© Svenska Kyrkan
On 3-4 July, Eurodiaconia organised a study visit to the project ‘Digniti Omnia’ in Växjö, Sweden. ‘Digniti Omnia’ is a social inclusion project targeting destitute EU mobile citizens in four Swedish towns. It is run by the Church of Sweden and funded under the ‘Fund for European Aid to the most deprived’ (FEAD) Operational Programme II. The study visit was hosted by the church of Sweden and gathered 18 participants from Eurodiaconia member organisations running FEAD OP II projects in Germany, Denmark and Sweden in Växjö for two days.
The visit of the ‘Digniti Omnia’ project was at the core of the programme and participants had the opportunity to learn about the philosophy behind the project, as well as the very practical implementation and day to day running by visiting the facilities and talking to social workers and users. In addition, a Danish and a German FEAD OP II project for destitute EU mobile citizens have been presented. A Commission official gave a presentation on the FEAD and the preliminary results of the consultation. Finally, the participants discussed their experiences with FEAD funding and their expectations for the future of the fund.
The FEAD supports EU countries’ actions to provide material assistance to the most deprived, and supports people taking their first steps out of poverty and social exclusion. The FEAD’s overarching objective is to enhance social cohesion and eradicate poverty in line with the Europe 2020 strategy; a key target area of which is to reduce those at risk of or experiencing poverty by 20 million people. The Operational Programme II focuses on social inclusion and integration activities for the most deprived members of society.
You can learn more about the FEAD project ‘Dignity Omnia’ on the Church of Sweden website and a more detailed report on the study visit will follow soon.