Ladies
and Gentlemen,
It
gives me great pleasure to address this conference, particularly
since it is taking place in South Africa. South Africa has a
difficult task trying to overcome the social and economic consequences
of Apartheid for the majority of her people. The process of
growing together requires not only reconciliation and understanding
but also determination and decisiveness in the field of social
welfare.
As
a politician from East Germany I am particularly conscious of
the difficulties of this task. We in Germany still have some
way to go to meet the challenge of creating comparable living
conditions throughout Germany, reuniting in the social, economic
and also psychological sense two societies that for decades
had been cast in very different moulds. We also have to adjust
our social welfare system taking into account the effects of
a shrinking working force and a growing number of old people.
Germany
has to solve her problems in this field in concert with her
partners in the European Union. That is why I think it is appropriate
to concentrate in my remarks today on the European dimension
of social development.
The European Union and its Member States have given the signal
to emerge into the 21th century in the field of social policy.
We accept and respond to the major changes and challenges that
our societies are confronted with. The key terms in the European
debate on the future shape of social and economic policies are
modernisation and quality.
I will not be referring extensively to social policy in general,
but to the role social services play in the context of social
development. As a point of departure, however, it is important
to know where we stand now in Europe. Social policy is becoming
a real issue of the European Union.
Europe has nailed its colours to the mast: Social development
is the political response to the global society in which we
live. Real economic progress in a globalised world is impossible
without progress in the social field. The partition walls between
the different actors in the areas of economic and social policies
and civil society have to disappear.
The fight in Europe between those who do not want to change
anything and use tradition as an excuse and those who want to
demolish 150 years of social progress is over. This is a major
message of the special meeting of the European Council held
in March 2000 in Lisbon.
The new goal is to strengthen employment, economic reform and
social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy. Achieving
this goal requires an overall strategy aimed at, among other
things, modernising the European social model, investing in
people and combating social exclusion.
A new open method of coordinating national policies will be
introduced at all levels. This will be coupled with a stronger
guiding and coordinating role for the European Council to ensure
more coherent strategic direction and effective monitoring of
progress.
European countries have a common cultural and socio-economic
background and share societal values but have developed distinctive
features of social policy. European diversity is a strength
because it fosters social innovation - if co-operation is deepened.
A lot of biased statements have been made on the issues of subsidiarity
and European social legislation in the last ten years. Social
policies were reproached for imposing an excessive burden on
the economy and on production costs. Brussels would meddle in
matters best left to Member States or the regions. Today a positive
concept of subsidiarity is emerging and social policy actors
on the national and European levels start moving along the same
lines.
There is a European consensus that national and local governments
primarily have the responsibility to ensure that social services
are available to all people. In many countries civil society,
particularly social NGOs play a major role in planning, organising
and providing social services. The European Union, however,
should play a more important role when it comes to fostering
social development by organising and intensifying the co-operation
between Member States in this field.
Because of the differences in social conditions between the
various European countries, there have been made a number of
choices as to the implementation of the provision of social
services. The involvement of civil society, the business sector
and individual users themselves as well as the modalities of
sustainable funding vary between member states.
While
the solutions may differ, they are all taken against the background
of similar challenges and changes that are to a large extent
triggered off by demographic trends. The economic and social
conditions of service provision are changing rapidly. The EU-membership
will be extended to new countries in the near future. Last but
not least the volume of cross border delivery of services will
increase as part of the free movement of services between member
states. The subsequent increases and shifts in demands for social
services take place in all European countries.
Our
understanding of these changes and their impact on social services
is insufficient. For this reason Germany has set up an observatory
for social services in Europe that shall provide an empirical
base of comparable and current information. In addition to that
the observatory is a platform for the exchange of opinions and
experiences aimed at advising policymakers on the local and
national level as well as non governmental social organisation.
This in turn will help them to address the challenges and changes
in a systematic manner.
Social
services should be included into the open method of co-ordination
that is part of the framework set out by European Council aimed
at modernising social policy. Developing guidelines, formulating
targets and establishing quantitative and qualitative indicators
in the field of social service provision would be a major step
forward in the European co-operation. This ambitious strategy
can only be implemented on the basis of an adequate allocation
of responsibilities between European level, member states, local
authorities and civil society.
In order to reinforce the European Employment Strategy we have
to more closely involve the local economic and social actors.
