Event report

„NGOs in Social Services and Care in Europe after the Covid-19 Pandemic“ On 16 October 2021 Samaritan International (SAM.I) organised a hybrid event for interested citizens within the scope of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Representatives of several SAM.I. organisations were present on site; the majority of participants made use of the participation option via the public teleconferencing room of the event or by following the event via live stream. The 20 member organisations of SAM.I are social service providers and were on the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and its social and societal consequences. As all the SAM.I members are active on a European level by cooperating and helping each other on a regular basis, they deemed it logical to participate in the Conference on the Future of Europe to discuss necessary changes so that the European Union becomes more socially just. After the president of Samaritan International, Mr. Knut Fleckenstein, former MEP, introduced the topic and welcomed the participants, Prof. Hans Lichtsteiner (University of Fribourg/CH) gave the keynote speech. Prof. Lichtsteiner covered an important topic of the social sector: volunteering. Social service providers all over Europe count on the invaluable millions of volunteers who also faced hardships and challenges during the pandemic. Before the participants could discuss their ideas, three directors of SAM.I member organisations shared their experiences dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Ms. Renata Penazzi from ASSR (Slovakia), Mr. Andris Berzins from LSA (Latvia) and Mr. Miodrag Nedeljkovic from IDC (Serbia) explained to the audience how the pandemic impacted their work in care facilities, refugee accommodations and other social services. After the podium discussion all participants, the citizens, had the chance to have their say and contribute and collect ideas in three different breakout sessions moderated from Brussels, Riga and Belgrade by experts of different SAM.I. member organisations.