the informal market whose pay is lower than the poverty index;
adults who have been fired and face difficulties in re-entering the labour mar-
ket; single mothers whose income does not cover the basic needs of their
families.
Needs To guarantee a minimum in terms of dwellings, food and employment.
Activities to be developed The creation of a information and care centre which can bring together all
the projects against urban poverty; the training of social workers specialised
in the sector; the collection of all the literature on the topic; the organisation
of meetings, fora and workshops with local and international players for a
comparison of experiences; the monitoring of the population at risk of a new
poverty and observation of the outcomes of the support programmes for the
new poor; the creation of a Permanent Argentine Forum for the struggle
against new urban poverty based in Buenos Aires in premises to be used also
for meetings and fora.
Expected outcomes A decrease in the percentage of the population involved in the phenomenon
of new poverty; creation of the interdisciplinary Forum permanente argenti-
no; publication of a manual of local good practices.
Project Managers Three members elected by the Argentinian permanent forum and two offi-
cials from the Buenos Aires Town Council (Under-secretariat for Social
Development).
The Municipalitys ro l e Administering the Projects resources; identifying the relevance of requests for
assistance; monitoring the beneficiaries of the Project; training social wor-
kers; strengthening the national and international network.
Support provided Collection of data on the phenomenon of urban poverty; promotion of the
by entities and activities of the A rgentinian permanent foru m; development of good practices;
organisations monitoring the use of the financial resources allocated to the projects for the
struggle against new poverty; consolidation of the local network of associa-
tions and institutions.
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Pergamino
Project Tendiendo redes.
Overall goal To strengthen local practices in the struggle against new poverty.
Actualizing the concept of poverty as a blame; and place all those fighting
against new poverty at the core of the problem: the new poor and social wor-
kers.
Specific goals Set up of a permanent Forum as an area of trade and negotiation between
public and private institutions, NGOs and individuals who operate in the field
of new poverty: Forum will produce practices far from a mere assistence
towards poverty.
Beneficiary groups Directly: the new poor who benefit from the network activities carried out
within the Forum.
Needs To promote a policy of common living to soften consequences of the fall of
self-esteem in the new poor.
Activities to be developed Set up a space to exchange experiences between the Municipality, NGOs, busi-
nesses, traders, and re p resentatives of the education and health sectors
A first meeting will define the areas of the various committees (third age,
labour, health care, youth, housing) Subsequently, a physical place will be
set up and managed by the forum, in order to organize biweekly meetings
about experiences; Information coverage of activities.
Expected outcomes Development of a routine of networking and sharing the knowledge of the
individual facility/institutions.
Project Managers Actors appointed as Forum Coordinators.
The Municipalitys ro l e The cross-cut action developed within the Forum is designed to involve muni-
cipal institutions together with NGOs, middle-institutions, enterprises,
Unions, and Trade operators.
Support provided Participation in the Forum.
by entities and
organisations
Prato
Project A network of opportunities.
Overall goal Empowerment of individuals; usability of and accessibility to services; enhan-
cement of the level of social and economic integration of individuals, their
families, their network of relationships and, potentially and indirectly, of the
entire community of Prato: the multiplying effect; creation of broadest pos-
sible network of players; sustainability over time of the aid proposed in the
Project.
Specific goals Cognitive monitoring of the relevant social group and of the opportunities pro-
vided by the labour market (new employment opportunities); educational inter-
vention (re-integration in the schools circuit and promotion of self-employ-
ment and micro entrepreneurship); definition of the profiles of cultural inter-
mediation but also of experts in commercial relations with customers and sup-
pliers from foreign countries, as a distinctive and specific trait of the training
(inter-cultural); preparing for employment (training of job mediators); special
conditions for access to services, with reference in particular to the issue of
reconciling job requirements and time for family care (young women with chil-
dren); promotion of the above through a facilitation and implementation coun-
ter; creation of an innovative facility for monitoring the Project.
Beneficiary groups Young people between 20 and 35 years of age with a medium to low level of
school education and vocational training, living within a difficult family con-
text and relationships; targeted especially to young migrants and women with
children..
Needs To set up a broad network of partners through three interacting levels of orga-
nisation:
Political level
Technical level
Operational level
Activities to be developed Cognitive monitoring of the relevant social group through the pre-establish-
ment of qualitative/quantitative instruments; personal vocational training,
education, on-the-job backing; training of cultural intermediaries; training of
experts in employment intermediation; promotion of a credit system based not
on welfare but on functional benefits in terms of access to social and health-
care institutions, culture and utilisation; coordination of initiatives already
implemented in the territory through itinerant counters for specific targets in
places of aggregation (schools, associations, work places.).; establishment
of integrated technical panels to assess the Projects implementation and
ensure that trained workers are effective.
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Expected outcomes The participation and involvement of people risking exclusion will be stimula-
ted; a virtuous circle starting from individuals and then affecting their families
and the entire community will be initiated.
Project Managers The Prato Municipality, Municipalities belonging to the province, the Health
Association.
The Municipalitys ro l e Project leader, promoter of the partners network, coordinator of initiatives.
Support provided Establishment and support of the partners network (Trade Associations,
by entities and Trade unions, non- profit organisations, etc).
organisations
Rioja
Project Municipal training centre Cefomun.
Overall goal To train human resources capable of operating in local government sectors of
competence to deal with the challenges produced by changes in technologies
and economic processes.
Specific goals To develop initiatives for on-going education in the areas of municipal mana-
gement, staff development and extension of the duties connected with the dif-
ferent organisational positions within the municipal facility.
Beneficiary groups Municipal staff and young or adult citizens who have been dismissed from the
labour market or who face difficulties in entering it because of a lack of ade-
quate training and who find themselves in a state of new poverty.
Needs To fill the educational deficiencies of staff and citizens so as to strengthen the
municipal governments initiatives and their effectiveness.
Activities to be developed Educational activities organised on a yearly basis: educational plans for offi-
cials and councillors; general educational plan in Society and local govern-
ment; educational plan Local public management; educational and techni-
cal improvement plan; plan for personalised training.
Expected outcomes An increased ability to intervene on the territory so as to deal more effectively
with the challenges presented by the current technological and economic
dynamics.
Project Managers The local government.
The Municipalitys ro l e The local government promotes and funds Cefonums activities, thanks also to
the support of other institutions and to international cooperation.
Support provided The support of higher education centres, including universities, and of any
by entities and prospective foreign investors.
organisations
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Roma
Project Integrated Actions of Active Attention ( for a supportive community).
Overall goal To change the attitude of social services starting from their basic mentality: from the
c u rrent triad formed by Individual Request Assistance to a new pathway:
Community Needs Development; to identify the previously described gro u p
within the population (at risk of social marginalisation) that does not fall within the
parameters of structural poverty; to strengthen and improve the social policies for
the so-called new poor on the basis of an integrated approach which will take into
account the many diff e rent aspects of the problem and the existing social network.
Specific goals To create a space for active listening and response to the requests that do not
fall within the typical frameworks of Assistance; to train specialised staff on
the basis of the characteristics of new poverty and provide them with means
calibrated to an expanded area of social difficulty; to provide for access to the
instruments of financial credit also for people who are normally excluded
because of inadequacy or the absence of real warranties, so as to sustain the
life of the beneficiaries and create confidence in the recovery of their human
capital; to provide incentives for the establishment of a network of mutual
solidarity on a territorial basis to help people pull out of the area of social vul-
nerability and become emancipated from welfare.
Beneficiary groups Young people (single people and couples) involved in so-called informal
labour or employed with irregular contracts; adults dismissed from the labour
market and unable to re-enter it.
Needs To simplify the relationship between the petitioner and the social services
guaranteeing, whenever possible, an immediate and effective response; to
establish a network of social workers, so as to render immediately operatio-
nal their monitoring of the social texture.
Activities to be developed Establishment of an Active Attention Counter (Sportello di Attenzione Attiva),
as a point of contact between the local administration and citizens, which will
monitor and classify the users requests; petitioners will be directed to the
branch in the administration which most suited to handling their request; a
timely response will be provided by the administration; a short term (3-5 years)
micro-credit fund will be set up to be secured by the public administration for
those who are not included in the social services normal lists, even though
they do not themselves qualify for credit; the loan will be supervised and the
circumstances of the beneficiaries when the loan expires will be monitored; a
network of formal assistance on a local basis will be promoted: the disburse-
ment of credit will depend on the willingness of beneficiaries to give a certain
amount of their time to the closest Time Bank or to some other body indicated
by National Board for Civil Service.
Expected outcomes New poverty will not be allowed to become chronic structural poverty; invest-
ments will be made on human capital; sustainable and ongoing relations will
be established on a territorial basis.
Project Managers The Sportello di Attenzione Attiva, together with the municipal authorities and
the individual municipalities.
The Municipalitys ro l e Identification of the terr i t o ryin which to implement the pilot project; implemen-
tation of all the activities relevant to the Active Care Office: establishment of the
m i c ro - c redit fund; definition of the selection criteria; monitoring, training of social
workers; implementation of exchanges between the counter and social workers
active within the terr i t o ry(both public and private).
Support provided Dialogue with the SpAA workers and support to the establishment of the
by entities and territorial solidarity network.
organisations
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San Joaqun
Project Fortalecimiento de las capacidades comunales para la lucha contra la nueva
Pobreza Urbana.
Overall goal To develop a programme by which to strengthen the populations existing
skills in order to oppose new poverty.
Specific goals To set up a network of development programmes: the network will consider
psycho-social issues, will define tools by which to identify beneficiary groups
and develop initiatives by which to advertise the development programme, the
different phases of which will then be monitored. The Project aims at reducing
the time applicants spend looking for a job and at facilitating the terms of
negotiations for workers through a programme of information and guidance
that should help match employment aspirations and interests and the require-
ments of the labour market.
