Publications by subject - Social cohesion - 2011

On 30 June 2011, a seminar on Youth and Employment was hosted by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, and jointly organised by four European agencies: Cedefop, ETF, EU-OSHA and Eurofound. The agencies highlighted the complementarity of their work by each presenting different aspects and perspectives related to youth employment in Europe and its neighbourhood countries. Topics included the transition from education to the workplace, guidance for young people at risk, safe and decent jobs for young people, the 'NEETs' phenomenon and its economic costs, the active inclusion of disadvantaged young people in employment and the global dimension of youth employment. Full speakers presentations are also available.

In the Netherlands growing numbers of young people and adolescents are in receipt of special education, mental health care services and benefits because of long-term illness, handicap or chronic disease. The most alarming increase is in those covered by the Disablement Assistance Act for Handicapped Young Persons (Wajong). In 2001, 120,000 people received a Wajong benefit. By 2010, this figure had risen to almost 200,000. Read more on this topic.

Findings are based on Eurofound’s second European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS 2007). Quality of life is analysed in different social domains, based on objective as well as subjective indicators. The report addresses the perceived economic situation of households, family life, housing and local environment, health and access to health services, perceived quality of society, and subjective well-being, as well as interrelations between these factors. Read more in the report.

Perceived quality of life is lower in the candidate countries of Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey than in the EU27, largely due to poverty. Women’s labour force participation is low and jobs in general are characterised by long hours and poor work–life balance. Families are important for subjective well-being, but the rates of approval for public services and trust in institutions vary. An executive summary is available.

This report presents the results of a research programme that analyses the quality of life in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in EU15 countries (Member States before the 2004/7 accessions) based on the 2007 European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). The focus of the analysis is on the comparative situation of neighbourhoods in which respondents to the EQLS state that the share of the population from racial or ethnic groups different from the majority population is relatively high (‘high-diversity neighbourhoods’). Read more in the report.

Many European countries have seen high levels of immigration from all parts of the world in the past two decades and the population of visible minority ethnic groups has grown rapidly. This report presents the results of a research programme analysing the quality of life in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in EU15 countries based on the 2007 European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). The findings confirm that material poverty is often combined with higher degrees of social exclusion in such neighbourhoods. The perceived quality of life is also lower in these areas and in general they have higher levels of social tension. From a policy point of view, this underlines the need for an integrated and comprehensive social and housing policy intervention in affected high-diversity neighbourhoods, with strong involvement of local communities. An executive summary is available.

The unemployment rate for young people aged between 16 and 24 years in the EU27 is twice as high as the overall rate of unemployment. The recession has exacerbated this problem significantly. Foundation Findings provide pertinent background information and policy pointers for all actors and interested parties engaged in the current European debate on the future of social policy. The contents are based on Foundation research and reflect its autonomous and tripartite structure.

In this European Year of Volunteering, this report takes up the relatively neglected theme of volunteering by older people in Europe. While it is common to think of older people as beneficiaries of voluntary endeavour, their contribution as volunteers has received much less attention. This research includes 30 case studies on volunteering by older people from 11 EU Member States. Read more in the report.

Europe is undergoing a previously unwitnessed ageing of the population. In view of this, social inclusion of the elderly and strategies to promote voluntary work among older people are now important items on the EU’s political agenda. This report is based on 30 case studies from 11 Member States in which volunteers, not always exclusively older people, were successfully engaged in meaningful projects of all kinds. The cases demonstrate best practice in all aspects of the issue, ranging from strategies to recruit volunteers to ways of keeping them engaged and utilising their talents to the full. The report has a special focus on volunteering by those who may themselves be at risk of social exclusion. An executive summary is available.