Fundación Secretariado Gitano

Fundación Secretariado Gitano participates in the 3rd edition of the European Forum on Employment and Social Rights [editar]

• International

The 3rd edition of the EUSocialForum 2025 (European Forum on Employment and Social Rights) took place on 5-6 March in Brussels. In this edition the main theme of the Forum focused on how to improve the employability skills of a large number of workers in Europe.a

At the same time other topics such as Artificial Intelligence and skills, the new labour market and investment in people, the content of the new Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and the digital, ecological and demographic transition, as well as an analysis of the new Social Climate Fund and Ensuring that no one is left behind in the ecological transition were discussed.

Over two days, the Forum brought together numerous actors from all sectors to discuss possible solutions to one of Europe's biggest challenges: ensuring that people have the right skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow to build a competitive and social Europe. In this respect, the Forum laid the foundations for effective action on skills, employment, competitiveness and social policies. As in previous editions, the main objective was to explore innovative solutions that help to align skills development with economic and social needs and ensure that Europe's progress is based on equity and solidarity.

From the Fundación Secretariado Gitano we had the opportunity to participate in one of the sessions of the Forum: ‘Bridging the skills gap: success stories of ESF and social innovation programmes’ where we presented the experience of EmpleandoDigital and EmpleandoDigital+. This innovation programme responds to one of the priorities of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano to promote the digital literacy of all participants and improve the digital training of people actively seeking employment, designing programmes focused on reducing the digital divide to ensure that our participants have access to knowledge, citizenship and jobs of the future.

In our intervention we had the opportunity to explain our programme, its objectives and its impact results during these years, thanks to funding from the European Social Fund. We were also able to present our more global experience in the use of ESF+ to promote equal opportunities for the Roma population in accessing the labour market by incorporating digital skills. The exchange of impressions with the audience was really positive, raising great admiration as our work to bring digitalisation closer to Roma people in vulnerable situations is a challenge that we can face with hard work, perseverance and an inclusive and egalitarian approach.

This session discussed in general the transformative role of EU funds (in particular ESF) in promoting skills upgrading across Member States and boosting human capital and social innovation. The session analysed evaluations showing how these initiatives not only improved workers' skills, but also foster quality and employment opportunities, innovation and adaptability. By shaping skills development, these programmes ultimately contribute to social inclusion and economic resilience in the EU.