European Social Fund in England

News - West Midlands embeds Lisbon

The success of initiatives by West Midlands Equal Development Partnerships (DPs) in embedding Lisbon locally is being celebrated at a showcase event in Brussels.

The event on 7 November 2007 will highlight some of the region’s achievements towards reaching the EU’s Lisbon goals on growth, jobs and social cohesion. It will also present the key policy conclusions to high-level representatives from the European Commission and to officials, policy makers and MEPs from participating Member States.

A network of eight West Midlands DPs has worked with 29 DPs across ten EU member states since 2005. The West Midlands projects have co-operated on a programme of joint product development activities. Themes have included employability, lifelong learning and workplace adaptability. Successes have included the production of DVDs and electronic toolkits as well as the presentation of research into employing people with learning difficulties to former Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Supporting the event, West Midlands MEP Liz Lynne, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee, said: "These initiatives have been a resounding success for the West Midlands and show the difference that EU-funded projects can make."