- ATD Fourth World

The European Fourth World People’s Universities provide a space to talk and reflect with people living in poverty, the space needed to work with them to use their life experiences to seek ways out of extreme poverty. This event will bring together, on the one hand, a hundred or so delegates from various European countries, people with experience of living in poverty and also others who take a stand alongside them against poverty and, on the other, members of the European Economie and Social Committee (which is hosting the meeting), policy-makers, European officiaIs and other players in the fight against poverty and social exclusion.

At the moming workshops, the participants will use specifie examples as starting points for discussing various themes linked with youth and poverty in Europe. At the aftemoon plenary session, participants will share their thoughts and questions and make proposals for individual, public or political action, leading into a debate.

As part of the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion, it is important that the poorest people themselves have an opportunity to join the debate and that the dialogue with the guests gives rise to new proposals to submit to those in the highest levels of authority in the EU.