Beneficiary groups Applicants will be selected based on the existing statistical monitoring (the
municipal survey of Social-Economic Characterisation CAS) and on a psycho-
logical interview. Should the application not present the context and urgency
required to be included in the assistance programmes for structural poverty, it
will entered into the network of acceptance, the beneficiary category which
includes currently unemployed workers of both sexes, the young with a high
level of education who looking for their first job and adults who are outside
the labour market following the reorganisation of production or because they
have been unemployed for a long time.
Needs To allow the development of individual skills, matching them as well as pos-
sible to the labour market; to encourage the development of entrepreneurial
skills, providing people with technical knowledge and carrying out supervisory
activities.
Activities to be developed Groups made up of practitioners and experts from outside the Town Council
will participated in the initial identification phase: how the dimension of the
phenomenon of the new poverty is to be defined, initiatives which have
already been implemented, the profiles of the new poor, the method by which
to define targeted initiatives; furthermore the bodies most suited to take on
these problems will be identified: at San Joaqun the choice has fallen on the
Oficina Municipal de Informacin Laboral (OMIL), within the municipal
direction of community development, is to be Project coordinator; seminars
and summary documents will be produced for the municipal workers involved
in the Project; the acceptance network will be established providing a wide
range of solutions to the problems submitted; the circumstances of applicants
will be examined so as to assign certificates for training courses or, in case of
employed workers, to enable them to continue in their work.
Expected outcomes In addition to improving the beneficiaries living conditions, the Project aims
at including OMIL in the Urbal programme, thus contributing to its upgrading
and improving effectiveness on the job for the purpose of reducing vulnera-
bility in economic conditions. OMIL will provide means both for a dependent
solutions or an independent one.
Project Managers The Oficina Municipal de Informacin Laboral (OMIL), within the Municipal
Direction of Community Development.
The Municipalitys ro l e OMIL will play a central role in the Project: it will collect information on the
labour market and on the categories within the population which risk urban
poverty; it will receive the applications of potential beneficiaries, orientating
them towards existing courses or organising new ones; it will work with the
other municipal institutions and offices; it will cooperate with enterprises as
an intermediary between demand and supply in the labour market.
Support provided Creation of a strategy of relations between OMIL and the labour market:
by entities and businesses or firms wishing to hire workers or to increase the productiveness
organisations of their employees by improving their training.
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San Martn
Project Creation of a support network for people living in new poverty.
Overall goal Creation of an organisation, group or network of people with special training
so as to support, at least initially, individuals and then contribute to their acti-
vation through an assessment of their skills and by orientating them towards
possible training activities.
Specific goals To enhance the skills of individuals; to improve their vocational training so as
to enable their full inclusion in the labour market; to help existing enterprises
and establish a network between them and the labour force, so as to increa-
se employment and efficiency.
Beneficiary groups People excluded from the labour market and entrepreneurs.
Needs Creation of a network of workers and employers; valorisation of the social
capital (knowledge, skills and experience) of people who are unable to enter
the labour market; development of the skills needed for self-employment.
Activities to be developed Creation of a network of organisations and facilities which can welcome
applicants and help them express their skills or orientate them toward cour-
ses which can help improve them; establishment of a network of organisa-
tions providing vocational training (universities, training centres, technical
schools) so as to improve work quality; making a series of economic resources
available to existing enterprises.
Expected outcomes Establishment of a network of local entrepreneurs, traders, educators, offi-
cials and authorities for the purpose of dealing with the issues of employment,
professional skills and social inclusion.
Project Managers The members of the previously described network.
The Municipalitys ro l e Promoting the network for social and labour inclusion; making funds for
employment available; promoting forms of facilitated credit and micro-credit.
Support provided Players in the economic and education circles involved in the network.
by entities and
organisations
So Paulo
Project Vocational training programme.
Overall goal Implementation of an active labour policy combining economic and social poli-
cies through a system of integrated services focused on local development.
Specific goals To help young people enter the labour market by providing them with educa-
tion (school and vocational) according to their age.
Beneficiary groups Young people between the ages of 16 and 29, divided into specific program-
mes.
Needs To promote the employability of young people by improving their educational
background ; to contribute to the social inclusion of the more vulnerable indi-
viduals by helping them enter the labour market.
Activities to be developed The Municipal Labour Secretariat of So Paulo (SMTrab) organises six pro-
grammes (Pro-Jovem; Capacita sampa; Capacita sampa/Responsabilidade
social; Projeto Jovens na faculdade; CIEJA; Projeto para o pblico universit-
rio) which aim at promoting or improving the school education of the young
and including them in the labour market; intermediation between demand and
supply in the labour market.
Expected outcomes Promotion of the inclusion of the young in the labour market; development of
small and medium entrepreneurship.
Project Managers Municipal Labour Secretariat of So Paulo (SMTrab) which funds projects with
grants of up to 200 R$.
The Municipalitys ro l e Directly responsible, through the Municipal Labour Secretariat of So Paulo
(SMTrab).
Support provided Involvement of the social players and project managers of integrated services
by entities and with the aim of promoting local development.
organisations
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Vaasa
Project Drawing of Employment strategy for the Vaasa region.
Overall goal To organise a collaboration-based employment strategy involving on the one
hand finding jobs for the unemployed, for young people without a job, for dis-
abled people and migrants, and on the other guaranteeing continuity in man-
power for private businesses.
Specific goals To improve the use of public funds; to provide common guide lines and goals
for all the partners; to help the parties involved plan the use of their future
resources; to facilitate a better use of information and knowledge concerning
this issue.
Beneficiary groups The employed (also long term) and the jobless, including disabled persons and
migrants.
Needs Fair and motivating jobs.
Activities to be developed Seminars, collection of statistical information, group work and interviews: all
activities will based on a participatory method as regards resources (human
and economic), the goals shared by the partners and the common processes
and knowledge.
Expected outcomes Development of an employment strategy which can meet the needs of both
workers and enterprises.
Project Managers Department of employment.
The Municipalitys ro l e Funding and group work with other parties involved.
Support provided Youth and party associations, educational centres, employment committees,
by entities and entrepreneurial associations, trade unions and the Jupiter Foundation will
organisations work together in the Project.
Valladolid
Project Proyecto experimental para el abordaje de la problemtica de nueva pobreza
constituida por las personas dependientes en la ciudad de Valladolid.
Overall goal The establishment of an integrated system focused on the aged within the
Valladolid Municipality, with the support of the Autonomous Community of
Castilla e Len.
Specific goals To increase resources and improve services for the aged, so that the entire
community may benefit.
Beneficiary groups Elderly people (as indicated in art. 50 of the Spanish Constitution, which refers
to social services for specific problems in terms of dwelling, healthcare, cul-
ture and leisure time).
Needs To reduce the condition of dependency of the elderly by ensuring that the dif-
ferent sectors in the social services work together.
Activities to be developed Creation of a one-access service sistem for elderly dependent people by the
means of a database. The project will be constantly rated by Valladolid
Municipality, Autonomous Community of Castilla e Len and elderly peoples
delegates. The programme also statutes the renovation of the Valladolid
municipal residential centre and his trasformation in a daily and multiservices
elderly centre.
Expected outcomes Development of a practice of establishing networks to combine and share of
all the knowledge of the individual organisations.
Project Managers Valladolid Municipality, Autonomous Community of Castilla e Len.
The Municipalitys role Management and coordination of public and private associations dealing with
dependent peoples care.
S u p p o rt pro v i d e d Associations,Social Entities, O N Gs participate in planning and following all the
by entities and projects actions and services.
organisations
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Ngos Contribution
Adeso (Asociacin para el Desarrollo Social)
Fora in which support Pergamino (16 September 2005)
has been provided San Martn (24 November and 20 December 2005)
Buenos Aires (25 November and 10 December 2005).
Description Up to the 70s there was no talk of poverty with reference to Argentina: the
of the context downgrading of entire social classes reached its peak around 2000 2001,
when many people belonging to the middle classes were found to be living in
poverty.
Definition of the issue New poverty is difficult to define area-wise: indeed there are no special pla-
ces for it, as happens in the case of structural poverty and in fact it does not
impinge on the territory, but rather on the post-materialistic level of values of
a society, undermining its foundations.
Consequently, there is a reduced self-esteem on the part of individuals who
have fallen into the area of marginality: when someone is the object of dis-
crimination, they end up self-discriminating themselves.
Becoming a new poor means not only witnessing a change in ones social and
family context, but also experiencing a break from the personal standpoint:
one discovers that one is something other than what one used to be.
Confidence in ones abilities is lost and there is no room even for hope: es
muy difcil esperar, porque no sabes qu esperas (Pergamino forum).
The new poor are forced to a constant chase, to the point that reference is
made to a real and proper abordaje social.
Type of support pro v i d e dSimulation: participants are asked to choose five things they would take with
in the forum them on a boat.
Achieved results The choice of these items bears witness to the incidence of the historical
social period: people chose things (phonebook, identity card, mobile phone)
which refer to a given social context. This expresses the will to find in their
closeness to others the solution to the risk of social marginalisation.
Possible solutions The creation of an alternative place and future connected to strong social
bonds, through three kinds of participation:
epistemological: development of a system of shared meanings in order to
regulate social practice;
pedagogical: the above system of meanings enables growth on an equal foo-
ting among the members of the community;
political: the previous points produce the legitimacy to intervene on the deci-
sion-making power.
The three levels of participation enable the empowerment of society.
Expected Results In itself, participating in a Project like Practicar permits a transition towards a
different hypothetical future, because it motivates the search for the boat
mentioned in the simulation, in which to build up a community based on new
forms of participation: ya no es un hoy, pero es un maana posible.
Special remarks The phenomenon of urban poverty increasingly enlarges the circle of people
who may potentially become involved in it: officials and social workers them-
selves feel directly involved. trabajamos con la pobreza pero cada vez esta-
mos ms adentro (Buenos Aires forum).
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Cepad (Centro para la Participacin y el Desarrollo humano sostenibile)
Fora in which support Ate municipal district of Lima (29 September 2005)
has been provided Rioja province of San Martn (22 October 2005).