In Germany, the voluntary welfare organisations employ 1.3 m
professional social workers. The growth rate of the non-profit
social sector in the past 20 years exceeds that of any other
part of the economy. While placing the expansion of productive
employment at the centre of sustainable development we give
more attention to the quantity and quality of social service
jobs offered by local authorities and social non-governmental
organisations.
At
the World Summit for Social Development, held at Copenhagen
in 1995, it was recognized that good quality social services
contribute to the welfare of societies. Kopenhagen plus 5 has
reiterated and underlined the importance of social services.
Scarce domestic resources, changing consumer expectations and
the growing number of competitors force providers to focus on
improving the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of their
services. This confronts local authorities and social NGOs,
which help to secure access to services for all people, with
a complex task.
Modernising and improving the quality of social services constitutes
a constant challenge for service providers. There are numerous
quality aspects that have to be considered. Criteria have to
be established for evaluating social services. Services should
meet desired standards and respond adequately to the needs of
users. Local authorities need to establish an integrated system
of social services. It is not easy for providers to make ends
meet.
Local authorities and national governments have to create an
environment that is favourable for non profit service provider.
There are, however, a number of reasons why we are well advised
to also include social NGOs into a competition of quality, while
protecting them from the fatal consequences of a drop-off in
prices. There are numerous kinds of services, such as drug counselling
or assistance to homeless people, that will not be offered by
profit-oriented agencies. The users of social services have
a limited capacity to exercise their rights as consumers. Privatisation
and commercialisation of service provision may put the users
of services at a disadavantage or even limit the range and scope
of the system. The state should, therefore, take an active role
in strengthening the position of users of social services provided
by public bodies, voluntary non-profit making agencies and profit
oriented organisations. The market has to be regulated in order
to maintain the diversity among providers.
Implementing
the Copenhagen Programme of Action in every respect will be
a costly effort for many states. This holds true, in particular,
for the goal to provide high-quality services for all. How can
governments of developing countries possibly afford to pay for
universal provision of services? We have to recognise that a
lack of human development very often underlies a lack of services.
Investing resources in social services will eventually result
in economic growth.
It is important for the purpose of deciding the range and scope
of a system of service provision that one views resources broadly.
Different social actors and business capacities have to be involved.
Time is an important resource and it may be mobilised in form
of volunteering. In Germany, about 3 m volunteers support the
work of the non-profit social service providers. I am convinced
that it will prove worthwhile for developing countries, too,
to invest in a system of social services that covers all people
while targeting extra subsidies to the poor.
The fact that social services too often escape public attention
bears no relation to their importance. Social Services are a
critical means to ensure social integration and participation,
fight against social exclusion, enhance productive employment
and reduce unemployment as well as to advance the equality and
status of women. Migrants, large families, disabled people and
many other goups with special needs benefit from social services.
In this sense social services facilitate greater equity and
equality for every member of society.
I am convinced that, in spite of the evolving status and role
of women in societies, we still have a long way to go to achieve
equalitity between women and men. The empowerment and full participation
of women is a priority objective of our national policy. While
women are often adversely affected by social and economic change,
they often bear the major burden of paid and unpaid social work.
Services should, therefore, also be designed to serve the specific
needs of girls and women.
There
are numerous gender aspects involved in the provision of social
services. Financial constraints and structural changes in social
services often have a greater effect on women than on men. Poverty
of older people is in most cases female poverty. NGOs and public
bodies should take into account female life situations and should
involve women in the planning, decision-making, management and
implementation of services. For instance, financial support
and social counselling have to be closely linked in order to
avoid single mothers, that means female-headed families suffering
from a number of disadvantages. They depend on agencies that
provide individual support covering all facets of their particular
life situation.
Social
services can be described as a female-dominated labour market.
One reason why these jobs are highly attractive for women is
that they offer part-time work and thus help to reconcile work
and family life. The disadvantage, however, is that these are
low-paid jobs. Training and qualification programmes must therefore
ensure equal participation of women aimed at enhancing their
career prospects.
Social services are an essential element of social development
in all countries at different stages in their overall development
process. They are of major importance for all groups of the
population. The Member States of the United Nations committed
themselves to a number of key goals and principles with regard
to the provision of social services. It is important to note
that the implementation of what has been agreed does not apply
only to a limited number of countries but it represents a topical
response to global challenges.
