Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction:  A New Outlook for Policy and Practice

May 8, 2:00 pm

In 1999 the United Kingdom’s then-Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that, “There will be no forgotten people in the country we want to build.  And we will eradicate child poverty within a generation – it will take a long-term commitment, but I believe it can be done.”  What followed was a UK social inclusion agenda that promotes advancement in the labor market, improved education outcomes, reduced health inequalities, better quality housing, safer neighborhoods, and the reduction of income inequality.  Within this framework, the UK set a target to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and only 5 years after its introduction, child poverty has been reduced by an astounding 17%. 

The changing political climate in the United States presents advocates with an unprecedented opportunity:  a new way to understand, discuss, and solve the issue of child poverty in America.  As advocates move forward with state and local child poverty campaigns, the UK’s approach to reducing poverty is worth considering.

On the call, Natalie Branosky (Senior Advisor with Voices for America’s Children in DC, and the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion and the Child Poverty Action Group, both in London) talked about the definition of social inclusion, shared more about the UK’s effort and led a discussion on what can be applied in poverty reduction efforts in the United States. She was joined by Susan Deakin, a former member of the Socttish Parliament and current professor of social change at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

RESOURCES FROM THE CALL: