Date: Thursday, 1st June, 5:30-7:00 pm (CET)
Although one of the main triggers of the current crisis was the health emergency resulting from COVID-19, three years later we seem to have forgotten the consequences of underfunded and privatised public health and care services when it comes to dealing with a global pandemic. Moreover, it is not just that they are unprepared for an emergency like 2020, but that across Europe, public services are being progressively dismantled in favour of large private companies. Privatisation, rather than being reversed, is being deepened by the EU’s recovery and transition plans. An example of this is the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) Salud de Vanguardia, one of the mechanisms for channelling Next Generation Funds in Spain.
These plans consolidate Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and turn digitalisation and technological modernisation into the solution to all crises (including the care crisis). Moreover, they are not committed to guaranteeing basic rights, nor do they recognise the urgency of dignifying essential jobs for the reproduction of life; while they create new mechanisms of indebtedness that will mean more cuts in public services.
Feminisms have long warned of the need to prioritise the reproduction of life over the economy, a choice that became evident during the confinement, but which was soon left behind. In this context, we ask: what are the new forms of privatisation of health and care and what are the consequences? How do care workers experience this privatisation and what are their demands? What are the alternatives for a truly ecofeminist transition?
All these questions were addressed during a conversation between four international speakers with different profiles (plus the moderator), on a webinar attended by 71 people (of which 58 were from the EU). Simultaneous interpretation was provided in Catalan, Spanish and English. Participants could ask questions via the Q and A of the Zoom platform, which were answered during the last half an hour of the webinar.
The aim of the webinar was to make visible how the privatisation trends of essential services keep going on in Spain but also in Europe, and how a transition based on technology and digital will not reverse social and gender inequalities. At the same time, the aim of the webinar was to think about other transitions that include a global justice, social justice and gender justice perspective.
The invited panelists (which can be consulted here) came from different countries. They had different backgrounds such as civil society organisations as well as members of Unions or a care worker. This diversity of speakers generated interest and attracted a large and diverse audience highlighting increased participation of women and non-binary people.
The theme of the webinar was related to a video, part of a series of three videos titled Uncovering the Green Transition, that was launched through the social networks X and Instagram (the short version) and through YouTube (the full version) in English and with subtitles available in English, Spanish and Catalan. The video was also shown at the beginning of the webinar. The video can be watched here.
The recording of the webinar can be retrieved in the original version, English, Spanish and Catalan.
More details on the webinar and how it was evaluated by the participants through the EU Survey on Justice, Rights and Values, that was sent after the webinar, can be found in the detailed event description here. The overall assessment of the webinar by its participants reached a score of 4,8 out of 5.
