A new model for Europe in the making
Europe seems to have a better quality of life and standard of living than many other parts of the world. However, it is suffering from major global challenges such as the economic crisis, global warming, rapidly ageing populations and a massive refugee problem. The EU-funded WWWFOREUROPE (Welfare, Wealth and Work for Europe) project worked on a new scenario beyond policy adaptations to instigate positive socio-ecological and economic change. Casting doubt on the use of GDP to measure economic and social progress, the project preferred ‘wellbeing in a sustainable environment’ to benchmark advancement. Its three main goals – to be pursued simultaneously – involved firstly raising incomes, secondly fostering social inclusiveness through employment, gender equality and a more equitable distribution, and thirdly advancing environmental sustainability. WWWFOREUROPE prioritised seven drivers of change in seven policy fields to achieve these goals. These drivers covered boosting innovation, limiting income spreads, rethinking welfare policies, stimulating employment in different ways, improving energy use by discarding fossil fuels, and revamping the public sector. Lastly, the project considered financial sector reforms to realign with the needs of society by encouraging social and environmental investments. To further this new European vision, the project team built a strong dissemination strategy to benefit economic research, economic policymaking, civil society and public discourse. It targeted the scientific community, journalists, policymakers, civil society and other stakeholders through meetings, different media and online, in addition to organising conferences on a wide variety of relevant topics. Several policy briefs with forward-thinking titles such as ‘Reaping the benefits of migration in an ageing Europe’ also emerged from the project, as well as engaging news articles in major European newspapers. A total of 20 lectures, 30 policy papers, 119 working papers and 570 dissemination activities made a strong impact on disseminating the new vision and its key messages by the middle of the project. This was followed by the elaboration of policy recommendations, consultations with policy makers, publications in peer-reviewed journals and enhanced dissemination among the scientific community. There is no doubt the project findings have piqued the interest of numerous stakeholders who seek a new model to drive Europe forward. Stimulating discourse on the project’s critical topics and objectives through such intensive dissemination activities has sown the seeds of change in this respect. The project's synthesis report is available online: Part I and Part II.
Keywords
Welfare, wealth, work, WWWFOREUROPE, environmental sustainability, social inclusion, socio-ecological transition
