In English

The welfare state in political crossroads

Welcome to the annual Social policy conference in Turku 28.-29.10.2021

The development of social policy has always reflected underlying political tensions. Historically, one could say that the Finnish welfare state is a compromise between different political and economic interests. With our theme The welfare state in political crossroads we wish to focus not only on the history of how social policy has developed but also on the increasing political pressures on present day social policy. Political views as well as political settings are constantly changing. It has been hypothesized that the declining support for traditional leftist policies will also decrease the support for the universal welfare state. Although this has received little empirical support, the rise of the right-wing populistic rhetoric can be seen as the latest challenger of the welfare state. Has universalism found new obstacles due to the limitations in certain social policy target groups or even due to welfare chauvinism?

It is possible that divides in our society are becoming more obvious. The affluent majority is able to maximise its benefits and services, but at the same time the disadvantaged minority is falling behind in this respect, more clearly than ever before. Discussion on how social policy is practised outside the political sphere is also needed. Although most researchers and specialists support evidence-based development of social policy, there is also the risk, that their expertise is politically exploited, and not all starting points are taken into account.

With our chosen theme we also want to emphasize, that it would still be useful for social policy researchers to contemplate on certain hard facts. Nowadays social policy is seen as an obstacle to improving employment or as a system that promotes social exclusion and makes people more passive. However, traditionally social policy research has been able to put forward the positive dimensions of welfare state, such as increasing equality, well-being and social development. Hence, the role of social policy conferences as ours today in assessing these dimensions, is extremely important.

 

Social policy conference 2021 will be arranged via remote access due to COVID-19 epidemic situation.

Call for papers:

We are inviting abstracts of papers for work-group presentations in the Annual Social Policy Conference 2021. We welcome abstracts, which are related to the topics of the work-groups.

Please, submit the proposed abstract by 30th September 2021. The abstracts should be 200-250 words. We ask to send the abstracts directly to work-group coordinators.

Work groups will be arranged via remote access due to COVID-19 epidemic situation

For further information, contact

Conference secretary: Mari Anttila makyan@utu.fi

Registration for the event is open! Please register by 22.10.

Registration

Registrate here: https://konsta.utu.fi/Default.aspx?tabid=88&tap=11377   

Participation fee

Participation fee of 100 EUR includes conference material.
Participation is free of charge for the members of the Social Policy Association in Finland and undergraduate students.

Payment

The participation and the dinner fee are paid when registering for the event. The payment is made with a credit card.

Programme:

Thursday 28.10.2021

12.00–14.00                Welcome greetings & I plenary

  • Head of Social policy conference arrangement board: Heikki Ervasti
  • Rector of the Univeristy of Turku: Jukka Kola
  • Social Policy Associaton: Helena Hirvonen
  • Keynote: Bent Greve: Austerity and populism -any connection?
  • Discussion: Hanna Wass
  • Questions

14.00–14.30                Break

14.30–17:30                Working groups 1.session

18.00–                         General meeting of Social Policy Association

19.00–                         Informal evening program at Gather Town beach bar

Friday 29.10.2021

9.00–11.00                  Working groups 2. session

9.00–11.00                  Mini plenary

  • Rasmus Aro
  • Elina Sutela
  • Sami Mustikkamaa
  • Ari-Matti Näätänen

11.00–12.00                Lunch break

12.00–14.00               II plenary & ending

  • Opening words: Mia Hakovirta
  • Keynote: Jane Millar: Universal Credit.
  • Discussion: Minna Ylikännö
  • Questions
  • Award for the best master´s thesis: Mia Tammelin
  • Invitation to Social Policy Days 2022, University of Jyväskylä
  • Ending: Veli-Matti Ritakallio