European Platform on Combating Homelessness is “a giant leap”

The High-Level Conference on the European Platform on Combating Homelessness, under the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, will be held at the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon on 21 June next, at 09h00 (local time). It will bring together the Member States, European institutions, political representatives, homeless people and civil society.

The meeting will be chaired by the Portuguese Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho and by the European Commissioner, Nicolas Schmit i. Will also participate Yves Leterme i, Goodwill Ambassador, and the President of the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA), Kjell Larsson.

The aim of this conference is to share the Member States’ national and regional policies for combating homelessness in Europe, through the launch of a European Platform for Combating Homelessness, with the commitment of all to sharing experiences and best practices.

The Lisbon Declaration on the European Platform on Combating Homelessness will be signed during the Conference. Through this declaration, the Member States are making a commitment to a set of goals for combating and reducing this phenomenon by 2030.

During the conference, the winners of the Ending Homelessness Award 2021 will be announced. This year, the best European projects for raising awareness and creating opportunities for homeless people will be singled out. The video conference will end at 17h00 (Lisbon time) with a speech from Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa i.

A press conference is scheduled for 14h30 (Lisbon time), with the Portuguese Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, the European Commissioner, Nicolas Schmit and Yves Leterme, the UN Goodwill Ambassador.