Description A territory is never merely a physical framework, it being rather a series of
of the context social and economic relations through which public and private institutions
interact to regulate society in order to generate economic development.
At the same time, the governability of a territory is not guaranteed only by the
presence of a sound political majority, but will depend on the ability to invol-
ve the economic players of the given territory.
Definition of the topic New poverty also means a lack of economic development and an inability to
mobilise existing capacities, placing the local potential at the service of pro-
ductive activities.
This is the only way there can be positive effects on the economic situation of
citizens and to remove incentives for national an foreign emigration.
Type of support pro v i d e dHelp in optimising human resources within civil society as well as the local
in the forum public institutions;
dissemination of efficient instruments and good practices so that they may
used in the efforts to counter urban poverty;
organisation of logistics and of the documentation in the fora of the town of
Ate and Rioja;
presentation of a report and following debate on an issue which is cross-sec-
tional to the two Municipalities: local development and new urban poverty.
Achieved results Interaction between citizens and representatives of civil society for a sharing
of experience and knowledge of the existing situation.
Possible solutions Establishment of alliances and means for economic development;
involvement of the local players in developing creative and innovative policies;
mobilisation of local and external resources.
Expected Results In addition to an increase in production and productiveness, it is important for
the public institutions to work efficiently and against corruption, in order to
keep public policies from being uncoordinated and to guarantee an alliance
between the political and economic players.
Special remarks For the past eleven years the Centro para la Participacin y el Desarrollo
humano sostenibile (Cepad) has been involved in social development at
municipal, regional and national level. At the same time it has highlighted the
differences between Europe and Latin America, providing indications as to the
strategic policies of projects whose aim is to counter poverty
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Chapter 5: New Poor
and Old Conceptions
1
5.1 New Poverty or New Poor?
When it comes to facing the problem of povert y, either old or new, what is fundamental is the idea
we place as the basis of our speech. In this brief paper, I will try to illustrate why it is so diff i c u l t
to draw up an adequate policy against povert y. However, it is necessary to give a pre l i m i n a ry
explanation on the idea of povert y, otherwise the risk is to remain stuck on old conceptions.
What is this poverty that people refer to as the so-called new poverty
2
? Not all the mean-
ings being used are equal and converging. Are we talking about the same phenomenon or sub-
stantially different phenomena?
On one hand, several sociologists talk about new forms of poverty associated with the con-
temporary socio-economic system and its recent changes. These forms essentially refer to the
industrialized countries or to new industrialized countries. From the 70s, these countries have
been showing out the crisis and the decline of the welfare state. They have suffered profound
structural modifications on the labour markets. This was the result of the liberalization and
flexibility processes, which has usually generated widespread precariousness, uncertainty and
insecurity even in countries that have recorded an increase in employment, and conse-
quently a rise in the number of working poor. Such precariousness and uncertainty has sub-
stantially reduced real wages and the standard of living for the working class. In this context,
several social changes are crucial to the new forms of poverty especially if matched with
the dissolution/transformation of the traditional family, its links and its protective role.
On the other hand, several studies underline the relatively new outbreak of socially impover-
1 Pasquale De Muro - Dipartimento di Ecomonia, Universit degli Studi Roma Tre.
2 The plural (new poverties) is sometimes used to underline both their plurality and their novelty with respect to old poverties.
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ished categories, i.e. people/groups/classes mostly affected by new poverty. These individu-
als, who previously belonged to the middleclass and were not traditionally poor, have suc-
cessively entered the so-called poverty threshold (of their income). This might ensue from
an economic crisis or a slump or a structural adjustment, which implies the collapse in real
income standards and/or a loss of employment.
To clearly define the differences between the perspectives above, we will consider two ana-
lytical dimensions implicitly evoked. One refers to unsatisfied needs, often used as parame-
ters of the new poverty phenomenon. They can be divided into fundamental needs
3
, basic
needs and nonbasic needs. As from a nonstatistical viewpoint, the latter may also comprise
the new needs, which have recently appeared, do not imply a lack of income, and are not
satisfied by the existing social setting.
The second analytical dimension draws a distinction between individuals: on the one hand, the
traditionally poor individuals (excluded or marginalized), who normally belong to specific
social classes; on the other hand, the non-traditionally poor. From a nonstatistical viewpoint,
the latter did not risk to become poor until a short time before.
If we crossreference these two dimensions needs and individuals we obtain Table 1Table
1, that shows that new poor and new poverty are not necessarily the same phenomenon. The
alleged novelty in the first case are the individuals (new individuals) and, in the second case,
the unsatisfied needs (new needs). It is obviously possible that recent structural changes in
the social and economic system have given rise to both phenomena. In this case, these two
phenomena coexist but must not be confused, especially in the policymaking process: which
problem do we intend to confront to? The problem of accommodation (basic need) to the new
poor (e.g. transition postfordist workers) or the promoting the professional upgrading
(nonbasic need) of traditional poor (e.g. low-educated unemployed adults)? The prevalence
of either the first or the second problem largely depends on the context referred to.
Papers often place great emphasis on individuals or groups, classified a priori as new poor
4
.
The analyses on new poverty often makes a list of people defined as the new poor, simply
because they are considered vulnerable or at risk. On these lists, which are the result of
descriptive rather than interpretative analyses, the two phenomena new individuals and
new unsatisfied needs tend inevitably to be confused, overlapped or assimilated.
Table 1. New poors and new poverties
Unsatisfied needs Basic needs Other needs
Individuals/classes (absolute poverty) (relative poverty)
Traditional poor Old poverty New poverty
Other individuals/groups New poor [New poor cum new poverty?]
3 As defined, for instance, by the International Labour Office in the '70s.
4 H e re are some examples: female breadwinners, lonely/deserted women/mothers or with imprisoned husbands, lonely and poorly educated
and/or unemployed mothers, single-parent families; non-young adults (>40 years old), unemployed and/or poorly skilled ultra forty-year-old
adults, adults who loose their regular jobs or with employment problems, people who have been unemployed for more than 2 years; young
unemployed people, educated but unemployed young people, poorly educated/trained young people, young people from families in trouble
and/or who regularly take drugs/alcohol; lonely third-age, retired people; unemployed people, temporary employees, informal workers; farmers
and non-competitive farmers, poor people from the rural areas; wage earners, professional workers who have lost their purchasing power or
with no job opportunities; immigrants, refugees; individuals with serious or disabling health problems (ex. AIDS, drug addiction, alcoholism)
and/or low/medium education.
5.2 Old Conceptions
A sound interpretation scheme is required to clearly identify and analyse the nature of the
issues described above, in order to adopt effective policies against poverty. An analysis which
only considers a list of (new) vulnerable individuals or (new) unsatisfied needs is not a proper
solution since apart from being inconsistent and hardly applicable it simply narrates on
(new) poor and (new) poverty.
The best way to tackle this issue is to adopt a single definition of poverty, which is at the same
time rigorous and effective. An assertion that might seem unnecessary, considering that there
already exist many definitions of poverty. But that is just the problem: the generally acknowl-
edged definitions of poverty.
Poverty is currently largely and rightly described as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, and this
is even more relevant if the debate refers to new poverty. Poverty is associated with a series
of social, demographic and economic variables. It is analysed on a geographical and territori-
al scale. Great importance is attached to the environment (or milieu) and to the local and cul-
tural specific features. Despite this, most analyses and policies are still based on the tradi-
tional definitions of poverty, i.e., on definitions referring to the threshold of income and/or to
the basket of fundamental goods. Multidimensionality is therefore restricted to a narration
of poverty, whereas the identification of the (new) poor and their actual number is usually
carried out taking into account both income and purchasing power. This means that, to tackle
the issue of new poverty, old remedies are still being implemented.
No effective and innovative changes have been put forward yet. On the international level, in
fact, we continue to find only a series of analyses based on two limited approaches. The first
one refers to poverty as a lack of income, both with regard to absolute poverty (people who
live under a pre-defined income threshold), and relative poverty (people who live under the
average income standard. The second approach, referring to primary needs, is based on the
lack of fundamental goods: poor people who have shortage of food, have nowhere to live, no
education, no access to water supplies or to any primary service. In this case, a list of goods
and services is drawn up, and the number of people who have no access to such goods or serv-
ices is calculated. Thus poverty is measured in absolute terms.
The measures mentioned above are those most largely adopted on the international level, not
only by the World Bank (absolute income poverty), but also by the United Nations, which
adopts the same poverty threshold as the World Bank (US$1 per day), for the first on the list
of Millennium Development Goals. The aspect deserving particular attention is that policies
against poverty implicitly come from the official definitions of poverty. To adopt a given defi-
nition means, in a way, to predetermine the policies that will be implemented.
If poverty is considered as the lack of income, or if poverty is identified with the number of peo-
ple who live on one or two dollars a day (standard threshold in lowrevenue countries), it may
be assumed that all the individuals who live on three or four dollars a day are not poor. As far as
p r i m a ry needs are concerned, instead, we directly consider the needs of people, that is to say, a
minimum basket of goods and services to which people have access (which can also be trans-
lated into a determinate minimum income level). Obviously, it would always be better to look
d i rectly at goods and services rather than at income, but the two concepts are quite similar.
The solution that is most frequently proposed stems out from these traditional diagnoses: the lack
of income or fundamental goods is covered by means of money transfers (checks, grants, contri-
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| CHAPTER 5 New Poor and Old Conceptions |
| 114 |
butions ..). or through the supply of fundamental goods (food, accommodation ). In Europe, for
instance, the phenomenon has been analysed and tackled in this way for many decades. Still
t o d a y, in Italy, the Central Institute of Statistics (Istituto Centrale di Statistica, ISTAT), like many
other European institutions, measures poverty on the grounds of a lack of income.
In line with poverty as defined above, several incometransfers policies have been imple-
mented. They consist of different types of grants/back-up measures/contributions which tend,
on a more or less universal base, to fill both revenue and goods deficits, entitling certain cat-
egories of people to obtain additional or minimum income. This is the traditional welfare sys-
tem, which I would avoid to discuss even further except to say that it was a disputable sys-
tem in the past and that it is even more inadequate at the moment, since the new poverties
do not demonstrate a lack of income or goods.
A substantial limit to the income-based approach as well to the commodity-distribution
approach is, in fact, that of being monodimensional, since it only considers the resources
necessary to reach a specific level of consumption. Both approaches share the same idea that
commodities possession is at the basis of wellbeing. But it is just this vision of poverty that
is very limited. As a matter of fact, the possession of commodities is not the only one or prin-
cipal basis of wellbeing. Certainly, goods and services are fundamental to achieve human
wellbeing, but they are not the main source. Wellbeing, not just materially speaking, can
be achieved either through the possession of commodities or through the access to services,
but the main point is the complex relationship between people and commodities.
5.3 Beyond Income
To build an effective interpretation scheme that tries to understand the nature of poverty and
to focus on it in a precise and effective way, we have to change our point of view. We shift
focus on the individuals and on the type of life they lead rather than on their income.
As proposed by Amartya Sen (1999), peoples livehood can be seen as a set of things that they
are in a position to do or to be: to be educated, to avoid curable illnesses, to feel safe, to
take part to social activities etc Every individual is in a position to implement a more or less
large set of things to do or to be, and some of them are relatively more important than
others (e.g. to be adequately nourished is more important than to play sport, for the sim-
ple reason that you cannot play sport if you are hungry). An individual can be considered poor
when he is not in a position to carry out a series of fundamental to do or to be. In this
respect, it is important to note that the value of every single to do or to be is absolute and
does not depend on the context: to die of starvation or to freeze to death, for example, is the
result of absolute privations. Therefore, to be in a position to avoid such situations is an
absolute value. The extent of the set of basic to do and to be is, instead, a social product.
Even if the goods necessary to avoid certain deprivations are relevant to the (social and envi-
ronmental) context, there exists, instead, a common absolute poverty which does not depend
on the context: to be malnourished, for instance, is an absolute aspect of poverty, to the extent
that there is no adequate feeding. The causes can be either contextual or personal, but priva-
tion is absolute. To be malnourished, therefore, is a kind of absolute poverty, as well as to be
unemployed: viceversa, the necessary nutrition to avoid malnutrition is relevant to the char-
acteristic features of each individual (age, sex, health conditions) and to the context.
In this perspective, both income and availability of goods must be exclusively considered as
useful tools for achieving a better standard of living. The lack of income, therefore, is not
important as such, but to the extent that it does not allow one to have access to medical treat-
ment and care as well as education. Income, in fact, is not necessarily the fundamental factor
for guaranteeing the access to fundamental goods and services. Lets consider the number of
basic public goods that must be made available and that money cannot buy. Security and par-
ticipation, for instance, constitute two public assets of this kind, which are essential to the
lives of people, most of all to the lives of the socalled new poor. To receive a high income
can hardly offset the loss of security or the difficulty to participate.
There are different advantages to shifting the attention from goods as a form of income or
a form to obtain goods and services to individuals and to the life they lead:
1) there is no need to establish an absolute or a relative poverty threshold, below which
everybody is poor and above which everybody is rich. Instead, every individual will be
analysed according to his capability (to a variable extent) to implement a series of socially
fundamental to do or to be. The analysis will not have monodimensional nature:
income will only be a variable like many others;
2) two individuals who get the same income or goods will not be considered equally poor or
not poor: different people need different income standards (or a different basket of goods)
to achieve the same standard of wellbeing. This standard (or basket) strongly depends
on the characteristics of each individual, such as sex, age, health, etc. What is vitally
important is if and to what extent these people are effectively in a position to imple-
ment their to do or to be, and not how many goods (or what level of income) they have;
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| CHAPTER 5 New Poor and Old Conceptions |
| 116 |
3) to identify the poor, as those who live under the poverty threshold, does not give us any
information on the privations suffered by these people, and what aspects of their lives
actually cause such privations (employment? health? social relations?..)..To identify the
poor according to their difficulty to do or to be something, indicates, on the contrary,
what specific privations do these people suffer from, and the forms of poverty we have to
confront. According to this solid information scheme, it is much better and viable to build
an adequate and efficient set of policies and to avoid a generic formulate for undifferen-
tiated policies.
Moreover, according to statistics and to general information available, it would be easier, in
certain cases, to analyse poverty based on the life style of the individuals rather than on their
income. For instance, lets analyse Rome: no official statistics are available on the distribution
of income or on the consumption level of the citizens of Rome. Therefore, at the moment, it is
impossible to see how many Romans live under the poverty threshold (either absolute or rel-
ative) and how poor they are. In these cases, the availability of disaggregated demographic,
social and health statistical data would contribute to easily identify the (new) poor and the
(new) forms of poverty, and to build a set of appropriate indicators. An interpretative frame-
work could be created even in the absence of data relating to the distribution of incomes.
The experience of the United Nations Development Programme is very helpful for this purpose.
The programme proposed several human poverty indicators (HPI-1 and HPI-2), composed of
nonmonetary variables
5
. These indicators are not based on income. They constitute a con-
crete example of the poverty issue, based on several fundamental aspects of peoples lives.
This kind of analysis can be extended to the local level too, as demonstrated by several Latin
American countries, where human poverty indexes are generated even at municipal level. This
might be an appropriate starting point for overcoming the traditional approaches to poverty
and to build an innovative policy framework in the fight against old and new poverty.
5 Human poverty indexes issued by the UNDP are illustrated in the Reports on Human Development, published every year by the Organization.
The reports, available in different languages, can be downloaded for free from the Internet site www.undp.org.
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Chapter 6: Practicar -
Origin and Methodologies
18 shared months
Italo Calvino wrote: People don't enjoy the seven or the seventy-seven wonders of a City, but
rather the answers it gives to their questions.
Practicar seems to originate from this need: taking on a question that citizens asked to their
city, irrespective of its size or level of well being, as well as helping the local administration
to show signs of vitality and begin a path to provide a suitable answer.
In April 2003, during the Launching Conference of Urb Al Network 10 - Fight Against Urban
Poverty held in So Paulo, Brazil, in the framework of the meetings of the workshop
Management of local public policies, attention was paid to the increasing dimensions that
the new poverty was gaining in Europe and Latin America, and at the same time the high
shortage of poor-oriented public policies (both at a local and national level), as well as of spe-
cific innovative tools to face this phenomenon. Furthermore, emphasis was put on how the
concept itself of new poverty was often misunderstood, with the subsequent need to dee-
pen the knowledge of this phenomenon at a local level.
From this first meeting and from the identification of a shared problem by cities with strongly
inhomogeneous size and economic strength, the idea originated to put forward this Type A
project, aiming to strengthen the co-operation between the partners of the Network 10 about
this difficult subject as new poverty. First of all, the project aimed to deepen the awareness
of such a phenomenon, exchange experiences, identify and disseminate good practices, and
most of all develop innovative tools in terms of methodologies and solutions, in order to
strengthen local public policies in the field of fight against new urban poverty. Therefore, as
Calvino said, the objective was to be able to give answers identified within the local texture,
to develop the structural capability of local authorities to upgrade their internal tools and
adopt participatory and inclusive methodologies; the aim is to find a solution through the invol-
vement of local players that are scattered all over the territory and those that - and this is a
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fundamental element - ask questions, namely the people at risk of exclusion.
Practicar intends to be a small step towards the fulfilment of a very simple although ambitious
objective: seize the opportunities provided by local development policies in order to place at
the centre of politics and economic development the values of human beings, a better relation
between economy, development, technological innovation, urban environment and welfare.
This project tried to collect any political solution able to combine development and social
cohesion, possibly through a methodology as participatory as possible.
These are the ambitious and straightforward premises of the project.
6.1 Project Phases
This idea has had a strong impact on the partners of the network 10, to such an extent that
Practicar is one of the very few projects - maybe the only one in the framework of Urb Al II
- with 15 member cities. Sorrow and delight of the coordination committee. Although was it
complex to follow 15 partners, ranging from Finland to Chile, each of them with legitimate
needs although very different among them, has been widely offset by the possibility to analy-
se such different situations on the one side, and by the possibility to establish a strong net-
work of relations between member cities on the other side.
The project has begun with the Diagnostics: a detailed analysis of the phenomenon of new
urban poverty in the different partner cities. This was an important phase, since it has imme-
diately highlighted several doubts and the awareness that response was not easy to design.
The Diagnostics has been drafted according to the guidelines proposed by the coordinator,
who suggested to the various partners the aspects to be taken into consideration and deepe-
ned during the analysis, such as:
- the concept of urban poverty and new poverty that the partner cities refer to;
- the characteristics and size of the phenomenon of new poverty and the profile that part-
ner cities ascribe to the new poor;
- the figures, if any, and data about new poverty, any survey procedures and tools used
(and/or identified) by partner cities to measure the trend of this phenomenon;
- any involvement of local networks and/or local committees in the drafting of the survey;
- any the perception of the situations of poverty by inhabitants, assessed through ad hoc
surveys;
- the debate on new poverty existing in the city, policies to fight against new poverty adop-
ted and any tools used.
The drafting was already the relevant result of an activity entailing a wide participation and
consensus: the occasion to involve in this issue the local network of entities that operate
throughout the local context and all the entities, e.g. universities, that might be interested in
developing experiences and researches on new poverty. The evident outcome was the lack in
proven formulas and experiences to fight against the new poverty. What has emerged were,
on the contrary, several basic territorial practices that, conceived for structural poverty, were
empirically modified to face the changing social dynamics of contingent poverty.
Backed by a high interest, the project supplemented the Diagnostics with several figures and
with the stimulating certainty that the elements to clarify exceeded the clear ideas.
