The Minister of Social Affaires, Ingjerd Schous opening remarks at the Conference Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing – Expert Workshops, tirsdag 28. oktober 2003

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a pleasure for me to warmly welcome you to Norway and to all the meetings here today.

There will be six expert groups working on some of the issues of the Partnership we launched yesterday. The participants are selected among many well qualified persons to give their advise and suggest solutions to challenges that concern us all.

There will be a meeting of the Barents Ad-hoc Working Group on Health and Related Social Issues. They can today relate both to the ND Partnership and to the recently adopted Co-operation programme on Health and Related Social Issues in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region 2004 – 2007.

Also, more than seventy Norwegian project managers from the Barents and Baltic Sea co-operation are gathered for a seminar.

Together, you form much of the basis that the Northern Dimension partnership will rest upon. I am very grateful that you have chosen to attend these meetings. On behalf of the Norwegian Government it is my pleasure to welcome you to today’s work.

In the ministerial meeting yesterday The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing was established. The goals for the partnership are now agreed upon, the same applies for the composition, the roles and operation as well as the priorities and strategies for the work ahead of us. Through the political agreement that is confirmed and the framework that is adopted, we have established a common ground for that will guide us in our future actions. Now it is time to move on. This is the purpose for which you are invited and here today.

The Partnership focus on problems that exists regardless of boundaries. Problems like bad health, homelessness, communicable diseases and illicit drugs concern us all and no nations can feel sure for having solved the problems unless its neighbours have done as well. Facing universal problems, international co-operation and co-ordination is fundamental.

We have common challenges, and these should be met with the very best of our practices. Recommended models having proved to be effective, have of course, to be adapted and tailored in accordance with local and national needs and conditions, but in general the lessons to be learned from good solutions can be applied to any of our countries, regardless of boundaries. Having all the expertice present as we have here today, I feel sure that we will be presented the best available suggestions for how to take care of these problems. Our expectations are high, but I am convinced they will be materialized.

To be more concrete about the expected outcome from the expert groups, we ask for a report with recommendations for each theme related to the prioritised issues of the Partnership. The further procedure will be to present these reports for the Committee of senior Representatives at a fixed date. This committee have the privilege to decide what contributions to take into considerations from the workshops.

Having expressed the cross-national perspective of these issues, it also must be stressed the need for cross-sectorial and multi-disciplinary approaches. There is a documented link between no work, low income and poor health. Recent surveys also show a link between mental illness – in many cases combined with substance abuse problems – and low income. Those in need of help and services cannot be met by a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Measures and services must to a much larger extent become “tailor-made” in accordance with the needs of each individual. To achieve such a goal it is necessary to combine the best from the health as well as the social sector. Hand in hand or like musicians playing together in a big orchestra, the effect is much greater than separated and in isolation. We cannot let never-ending discussions about who is going to be the conductor prevent us from moving ahead. As Minister for Social Affairs this is of course a logical statement, but I also have a professional background as a nurse, I know how important is to have a cross-sectorial, multi-disciplinary perspective.

In this perspective some of our key challenges relate to removing roadblocks and creating paths for vulnerable and disadvantaged people that lead to social inclusion. In our efforts to address these challenges we need initiatives that can respond to a wide range of barriers that individuals face. In my thinking social inclusion is the process by which efforts are made to ensure that everyone, regardless of their previous experiences and circumstances, can achieve their potentials in their life. Social inclusion is achieved when individuals do not suffer from the negative effects of bad health, unemployment, poor skills, poor housing, drug abuse, family violence or crime, that are some of the major impacts and evils of social exclusion .

In this respect I feel it is important to highlight children and young people as a main target group. It is of such great importance, an obligation I dare say, to pay special attention to the living conditions of children who are especially vulnerable, e.g. orphans, street children, disabled children and others in need of special care. At the same time, and to underline my points; to help them we also have to focus on their parents and their family situation. Children are so deeply dependent on their parents, and it is therefore just as important to offer preventive health-care, especially for mothers/children, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, vaccination programmes and measures to combat lifestyle-related diseases as it is to provide cultural initiatives, e.g. setting up local youth councils and providing support for maintaining and developing public libraries. Within the framework of the Partnership, I hope special emphasis will be given to focus on the living conditions of children and youth in our regions, especially in the fields of social affairs, health and education. Some specific areas in which measures are to be implemented, may be: co-ordination of measures, exchange of competence and assistance in program development in schemes focusing on children's rights, etc.

To add this up: As I just mentioned the expectations are high in relation to the outcome of the work ahead of you. I am confident that we have chosen the right people to fullfill this job. I wish you good luck.

Thank you for attention.