From the 28th-30th August 2024, the rEUsilience team participated actively across the programme of the European Social Policy Analysis (ESPAnet) Conference hosted by Tampere University in Finland.
We were pleased for our joint project co-ordinators, Mary Daly and Rense Nieuwenhuis, once again to host a research steam focusing in on resilience for social policy use. The stream was titled “Resilience as a challenge for the welfare state” and six papers were presented in two sessions, showcasing the diversity of applications of the concept of resilience within the context of social policy and the welfare state. The papers ranged across the Belgian social security system during Covid-19 (presented by Geerts Danau with joint work by Audenaert, Van Lancker, and Vinck), household strategies against economic vulnerability in Spain (presented by Lanau with joint work by Habimana Jordana and Rojas Valenzuela), psychological resilience in a context of poverty (presented and authored by Ayllón), and social citizenship in relation to poverty in old age (presented by Och with joint work by Grages). In addition, there were two reviews: one of the literature on older adult resilience (presented by Soares Mantere with joint work by Perek-Białas, Rostgaard, and Timonen), and one of various workforce innovations in long-term care (presented by Vicario with joint work by Makwana and Brookes). More information on the stream’s authors and presentations can be found here.
Taken together, the stream conveyed a number of key messages. First and foremost, there is great academic interest in the concept of resilience. The sessions were well-attended, and the discussions were very lively and quite profound. Secondly, there is a great diversity in how resilience is being conceptualised and applied in research. This brings a certain richness, but it also risks confusion when resilience is conceptualised to mean different things. The need for continued exchanges on the strengths and weaknesses of the concept was clear. And finally, from several presentations it became clear that the strategies and resources necessary to be resilient are not available to all individuals, families and households. Given this, the resources and capacities for resilience have to be conceived as a source and domain of inequality.
rEUsilience research was also presented during the conference, giving us a chance to share and develop our thinking with colleagues across the social policy research community. For example, Rense Nieuwenhuis presented our paper on “Inequalities in family resilience” and Max Thaning presented a paper stemming from the project titled “More than risks: Synthesising individualised and group-level explanations of poverty”.
Anna Kurowska participated in a plenary session on “Making it last. How to reinvent the welfare state in times of multiple crises” where she made key reflections on resilience. She remarked that “There are many ways to define resilience, but for me, when we talk about individual or family resilience, it’s more than just absorbing risks and adapting to tough situations. Whether it’s something personal, like a divorce or a family member’s illness, or something on a larger scale, like dealing with the rapid rising cost of living due to high inflation—resilience also means having the capabilities to transform your life, to come out on the other side with better living conditions and improved quality of life. And this is where the welfare state comes in. It’s absolutely crucial in helping people make these transformations. I’m reminded of a story from a focus group interview we conducted in Poland, as part of the rEUsilience project. There was a single mother who talked about how devastating it was when she suddenly found herself alone with her child. She was barely making ends meet, working multiple jobs to pay rent and struggling to balance overwork with childcare. But then, she said, everything changed when she was granted social housing. That was the turning point. She could work fewer hours, and finally, she could reconcile work and care. More importantly, she regained control over her life. She gained an opportunity to create a better future for herself and her son. You could see the light in her eyes when she talked about that transformative moment.”
We look forward to digesting these insights and to the upcoming opportunities to spread the word on what we are up to in our project.