Below a list of critical issues:
- Difficulty in the definition of the theoretical aspects of this issue;
- Difficulty to quantitatively measure the phenomenon;
- Need to settle the contradiction between the two forms of poverty: new and structu-
ral poverty;
- Need to redefine the management plan of actions and measures, the structure of social
services and a closer relation between decision-makers and operators.
S t a rting from the multi-faceted features of the issue at stake, project partners have worked a lot
to achieve a common, theoretical and analytical base, prelude to identify practices to counter
new povert y. This shared framework was successfully achieved during the first inter- m u n i c i p a l
meeting organised in Rome in June 2005 among experts and local authorities of partner cities in
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| CHAPTER 6 Practicar - Origin and Methodologies 18 shared months |
| 122 |
the purpose to exchange experiences and information on the diff e rent local realities; hence
re p resenting a crucial step toward the steady construction of partnership. During the Rome
Meeting, a shared framework was developed through the collection of interacting variables that
have a diff e rent importance according to the their diff e rent features in diff e rent local frame-
works and by intersecting their demographic, economic and social feature s .
A fundamental element was identified in the transversality of the group of people at risk or vul-
nerable ones. These categories fall within diff e rent groups and, after several fiery discussions,
a re not always comparable.
The direct meeting and discussion of the partners allowed to widen the considerations on the
definition of new poverty and on the multiple dimensions, but most of all on the identification
of a shared concept on what new poverty means and which individuals may be re f e rred to as
new poor. This allowed important developments in the project on the identification of new
i n t e rvention policies and planning guidelines. All the participants in this first meeting in Rome
e x p ressed the need for a strong action on individuals' placing in the labour market. Interv e n t i o n s
a re not merely welfare-based and, if addressed to structural povert y, may be a good completion
for new poverty also.
In order to be ready for this meeting, a detailed paper was drafted where all the experiences car-
ried out by the partners in their local context were included, as well as the experiences of inter-
national organisations both in Latin America and in Europe. This paper, that we call Policy docu-
ment, was the basis used in Rome to make a first comparison between partner cities.
By the meeting of Rome, Practicar ended its first phase, evidently more based on the survey of
local situations and the exchange of the existing practices.
The second phase, which is the most delicate one - the phase of Local Fora - might be conside-
red as the phase of build up and active involvement for the development of possible policies. This
is probably the most difficult and complicated phase, but it is for sure the most stimulating one.
The relevant datum is that, urged by the project, at least 40 local Forums have been establis-
hed on this specific issue, in the diff e rent partner cities and with the participation of experts and
local administrators of the local working groups, socio-economic players and the population
involved. These meetings were supported by the technical assistance of the project's coord i n a-
tion group and experts, but also succeeded in gathering politicians and technicians for an open
debate, in order to devise possible and realistic future scenarios as re g a rds the subject of new
urban povert y. The specific objective of local forums was to identify a specific local situation of
new poverty and develop some possible actions and measures within a hypothetical project pre-
sented and discussed with the people directly involved.
These meetings have re p resented a deep, rich, fruitful but also difficult process that allowed the
p a rtners of the Practicar project to analyse the phenomena of new urban poverty affecting their
communities, to assess the situation of public and private services provided to the population
involved, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the practices adopted and, as a natural
conclusion, to define the elements that might characterise the strategies and interventions to be
adopted to fight against the phenomena linked to this subject. What is important to assess is
the general high quality of participation in the diff e rent levels, whereas quality was very uneven.
T h ree diff e rent forums were held in each area: the first one devoted to the persons (politicians
and technicians) in charge of the services of municipal administrations; the second to the org a-
nisations committed in this sector and to the so-called services beneficiaries, and the third one,
open to the whole citizenship. This complex and wide participation concerned there f o re not only
those - public and private bodies - that provide services and that, as it was often said, are in
the front line, but also the local community and those who suffer for new urban povert y, whose
point of view could not be neglected. It is an active process, characterised by the listening tech-
niques and sharing of results that are consistent and necessary to the really part i c i p a t o ry prac-
t i c e s .
E v e rybody underlined the need for a debate about diff e rent points of these topics, especially the
need to think of a shared planning, and not only a separate emergency management: this re q u i-
rement goes well beyond the immediate purposes of the project. In some cases, the number of
meetings held exceeded the number demanded by the project, and in some other cases people
e x p ressed the need for regular meetings apart from Practicar itself.
All this multi-faceted work has been summarised in a re p o rt, which has been the fundamental
basis for the activity of the Second Inter-municipal Meeting held in Bogot (Colombia) in
F e b ru a ry 2006. During this meeting, the various experiences made in local meetings were analy-
sed, with particular attention to the new tools developed as well as good practices and possible
f u t u reinterv e n t i o n s .
The meeting had to organise and finalise the huge quantity of materials collected and try to
really get to a shared result, and the steering committee tried to steer decisions as little as
p o s s i b l e .
The work targeted to identify the main guidelines -that would re p resent the final product of the
p roject - analysed the results of local forums, searched for common and diff e rent points, gro u-
ped the projects described per part n e r, and finally drafted a map for the implementation of new
tools and good practices to fight against urban povert y.
Five days of debate led to the identification of some fundamental key concepts, shared by the
whole group and developed within a plan that can be re f e rred to as Shared derivative model.
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6.2 Shared Derivative Model
Foreword: general criteria 1 Identification of the issue
2 Political will for sustainable action against new poverty
Guide Lines Basic elements
I. Participatory and 1 Research and analysis
sustainable local 2 Target group
development process set up 3 Analysis of Institutional potential and criticalities
4 Potential strategic alliances
5 Labour and production market analysis
6 Territorial analysis
II. Strategic and local agreement 1 Promotion and upgrade of participatory systems by
for the integration of social political, economic and social actors
and economic issues 2 P romotion and upgrade of technical and operational entities
3 Promotion and upgrade of strategic alliance with local
associations and/or other governmental or
international cooperation entities.
III. Model of action 1 Agreement to define objective, goals, and resource
management
2 Set up of technical unit
3 Labour and professional training for the target group
4 Employment or re-employment: start up, guidance and
support to individual job activity
5 Promotion and upgrade of the social and productive
groups
6 Promotion and orientation for access to social services
7 Diffusion and promotion.
IV. Political, technical, social 1 Early, intermediate and final evaluation
and economic follow up 2 Monitoring
and evaluation 3 Participation in the process by social, political
and economic actors.
6.3 Methodologies
The Mayor of a small city in Central Italy ironically described his work as follows: Can you
think of a farmer at nightfall, still bent on a clod? Well, that's me, more or less!.
This is a funny image that however well depicts the detailed and deep work that project part-
ners have been requested to carry out: turn the clod of the territory over, and bring to light the
problems and ideas compressed under the first layer of earth.
For the fulfilment of its activities, Practicar referred to a work group of local administration as
a suitable structure able to organise the planning, to involve local realities and, subsequently,
to implement the new types of fight at a local level and as a primary actor of a horizontal dia-
logue between single partners at an international level.
Each project partner has been the pivot and the node of two networks: a local and an inter-
national one.
This allowed the two different dimensions to be mutually enhanced.
The networking of the single experiences allowed the partners to go back to their local envi-
ronments with an increased awareness and strength thanks to the support of an international
network. The experience that starting from the individuals reaches the network for
sharing/processing purposes goes through a qualitative improvement according to the degree
of involvement that characterised its path.
Additionally, a common path based on studies and exchanges places all members at the same
level; there are no stronger or weaker partners, and there are no richer and poorer cities. There
are more or less similar issues with more or less similar solutions. It is a horizontal and equi-
table relationship.
All these meetings showed that there wasn't any differentiation between the role of helping
and helped individuals. They were all helpers and helped at the same moment.
Maybe the most interesting phase of the project was when it was opened up to all the peo-
ple interested in the subject; that was the phase that tried to disassemble the issue in order
to redevelop it, the moment when the procedure of entrusting experts with the task of fulfil-
ling the project management was put aside in order to melt all the ideas with the practices
and the needs of people and associations that the project was addressed to (those that will
finally benefit from the action or those that shall test it in practice).
The project, through local forums, has shown that its underlying assumption - participation and
collective effort, coordinated by local authorities for a result useful to all - is not only possible
but also necessary.
Another element that the project attempted to enhance in its methodology is that participa-
tion does not mean consultation, and that one thing is making decisions and another thing is
influencing decision-making. This idea seems to be forgone but in practice, and with the com-
plexities entailed by the participative process, it shows all of its importance.
Since project design, the research-action method was chosen as the practical method. It is
based on the idea that the cognitive process of a phenomenon ends up becoming a social
action in the moment when the target population is involved in the research process itself, pro-
viding the necessary ability and skills to it.
Practicar has considered as its founding element the active involvement of all local players in
the development of new practices and tools to fight against the new poverty and in the diffe-
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rent activities of the project. This allows - through the continuous exchange of experiences
between local players on the one side and international partners on the other side - to opti-
mise the results achieved, to give continuity to the initiatives already launched, and to provi-
de more complete and multi-sector response to such a complex issue as the new urban
poverty, that although having common causes, often develops itself differently at a local level.
Four main procedures were adopted by the project:
The continuous horizontal coordination among the partner cities; the participation, through
inter-municipal meetings and local forums, of the technical and administrative staff of local
institutions, as well as the representatives of the civil society and of the population involved;
the negotiation between the different institutional and socio-economic actors committed
throughout the territory of partner cities, and finally the institutional strengthening through the
training of local administrations' personnel.
The points above apply because the underlying idea of the project itself entails that decen-
tralised cooperation may appear in its most effective form only through its sensitiveness to
the territory, through its pluralism and heterogeneity of players networked through the action
of the local authority, through the networking - both at a local and international level - and
through the integration of all experiences.
In this way, the action and planning procedures seem the most useful tools to promote deve-
lopment and not to limit oneself to welfare.
