A large number of Croatian citizens are in a bad social position and do not have satisfactory access to public assets and services, and due to the recession, the increase in unemployment and budget problems, further deterioration in the social picture may be expected. Several organizations combined under the leadership of the Institute for Public Finances have initiated a project entitled “Partnership for Social Inclusion” whose main aims are: to improve coordination and cooperation in social welfare, improve employability, awareness of rights, access to rights, to ease and prevent over-borrowing by citizens, align supply and demand and improve social planning, especially by lower levels of authority. The project is especially aimed at and will rely on journalists who, through well-argued and good quality reporting, will themselves contribute to a better understanding of and easing social exclusion.
Due to the world financial crisis, but also its own problems, Croatia has a significant number of people who are threatened with unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. It may be expected that, due to the need to make savings in the social insurance and welfare systems related to pension and health insurance, employment, protection of the unemployed and social welfare, and the increase in unemployment, deterioration of the social picture will follow.
Since the struggle against social exclusion requires a multi-disciplinary approach, we are jointly undertaking a series of activities to ease social exclusion. The Institute for Public Finance (the Lead Institution of the project), the Croatian Employment Service, the Association of Independent Unions of Croatia, the association ZaMirNET, the Forum of European Students of Journalism – Croatia, the association Most, the Association of People with Mental Disorders SJAJ, the Women’s Network of Croatia, the Society of the Physically Disabled and the Association of Free Unions of Slovenia and the Association of Unions of Austria, have launched the Partnership for Social Inclusion project, which ran until the end of 2010. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was actively involved in the project. It was being run with the financial support of the European Commission General Directorate for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities through the European Progress program.
More at the website of the Project.