2011-10-02

The CENTRUM project is a high profile, EU funded project present in three development regions of Romania and aims at promoting equality of chances for women, people with disabilities and the elderly. The current thematic conference of the project was held on the 30th of September in Cluj at the Lutheran Church’s diaconal hall.

The project is operated by the Novum Association from Braşov and features the Tree of Life Association as local partner. Attendants at the (IN)EQUALITY OF CHANCES conference had the opportunity to find out about the most recent developments in the field from MEP Csaba Sógor and representatives of the national institutions.

Following the introductory greetings from local organizer Réka Hegyi, the representatives of the Novum Association Enikő Mãlãcea és Alina Fãrcaş presented the project. They expressed their belief that the project was started because statistics clearly show that concerning the labor market in Romania, women are being disadvantaged from numerous points of view, thus half of the population  is subject of some form of discrimination.

DAHR’s MEP Csaba Sógor also stressed the importance of combating discrimination because unequal treatment infringes fundamental rights such as the right to human dignity or the right to work.

The MEP said that one out of four European families has a member who suffers from some form of disability, while the number of elderly people has doubled in the last 40 years in Europe and reached 27% of the working population. Sógor said that the inclusion of these groups is a widespread problem that is being managed by member states. The EU sets the direction through documents about ageing or disabilities policies, alike the UN declaration about the rights of persons with disabilities,  the European Commission’s ten year strategy about the same group, or the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

- Inclusion of people with disabilities into the labor market is not only a social, work-related or fundamental rights issue, but also an economic question as well. We must bare in mind that the market for devices aiding people with disabilities is well beyond 30 billion Euros in Europe – said the Hungarian MEP from Transylvania.

Sógor also detailed the ageing policy that puts emphasis on active ageing and urges action to maintain the abilities of the elderly, promote lifelong learning and flexible work environments or the struggle against discrimination, unemployment or social exclusion.

The list of speakers was completed by the representatives of the Cluj County Social Directorate and the Cluj County Unemployment agency who presented the national social system. The conference ended with a round-table discussion of the local NGOs.

The CENTRUM project features training courses, career counseling, workshops and promotional presentations that help young mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly in the reintegration into the labor market. This year CV writing, entrepreneurial skills and business English courses had been held in Cluj and Bacau.

The Tree of Life Association has a history of several years of volunteer work. They’ve extended their activities through the CENTRUM project in order to aid persons who are experiencing career difficulties after founding a family.