One of the elements to be highlighted, that had probably not been included in the planning
phase, is that this participatory methodology in the fight against urban poverty has also beco-
me an involuntary picklock to bring to light more general problems, such as the need to com-
pletely re-design the role of politics in building a new path between institutions and citizens.
This means that there is the need not only to promote participation through clear, transparent,
inclusive and flexible methodologies, but also to make a new deal with the official policy-
makers, limiting the conflicts between different groups and promoting a close dialogue bet-
ween parties and civil society. Additionally, this means reforming the relationship between
administrative system and legislative constraints, hence replacing local regulations and legis-
lations that are in contrast with a participatory philosophy and promoting, on the contrary, a
monitoring by law-makers following the implementation of the law, in order to assess its
impact throughout the territory.
To stay with the project, it is evident that the methodology used may also be translated into
the following idea: starting from concrete people.
Practicar has benefited from the personal enthusiast work of each member of the local coor-
dination group and from the personal involvement of all those who participated in it, starting
from simple citizens that attended public forums up to politicians who committed themsel-
ves personally.
This also allowed to avoid the typical risks of this type of experiences, such as the high costs
in terms of time and money, a scarce representation by participants, and the distribution
drift that leads to low-profile decisions that are all things to all men.
A virtuous cycle has been established that, starting from experiences of far-reaching parti-
cipation, has led to more shared decisions and to lay the basis for new and permanent areas
of convergence, identified in the theoretical projects developed, to continue the work started
with Practicar.
The relations established between the partners - helped by the coordination group and increa-
sed through the web site (a permanent place where knowledge and experiences can conver-
ge), and strengthened in the occasion of inter-municipal meetings - represent a positive indi-
cator to show how a real mutual and equitable exchange has been reached, typical of decen-
tralised cooperation actions.
After the end of the project, it is evident that nobody has a ready solution to this problem that
changes on a daily basis before our eyes. However, maybe Practicar has identified a repeata-
ble methodology. It is a methodology that needs the contribution of everybody: public actors,
politicians and experts, and the social private sector that at different levels deal with these
phenomena because if - as the project highlighted - the concept of community has been
destroyed and a social agreement has been broken, the solution of the puzzle is a political pro-
blem, and not a social problem, and participation is first of all a political method.
The question unsolved within each project partner is how to succeed to have a synergic inte-
raction with national policies against new urban poverty. Or at least to allow local efforts not
to be thwarted but rather that developments and results obtained are integrated.
It is difficult to think that the self-advertisement of a local authority, also in agreement with
citizens, associations, and other subjects, might be limited to the management of a schema-
tic model drafted and managed far from those local expressions. The decentralised manage-
ment of a centralised structure - that influences the amount of funds available - still represents
a waste of resources difficult to remedy whose local context and its expressions, apart from
acting as a front experimenter, might desire to play a co-star role. This is one of the important
messages that the project has tried to convey.
If this is only a problem of political will, it might represent one of the priority objectives of
the lobbying of civil society and citizens, and local governments should collect, understand,
interpret and bring stimuli back to their institutional instances.
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Chapter 7: Partners
of the project
7.1 European partners
Province of Prato - Italy
As at Dec. 31, 2004, the Province of Prato recorded 238,948 inhabitants; 180,674 lived in the
capital town of the province and the remaining 58,274 were divided into six towns: Cantagallo,
Carmignano, Montemurlo, Poggio a Caiano, Vaiano and Vernio.
Prato, 180,000 inhabitants, ranks third place in Central Italy and 18 in Italy.
The priority of the textile industry in the production system has always characterized the econ-
omy of Prato. As a consequence, a general reorganization of the textile industry has been
implemented, due to the strong dependence of the district on exports (55% of added value).
The crisis of the US dollar and the global reduction of market demand, caused by a general
atmosphere of uncertainty, led, in 2003, to a 12% decrease in textile exports in the province
of Prato, higher than the national level (-8%).
This district still shows business set up propensities, as shown by the rate of local entre-
preneurial activities, one of the highest in Italy (11.4 enterprises every 100 inhabitants).
However the new element is the transformation occurred within these business activities.
Originally, they were focused on the textile sector, now they operate in the services, tourism,
residential building and high technology sectors.
At the same time, the new generations are more and more interested in free lance profes-
sional careers, rather than full-time jobs in the textile sector.
Prato symbolizes the capability to reshape the ever-changing production system, as a result of
dynamics affecting the local and national context.
Not very far ago, the economy of the district was based on the textile industry. However, a
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sharp reduction in the number of textile factories (-1,900 units, i.e. -30%) was recorded
between 1995 and 2004. According to Unioncamere, such reduction coincided with the devel-
opment of the building (+30%) and the tertiary (+40%) sectors.
The economy of Prato was not caught unprepared for the reorganization of the district. The
social and economic inclusion of many foreign people, the equal distribution of products, the
employment rates, which are steadily above the national and regional average, the unem-
ployment rates, which have basically reduced, and the substantial solidity of the social/fami-
ly texture, which guarantees the establishment of an extremely efficient solidarity network:
these factors strongly mitigated the problem of social vulnerability.
The situation, however, is causing clear but uncertain changes that may have different out-
comes.
The gradual ageing of the population; the different role of women traditionally devoted to
take care of other people, who are now taking an active role in the labour market; the reshap-
ing of the standard family model (with an increasing number single people who live alone and
the increasing number of separations and divorces); the intensified/diversified immigration
flows: these phenomena raise new challenges to the local administrators and the third sector
operators committed to edge and preventing the new forms of poverty.
Rome - Italy
The Town of Rome covers 128,531 square meters, the largest surface in Italy. Its surface is
equal to the nine largest Italian municipalities. There are 2.8 million inhabitants.
The Town is divided into 19 Municipalities (about 150,000 inhabitants each), 19 Departments
and 12 extra-departmental Offices divided into organizational units (cost/collection Centres)
and services, with about 26,000 employees.
The Town Municipalities carry out a series of decentralized functions across the district.
The Departments provide, in every specific area, the coordination of the municipal activities
and supervise the functions carried out by public utilities contractors. They also carry out spe-
cific planning, design and supply of public utilities; they provide citizens in compliance to their
tasks and implement political guidelines.
Over the last few years, Rome is increasingly becoming an i n t e rnational city, is taking an active
role as promoter of initiatives to be integrated in the ever-changing local/global context.
The cooperation, the exchange and the debate about experiences, the capability to adopt inno-
vation strategies are all assets to be employed within international cooperation.
With re g a rd to the new forms of poverty in Rome, an increase in social inequities especially in
t e rms of purchasing power and access to re s o u rces is being re c o rded. The population is ageing.
The number of re t i red and lonely old people is increasing. The family networks are fading away
and the number of single-member and single-parent families (with a woman as householder) is
i n c reasing. More o v e r, the number of foreign people from low-revenue countries is incre a s i n g .
The analysis also focused on consumption, price and real estate market trends to identify new
forms of poverty in Rome. It contributed to identify the brackets of vulnerable people who are
at risk of poverty, e.g. large families, single-member families, especially if formed by over 65;
single-parent families, with a woman as bread-winner; low-educated or trained people and
atypical workers. The number of employed people in Rome has largely increased with respect
to the past but many of them are still included in the category of on call workers, who get
very low salaries.
Global city means concentration of wealth (also cultural wealth, the citizens of Rome spent
euro 155 million to buy books in 2004), but also widespread and silent areas of poverty: the
economic difficulties of the small and medium business activities, the increase in households
average debts, the eviction issue which, in 2004, according to the Social Monitoring Unit,
affected 1 household each 248.
Valladolid - Spain
Valladolid is capital town of the self-governing Community of Castilla y Len; 323,716 inhabi-
tants; 168,595 females and 155,121 males.
Several demographic features show a transition towards high levels of well-being. However,
there is a potential risks of social exclusion.
The high number of children born outside the family context (from 11.1% in 1996 to 16.6% in
2002) seems to show a structural change in the traditional family model, with an increase in
the number of families composed by a mother and one child.
The concurrent increase of single-member families (over 20,000 in 2001, twice the number
recorded ten years before) brings to light the problem of unaccompanied old people, who have
no contacts with relatives or friends. Unsurprisingly, between 1991 and 2001, the number of
over 65s increased from 11.7 %, to 16.3 %, whereas the over 85s passed from 1% in 1991 to
1.7% in 2001.
The increased number of immigrants forms another category of needy people: the incidence of
immigrants on the overall population passed from 2.5 to 4.6%, corresponding to 14,000 people.
Beyond figures, Valladolid perfectly symbolizes the new model of Spanish towns, where the
quality of life of the less privileged people is taken into serious consideration through the
implementation of international cooperation networks aimed at facing the demographic
changes typical of rich Countries.
Vaasa - Finland
The City of Vaasa is the best example to indicate the challenges that the Finnish legislators
have to face. In Vaasa there are 57,000 inhabitants 75,000 in the whole district. There are
two languages spoken, Finnish and Swedish. Labour is essentially concentrated in the heavy
industry, ironworks, and electronics. The unemployment rate accounts for 8.5% (the lowest
after the region of Helsinki), for a total of 3,000 unemployed people, which the local authori-
ties are supporting through the implementation of specific projects.
More generally, the social and economic statistics on Vaasa portray the viable economic situ-
ation of Finland: a 2.5% GDP growth rate, a low inflation rate, a steady 8% unemployment
rate; a positive trade balance. On top of that, Finland ranks first in the IMF list on global com-
petitiveness. These positive situation have been achieved without undermining the welfare
system, which allocates 3.5% of GDP to research sector (twice the European average, and
threefold Italy). 7.4 hospital beds are available each 1,000 (4.3 in Italy) and 3.1 doctors are
available each 1,000 inhabitants (2 in Italy).
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| CHAPTER 7 Partners of the project |
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7.2 Latin american partners
Buenos Aires - Argentina
Buenos Aires 2,861,000 inhabitants (third quarter 2004) is the Capital of the Republic of
Argentina
Between the 1991 and the 2001 census, Buenos Aires lost about 200,000 dwellers, i.e. from
2,965,403 to 2,768,772.
