One of the experiences addressed at the meeting were the projects carried out by ex female convicts. "Certainly for them it is the material aspects, such as accommodation, employment and so on, that matter, but they also expressed a powerful need to recreate a network of relations, of interests, such as art, music". In his opinion, the conference conveyed two messages: "there are those who believe that Europe is not poor, instead poverty does exist; the poor do not just claim a lack of financial means but also the opportunity to be accepted as people and have a network of relations". Among Europe’s most pressing social emergencies, the problem of housing ("all over Europe, maybe more in France than anywhere else) and price rises. In Germany, for example, prices have risen from 12 to 20%, while minimum wages have remained the same.” “In Europe, 14-15% of the population live under the threshold of poverty. This means that 70/75 million people (out of a total population of about 500 million) are "close to poverty". But the real figures are certainly higher, as they do not include people who have no legal status.” “
