On April 18, 2019, Nizhnevartovsk State University held Panel Session 5 “Social Europe and the European Union social policy” within the Final International Research and Practical Conference “Intercultural Dialogue and Collaboration of the European Union and Russia: Implementation of Jean Monnet Projects at Nizhnevartovsk State University”.
At the Session, much attention was paid to the results of the Jean Monnet Module “The European Union Social Policy”. The participants discussed key issues of social policy organization in the European Union, possibilities of using the EU experience of social security, social insurance and social protection in Russia.
The program of the Session included 7 reports made by professors Nizhnevartovsk State University (Russia), University of Barcelona (Spain), University College of Southern Denmark (Denmark) and 8 student reports.
The Session Chairman Mark Ruiz-Zorrilla (Spain), Professor of the Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Barcelona, made a report on “Social Policy of Catalonia in the field of education”. The report was focused on the state regulation of the secondary and higher education policy in Catalonia and its major features.
The Session was moderated by Lala Yakubova, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department for Documentation and General History (Nizhnevartovsk State University). Lala Yakubova acted as the coordinator of Jean Monnet project “European Union Social Policy” and presented the report on “The European Union’s social policy: state, problems and prospects”. In her review, Lala Yakubova discussed 4 issues of the EU social policy: labor and employment policy, health policy, education policy, and migration policy. These policies are part of supranational competence. The EU countries have a long and quite successful historical experience in the development and implementation of social policy. Many scholars have paid attention to its stage, goals and main content, regulatory framework, social welfare indicators, social insurance, and the economic basis of social policy.
At the Session, several reports were devoted to the historical aspects of the welfare state and social policy development in Europe.
Alyona Savelieva, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Assistant Professor at the Department for Documentation and General History (Nizhnevartovsk State University), made a report on the “Theoretical and methodological foundations for the emergence and development of EU welfare state”. She concluded that the idea of a social state appeared in the period of antiquity, when the model of an ideal state was developed, although it was shaped much later, namely in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Since then, the concept of the welfare state has undergone a number of changes and clarifications, including those influenced by modern globalization.
The report made by Lyudmila Bespalova, Senior Lecturer of the Department for Documentation and General History (Nizhnevartovsk State University), was devoted to “Social aid and social security in Europe: a historical background”. In the 19th century, social protection of the European population had two major development growth areas: predominant insurance mechanisms and direct budget financing. Depending on the development path, today there are two models of social protection: the conservative Bismarck model and the liberal Beverides model. The Bismarck insurance model is based on market principles for implementing social policy. The Beveridge model, named after Lord Beveridge (Great Britain), aims to ensure a minimum guaranteed income.
The report by Trine Etzerodt, Head of the Social Education Program at the University College of South Denmark (Denmark), aroused great interest of the audience. The report was devoted to the topic of social work in Denmark and training of specialists in social education at the University College of South Denmark. In her practice-oriented report, Trine Etzerodt spoke on the way the training in Social Education is organized, discussed the curriculum content, types of practical student activities, and specifics of future employment.
Members of NVSU made two reports based on practical experience and internships in European partner universities. Anna Belkova, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Assistant Professor at the Department for Philology and Mass Communications, had visited the University of Barcelona and given classes on the Russian language and Russian culture. At the Session, she presented a report on “Cultural and social integration of migrants in the European Union: role of language” and pointed out that language difficulties and language perception are the first things that migrants face in a new country. She concluded that language is a most significant issue to migrant integration.
Another report was made by Elena Bauer, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department for Pedagogy and Pedagogical and Social Education, shared her impressions of the internship visit to the University College of South Denmark. She reported on “Family as the centre stage for the government and society of Denmark” and paid attention to social policy in the country.
The second part of the Panel Session included reports made by NVSU graduate, master and bachelor students of the Faculty of Humanities, who reported on their research projects. Student projects were devoted to a wide variety of issues, including migration crisis and the EU migration policy (A. Soikin, A. Ostrovskaya, A. Fomina), the EU social policy models and regional social integration issues (S. Zudov, L. Guzik), the EU educational policy (M. Parapanova), EU welfare state (I. Palavinskaya), the European Parliament and its role in regulating the EU social policy (M. Nikitina).
In summary, Panel Session 5 “Social Europe and the European Union social policy” was a fruitful scientific discussion on issues relevant to the European Union.
Resolution of the panel session "Social Europe and the European Union social police"
