ESSC 2026 Plenary Sessions
The plenary sessions at the European Social Services Conference 2026 bring together the conference’s highest-level speakers to discuss the most significant trends and future directions shaping social services. Featuring leading voices from public authorities, third-sector organisations, technology providers, practitioners, and researchers, these sessions highlight the insights and experiences that are influencing the sector across Europe and beyond. As the conference’s headline moments, the plenaries focus on the issues and innovations that will define the future of social services.
In many countries, health and social inequalities are widening, placing unprecedented pressure on social service systems and challenging their ability to ensure fairness, inclusion, and wellbeing for all. Understanding how these inequalities emerge and how policies can effectively respond is essential for building resilient, people-centred social services systems. This plenary session brings together three leading voices to explore how health and social disparities shape today’s social service landscapes.
Elsa Fornero, former Italian Minister of Labour, will examine how welfare policies can either mitigate or deepen inequality, highlighting the role of sustainable, inclusive social protection in ageing societies.
Michael Marmot, a global authority on the social determinants of health, will discuss how disparities in income, education, and living conditions translate directly into health inequities, and what evidence-based strategies can drive fairer outcomes across populations.
Karina Batthyány, former Executive Secretary of Latin American Council of Social Sciences, will offer a Latin American perspective on structural inequality, care systems, and the gendered dimensions of social policy, illustrating how social services must adapt to diverse regional realities.
Together, their insights will illuminate the policy pathways needed to build more equitable and resilient social services systems.
This plenary session focuses on how social service systems can more effectively recognise and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities, those who face multiple, intersecting barriers to inclusion, protection, and wellbeing.
Daniel Millor Vela, known for his work on participatory local governance and community empowerment, will explore innovative grassroots approaches that strengthen neighbourhood support networks, elevate citizen voice, and build solidarity with groups who are sometimes overlooked by traditional services.
Valeriu Nicolae, a prominent human rights activist and founder of community initiatives supporting children and families living in extreme poverty, will draw on his first-hand experience to highlight systemic discrimination and social exclusion faced by marginalised communities, and how pragmatic, rights-based action can create real pathways to dignity and opportunity.
Julie Beadle-Brown, a leading expert in disability and inclusive practice, will discuss evidence-based models that promote quality of life, person-centred support, and genuine participation for people with complex needs.
Together, their perspectives offer a compelling vision for more just, responsive, and humane social service systems.
This plenary session explores one of the greatest challenges facing public authorities today: how to finance social protection, which is equitable and sustainable in the face of demographic change, economic uncertainty, and rising social needs.
Julien Damon, sociologist and policy analyst, will contextualise financing debates within broader social trends, from poverty dynamics to housing and family policy, bringing a comparative lens on what makes social protection both resilient and politically viable.
Veerle Miranda, a senior OECD economist, will analyse trends in social spending, labour markets, and tax–benefit design, highlighting how countries can balance fiscal responsibility with robust social protection.
Adelina Comas-Herrera will offer insights from her internationally recognised work on long-term care financing, examining the pressures ageing populations place on care systems and the funding models that can ensure accessibility and quality.
Together, they will highlight the approaches to building stronger, fairer, and financially sustainable social services systems for the future.