The think tank Providus along with the Friedrich Ebert foundation invites you to the conference “NDP2027: on our way to Nordic social policy?” on October 16th. The aim of the conference is to contribute to the public consultation process launched as part of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2027. Decision-makers, experts as well as the general public will evaluate key proposals of the first draft of the NDP.
The conference will take place at ‘Hotel Bergs’, Glass Hall, on Elizabetes street 83/85 from 13:00 till 17:00. Discussions will be streamed online and translation from Latvian to English will be provided.
To register for the conference, please fill in this click herepdf.
To see conference’s program, click herepdf.
The programme of the conference will consist of two discussion panels:
1) How ambitious are the targets for reducing inequality as laid out in the NDP?
The NDP draft stipulates a substantial reduction in the Gini coefficient (indicator of inequality). Taking into account the fact that Latvia is currently one of the most unequal societies in the European Union, are the intended targets too ambitious or in fact realistic? What measures should be taken to reduce inequality? Which solutions should take priority? The panellists will provide their own ideas on the best ways of tackling the issue and their proposals will subsequently be discussed together with the audience.
2) Socially responsible housing policy – how to solve the lack of affordable housing in Latvia?
At the moment, social housing constitutes only 0.4% from the total housing stock which is significantly below the EU average (8%). The NDP draft notes that it is necessary to renovate existing social housing units as well as build new ones ensuring that every household in Latvia has access to a living space. Would State-led investment be the most appropriate way of financing the construction of social housing? What could be the role of European Union Structural funds as well as the private sector? Where is social housing needed the most and what is its role in the general housing policy of the country?
For more information contact: Andris Šuvajevs, PROVIDUS policy analyst, andris.suvajevs@providus.lv; +371 20157991