eWORK 2000 - European Telework Week

New Ways to Work 2000European Teleworkii)iii)iv)ICTs for job opportunities, e.g. call centres, teleworkingICTs in the delivery of services like health, education, public administration, etc.ICTs and networking, when used as a internal or external communication tool.2.3.2 The EQUAL InitiativeThe two main community initiatives of the ESF which dealt (amongst other things) with telework issuesADAPT and EMPLOYMENT are now nearing completion to be replaced in 2000 by a new Communityinitiative called EQUAL. The European Union contribution to EQUAL will be provided through the EuropeanSocial Fund to the tune of € 2847 million over the 2000 – 2006 period. These contributions will need to bematched by national funding.The initiatives ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT (Horizon, Integra, Now and Youthstart) have resulted in a largeresource of 'hands on' experience and expertise. Potential EQUAL partners wishing to draw on these resourceswhen developing their own proposals will be directed to a new web-site 14 which covers the transitional period(2000 and 2001) during which the ADAPT and Employment initiatives ramps down and EQUAL ramps up.The European Commission , in consultation with the European Parliament, Member States, and the socialpartners has set nine themes for the first call for EQUAL proposals. Eight are linked directly to the EuropeanEmployment Strategy. The ninth covers the specific needs of asylum seekers. Overall, the aim of the thematicapproach is to explore new ways of tackling the problems common to different types of discrimination andinequality, rather than focusing on a specific target group.Each Member State will choose the themes within which it wishes to explore and test new ideas in cooperationwith other Member States. National calls for proposals will set out the themes under which potentialDevelopment Partnerships can apply for EQUAL funding. The specific issue of telework is likely to be linkedto priorities 3, 6 and 7 which correspond to entrepreneurship, adaptability and equal opportunities measuresof the European Employment Strategy previously discussed.The nine thematic priorities in EQUALEmployability1 Facilitating access and return to the labour market for those who have difficulty in being integratedor re-integrated into a labour market which must be open to all2 Combating racism and xenophobia in relation to the labour marketEntrepreneurship3 Opening up the business creation process to all by providing the tools required for setting up inbusiness and for the identification and exploitation of new possibilities for creating employment inurban and rural areas4 Strengthening the social economy (the third sector), in particular the services of interest to thecommunity, with a focus on improving the quality of jobsAdaptability5 Promoting lifelong learning and inclusive work practices which encourage the recruitment andretention of those suffering discrimination and inequality in connection with the labour market6 Supporting the adaptability of firms and employees to structural economic change and the use ofinformation technology and other new technologies14 http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/equal/index_en.htm- 18 -