The data collected by the Permanent Family Survey, of INDEC (Instituto Nacional de
Estadstica y Censo National Institute of Statistics and Census), show a significant drop in
poverty levels and destitution levels between 2003 and 2004.
The level of poverty decreased by 36% (from 17.1% in 2003 to 10.9% in 2004), whereas a
49.3% drop in the level of destitution among households was observed, i.e. from 7.5% to
3.8%, in the same period (1
st
half 2003 1
st
half 2004).
Figures show an efficient recovery in terms of employment and revenue but, in historic terms,
the poverty and destitution indexes of Buenos Aires are remaining high.
Between the 3
rd
quarter 2003 and 3
rd
quarter 2004, the unemployment rate decreased by
25.4% in the town, i.e. from 13% to 9.7%.
As far as the employment rate is concerned, a 4.6% increase was observed in the same peri-
od, from 45.8% to 47.9%. A decline in the unemployment rates is also confirmed by the
absolute figures concerning the employment sector of Buenos Aires: the number of employed
people living in Buenos Aires increased by 50,000 approx., for a total of 1,370,000 people.
Data show that due to increase of the working population, the number of the under-unem-
ployed has not increased with respect to the previous year: 189,000 people.
Although labour situation substantially improved in 2003-2004 (Buenos Aires ranks second
after Mar del Plata-Batn), there are 22.1% of unemployed and under-employed people in the
town of Buenos Aires who find it difficult to find a job.
Nevertheless, Buenos Aires is the driving force of the new Argentine springtime, based on
the recovery of the export sector, the partial recovery of the consumption sector through a plan
of grants for the unemployed people, the recovery of industrial activities and the involvement
of the labour movements in the management of public aid.
San Martn - Argentina
The City of General San Martn - 403,107 inhabitants (last official 2001 Census) is part of the
Metropolitan Region of the Province of Buenos Aires. It belongs to one of the two hinterlands
of the Conurbano bonaerense and includes 27 localidades.
6,000 factories, over 13,000 business activities and 4,000 services companies are located in
San Martn. This represents 2% of the industrial capacity of the Country, and contributes by
5% to the national GDP and by 12% to the provincial GDP.
2001 statistical data show that 64% of population is aged between 15 and 64; 59% is eco-
nomically active; 19% of whom has been previously unemployed.
If this share of population is added to the underemployed, 33% of the total population has
labour problems.
Considering data and statistics issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Production of
the Republic of Argentina in April 2004, it can be noted that, in the first quarter 2002, the eco-
nomic activities collapsed at the same rate as in 2001, similarly as in the 1914 crisis and even
farther than in 1931 and 1932.
The GDP decline was matched to an even more impressive fall in the consumption rates (-
11.3%), in the investment rates (-36,4%) and import rates (-50,1%), as well as by a strong
deterioration of the social variables.
In May 2002 the unemployment rate in B.A. reached its peak value (21.5% of active popula-
tion) and a higher ratio of poor population was recorded until the month of October: in brief,
San Martn is still showing upsetting statistical indicators, as a result of the difficult regener-
ation of traditionally industrial areas.
To face the dramatic social crisis, the administration of San Martn decided to use the avail-
able but insufficient resources to cover the needs of population who showed unsatisfied
basic needs.
Pergamino - Argentina
The City has 99,193 inhabitants (national 2001 Census), settled in the northern area of the
Province of Buenos Aires (222 km from B.A). Pergamino covers an area of 2,950 km
2
; density
is 33.6 inhabitants per km
2
.
The city was established between 1587 and 1600, as a stop-over place for travellers in their
way from Buenos Aires to Northern Peru. It grew little by little, it became a village, thanks to
the initiative of field master Juan de San Martn.
The key sector of local economy is farming (cereals and vegetal oil, half of sales throughout
the Country), followed by stock farming and industrial activities (farming by-products, textile
and plastic materials, heavy industry).
Midway between the two Oceans, the Andes and Buenos Aires, Pergamino is an important
hub for exchanges. Two railways and two national roads fall under the Town jurisdiction.
The most interesting social statistics indicate the progressive improvement of local economy:
illiteracy rate has decreased by 1.8%, whereas, in November 2004, the unemployment rate
accounted for 11.5%, with respect to 17.3% recorded in May 2004.
Compared to Buenos Aires, Pergamino followed a different urban development process. It was
born as centre for agricultural production, however, to its privileged geographical position, an
important IT development built on farming with the result to have a go-between of the rural
environment and the IT society.
Adeso - Argentina
The Association for Local Development is an NGO established in 1995 to operate in the filed
of economic and social development, especially in Latin America.
Adeso is focused on capacity-building, productive development, technical assistance, human
promotion, labour and general policies, at community level, in search of a balance between
the public and the private sectors through strong and reliable actions and measures to supply
feasibility to the projects proposed.
Adeso headquarters are located in Argentina. However, the association operates throughout
Latin America and cooperates with many European bodies and institutions.
The projects currently implemented concern computer literacy of the Ro Chico (Bolivia) com-
munity, the self-entrepreneurial promotion of a group of young people from San Martn
(Argentina), the introduction of IT technologies in rural environments (six sites in Bolivia, Chile,
Peru and Argentina), the workers training in the textile sector at Mar del Plata (Argentina), the
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upgrade of the techniques and facilities of the fruit and vegetable markets of Quebrada di
Humahuaca, Province of Jujuy (Argentina), the strengthening of the local entities of Conurbano
Oeste, Province of Buenos Aires.
Cepad - Bolivia
The Centro para la Partecipacin y el Desarrollo Humano Sostenible (Cepad) Centre for
Involvement and Sustainable Human Development is an NGO which provides assistance,
support and guidance to public and private actors and the civil society within the framework
of a human, economic and sustainable development plan.
Involvement of citizens, decentralization, local development and feeling of belonging to the
community are the themes developed at national and international level.
Cepad headquarters are located in Santa Cruz de la Serra, Bolivia; activities consist of organ-
izing projects, forums, meetings, debates, workshops, advertising campaigns and publications
on the above-mentioned themes.
On top of strategy-devising in the field of sustainable human development (and its social spin-
offs), Cepad is also involved in the implementation of social policies (especially against pover-
ty); it also promotes the respect for the native communities of Latin America, it strengthens
the decentralization of departments and local administrations, it carries out projects aimed at
strengthening international cooperation networks, it promotes tools and scenarios to settle
conflicts, and it undertakes training activities for local politicians; it finally supports the rein-
forcement of (urban and rural) organizations within the civil society.
So Paulo - Brazil
The So Paulo was founded in 1554, when (on January 25
th
) a group of Jesuits, among whom
Jos de Anchieta and Manoel de Nbrega, built up a boarding school on a hill that, due to its
cool and temperate climate, reminded them of their native Spain.
The Vila de Santo, as it was originally called, was awarded the title of Cidade in 1711,
but, in the 18th Century, it remained a departure station for the expeditions to the hinterland,
substantially aimed at plundering the natives.
In the early 19th Century Brazil made its declaration of independence; in the late century many
important economic changes took place in So Paulo: in 1895 there were 130,000 people who
lived in town (half of them were migrants from Europe); in 1900, 240,000. The construction of
the railway system and the development of coffee plantations were at the basis of the huge
demographic growth.
In the 20th Century, So Paulo launched into modernity and progress: electric lines, trains,
cars, velocity and urban upgrade (parks, streets, squares).
The phenomenon of the de-concentration of the industrial pole of So Paulo began in the
1950s. Part of the pole was transferred into other municipalities of the Region (Osasco,
Guarulhos, Santo Amaro, etc). and in the inner regions of the State (Campinas, So Jos dos
Campos, Sorocaba).
This gradual decline of the So Paulo industry is part of the tertiarization process carried out
by the Municipality, which grew more and more towards the 70s: the main economic activi-
ties of the city started to be increasingly linked to the supply of services and business activi-
ties (hypermarkets, shopping centres, etc).
In the 1990s, the inhabitants of So Paulo increased from 10 to 16 million, but such growth
was accompanied by a deterioration of social problems such as unemployment, public trans-
port, housing, environment and so on.
The social indicators showed a reality filled with contradictions and inequalities: the well-
developed areas of the city coexisted with situations of outright discomfort.
The de-industrialization of the city caused an increase in the unemployment rate and insecu-
rity on the labour market, with dreadful consequences in the pyramidal social structure: in
1996, 9.8% of households had an income higher than 30 minimum wages, whereas 10.5%
lower than 3 minimum wages and 29.7% between 5 and 10 minimum wages.
In 2004, the unemployment rate accounted for 11.5% approx., and in 2003, 12.3%.
In December 2004, 2.1 million unemployed individuals were recorded, especially women: they
reached 51.8% in Dec 2002, 54.4% in Dec 2003 and 56.9% in Dec 2004.
77.2% of the households residing in the Municipality of So Paulo lived in houses provided
with basic public utilities (electric power, drinkable water, waste disposal service), whereas
only 38.8% of local houses had a telephone. It should be reminded, however, that 4.3% of the
inhabitants in So Paulo are still living in the hovels.
Finally, the social statistics show a dynamic and evolving situation, with great development
potentialities, but also high risks of exclusion: with its good and bad qualities, So Paulo indi-
cates that Brazil is at the same time a fascinating and difficult country to manage.
San Joaqun - Chile
The town has a population of about 100,000 people (2002 data). The town belongs to
Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile, composed of 32 Municipalities and dwelled by over
six million people.
In San Joaqun there are about 26,700 households: even if the householder is a male in 75%
of households, new family patterns are actually taking shape, if we consider that the house-
holder is a woman in 26.7% of cases. Today, in San Joaqun, it is more usual that single-mem-
ber families are composed by women than by men (1,693 against 1,507).
The working population accounts for to 46.3% of the overall population.
Social statistics have identified 12.7% of poor individuals and 3% of indigent individuals
(the rate in Chile is 14.1% and 4.7% respectively).
The threshold for destitution is represented by a minimum basket of food products (equal to
Euro 29.14 in urban areas and to Euro 22.45 in rural areas): a household is below the destitu-
tion threshold if they can not satisfy minimum food requirements by using the entire revenue
on this basket.
To identify the poverty threshold, another basket, which is not exclusively composed by food
products, is taken into consideration. Such basket amounts to Euro 58.28 in urban areas and
to Euro 39.29 in rural areas: the households who live below the poverty threshold have an
inadequate revenue to get the necessary goods contained in this basket.
A reduction in poverty and destitution rate has been recorded since the 90s, even if the
progress in the quality of life of the population is not steady and suffers the effects of local
and global economic crises.
Bogot - Colombia
In 2005 (last census), Santaf de Bogot, capital city of the Republic of Colombia, had
6,910,000 inhabitants.
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Compared to the census carried out ten years before, the population has increased by 1.4 mil-
lion inhabitants.
From the administrative point of view, the city is divided into 20 localidades; four of them
(Kennedy, Ciudad Bolvar, Engativ and Suba) have more than 700,000 inhabitants.
Both the number of inhabitants and poor people is increasing: 2,149,000 in the early 1990s and
2,845,000 in 2003.
To demonstrate that the most critical period of the city seems to be over, it is possible to note
that the increase in number of poor is proportionally lower than the increase in number of
inhabitants: over the last decade, the number of destitution cases increased by 700,000,
whereas period 1997 -1999 (highest levels of economic recession) the new poor accounted for
over 363,000.
Statistical data confirm that, also in the case of Bogot, there is a correlation between unem-
ployment rates and number of poor: the lack or poor employment (in 2003, about 30% of
Bogot workers had an informal job) reduces household income (from 1997 to 2003 it
decreased by 38%), and erodes the middle-classes.
The middle-classes look at the future with uncertainty, as the Encuesta de Calidad de Vida de
Bogot (2003) has showed: only 7.1% of households in Bogot consider to have a good stan-
dard of living, whereas 46.6% of the interviewed perceived themselves as poor.
In line with the survey, the priority action established by the administration of Bogot by his
Development Plan 2004-2008 was to fight against poverty and exclusion. To obtain a more
human and modern city.
Aserr - Costa Rica
Over the last few years, a better standard of living was recorded both in the district of Aserr
as well as all over Costa Rica. On the other hand, this area had to face new problems, such as
the resource polarization and the social inequalities.
Over the last decade, Costa Rica could improve the standards of living of its inhabitants: the
access to culture-oriented initiatives has improved as well as the educational coverage rate,
life expectancy increased (up to 76 years of age), children death rate decreased, thanks to the
activity of the Equipos bsicos de atencin integral de la salud - EBAIS), and the housing
conditions have generally improved.
At the same time, the unregulated development of the labour market has caused an increase
in informal labour with respect to official employment.
The achievement of high educational levels, the access to new capabilities, the knowledge of
the English language and the learning of new technologies have caused a gap between high-
income and low-income people.
The latter actually prevail in the district of Aserr, as reported by the social and economic indi-
cators (educational level, quality of labour, household income). They reveal, in fact, a general-
ized condition of poverty. According to the Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social, 20.6% of house-
holds live in a condition of poverty (total inhabitants 50 thousand people), and 5.7% in a con-
dition of extreme poverty.
The working population (approx. 20 thousand) is essentially employed in the farming sector
(45.4%) with respect to trade (13.3%). The building sector employs 12.8% of the population,
whereas the services sector (employees, teachers, technicians) 20%.
More generally, the priority of the farming sector (often for self-consumption) and the preva-
lence of informal and low-productivity micro-business induce higher levels of poverty than the
national average. Poverty is perceived as the greatest problem affecting the population of the
District, even more than the lack of employment, and technical or university training.
Ate - Per
The first human settlements observed in the valley of the Rmac river date back to the year 500
B.C. and testify the ancient history characterized by the spanish domination and the fortifica-
tion of the area in pueblos, successively called Late or Lati, and finally Ate.
The first migratory wave took place in the late 19th Century. There were essentially chinese
and japanese who worked in the sugarcane plantations of the area.
A century later, a second wave (people left Lima due to local violence and serious employment
problems) confronted the administration of Ate with the necessity to provide houses, jobs,
means of transport and basic services. The district changed significantly. It lost its agricultur-
al features and was transformed into an industrial district, also as a result of the enhanced
road system.
Every district of Ate counts over 570,000 dwellers, with a high number of households (about
25,000) with, at least, one unsatisfied basic need. The whole district is, in fact, the fourth of
Peru in terms of poverty index, with high unemployment rates (especially males). The popula-
tion tries to tackle the labour problem by accepting informal or undeclared jobs, especially
in the tertiary sector.
The economic and social history of Ate indicates how the construction of large roads consid-
erably modifies the economic features of an area, considering that, during the 60s, the
Carretera Central transformed the economic system of this area from an agricultural to an
industrial production site, with the consequent urban migration from the countryside.
To face the social spin-offs of such unregulated migratory waves, the municipal administration
decided to spur community involvement and adopt negotiated actions. The town shows some
of the most interesting examples of social involvement.
Rioja - Per
Chief town of the region of San Martn, Rioja was founded in 1772 (Sept. 22), by Flix de la
Rosa Retegui y Gaviria, even if large groups of people had already settled in the region in the
pre-Inca era.
The independence from Spain was obtained in 1822, when the city, allied with the larger city
of Moyobamba, fought five epic battles. After being incorporated to the district of
Chachapoyas this caused upset among the population in 1845 the President of the
Republic officially assigned the city the title of Villa and annexed it to Moyobamba, which
is only 23 km far. In 1868 Rioja was awarded the title of Ciudad.
The district and the province of Rioja were established on Dec. 9, 1935 in compliance to
national AoL no. 8142. The town continues to change its characteristic features, it adjusts its
town planning and infrastructures to settle the damages caused by two earthquakes (1990 and
1991): new houses, paved roads, and the reconstruction of the Carretera Marginal de la
Selva were achieved.
The population of Rioja accounts for 22,000 people who work in the agricultural and craft
activities (the renowned straw hats, but also belts, fans and purses). The tourist industry is
growing rapidly through the exploitation of beautiful landscapes and Amazonian flora/fauna.
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Workgroup
Roma - Co-ordination
Luca Lo Bianco
Alessandra Testoni
Francesca Agostini
Luca Alteri
Giuseppe Campagna
Emilio Chelini
Gemma Ciccone
Stefania Coroneo
Maurizio Curtarelli
Luisa Diago
Franco La Torre
Luisella Panzali
Silvia Petrosino
Pietro Pipi
Barbara Romagnoli
Aserr
Jos Osvaldo Villegas Aguilar
Ate
William J.Moreno
Walter Gomez Carrion
Luz Arelis Moreno
Daniel Rosales
Leandro Laurel
Buenos Aires
Sergio Beros
Noemi Torres de Fernandez
Susana Diosquez
Pablo Vilas
Bogot
Clara Leonor Ramirez Gomez
Blanca Leticia Arteaga
Special thanks to DABS group for the organization of II International Meeting
Pergamino
Valeria Valentini
Gabriela Messing,
Federico Erquicia,
Paola Mesquida
Favio Morn
Prato
Michele Parpajola
Rioja
No Hernandez Izquierdo
San Joaqun
Maria Isabel Montane Lepeley
Lina Zamorano
San Martn
Hector Daniel Abruzzese
Agusta Vergola
Ana Mara Dufek
Lucas Walter Momdjian
Carlos Luna
So Paulo
Valmir Dantas
Silvia da Silva Craveiro
Cristiano Vilela de Pinho
Vaasa
Helka Linna
Ville Rintamaki
Valladolid
Henar Perez
Caridad Torrecilla Gmez
Adeso
Hector Navarro
Mirta Arial
Cepad
Ruddy Cuellar Rivero
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| WORKGROUP |
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Drafting of the guide:
Comune di Roma
Alessandra Testoni - Co-ordination
Luca Alteri
Maurizio Curtarelli
Pasquale De Muro
Franco La Torre
Luca Lo Bianco
Luisella Panzali
Adeso
Cepad
Revision:
Michela Cea
Majla Fagioli
Eleonora Ventresca
Translation:
Antonella Spagnoli
Acknowledgements
Thanks to all the mayors:
Aserr
Mario Morales Guzman
Ate
Oscar Benavides Majino
Bogot
Luis Eduardo Garzn
Consuelo Corredor - Martinez - Director of Welfare Administrative Department - DABS
Buenos Aires
Jorge Tellerman
Anibl Ibarra (Ex mayor)
Pergamino
Hector Maria Gutierrez
Prato
Massimo Logli - Province President
Irene Gorelli - Welfare Policies Councillor
Roma
Walter Veltroni
Marco Causi - Councillor for Economic, Financial and Budgetary Policies
Rioja
No Hernandez Izquierdo
San Joaqun
Sergio Echeverra Garca
San Martn
Ricardo Leonardo Ivoskus
Lidia Lucia Naim - Councillor for Social Development
So Paulo
Gilberto Kassab
Jos Serra (Ex mayor)
Gilmar Viana - Councillor for Labor
Vaasa
Markku Lumio
Valladolid
Francisco Javier Len de la Riva
Rosa Isabel Hernndez del Campo - Councillor for Labor, Family and Welfare
The warmest thanks to all private and public institutions, social operators, local actors, and
the whole community who, with their active involvement, have made this publication possible
giving cues, ideas and strength to thoroughly analyse, develop and carry on the work after the
official end of the project.
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| ANCKNOWLEDGEMENTS |

Guidelines For The Implementation of New Tools and Good Practice in The Fight Against New Urban Poverty

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