Contributors wanted

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The Katholikentag 2018 in Munster invites you to participate: From now on you can apply via the homepage of the Katholikentag. For the cultural program we are looking for musicians and artists who are inspired by the motto "Seek Peace".

Institutions and organizations from the area of the churches can offer events on the theme of the Katholikentag and present their work on the Church Mile.

At the Katholikentag you can talk about God and the world. But proposals for forums and workshops are needed. Therefore, Christian organizations, associations and institutions are invited to apply via the Katholikentag homepage.

Orientation to the motto "Seek Peace

The content of the offer should be oriented to the motto of the Katholikentag "Seek Peace". The deadline for applications for this major event in Munster is much earlier than for previous Katholikentags: it is already on 28 April. February 2017.

For the cultural program, cultural creators from various disciplines are sought: classical singers, rock tubes, folk dance groups, slam poets, jazz bands, theater makers, cabaret artists, tango dancers, artists, jugglers – all styles are in demand.

Application deadline until June 2017

As individual performers and groups they can appear on stages in the city, at church services and in the thematic events of the Katholikentag. There are no limits to creativity, but the guiding word should also be the basis here. The deadline for applications for the cultural program is 15. June 2017.

Also until this date it is possible to apply for a stand on the Church Mile, where church groups can present themselves.

Anticipation among organizers

"We are looking forward to many people who are involved in the program of the Katholikentag in Munster, who make it a celebration of peace through their contribution," says the Secretary General of the Central Committee of German Catholics, Stefan Vesper. Participants from the host diocese of Munster are just as invited as groups from the rest of the Federal Republic of Germany.

All information and application forms are available on the website of the Katholikentag at www.catholikentag.en/participate.

Catholic workers call for improved supply chain law © dpa

Before the Bundestag debate on a supply chain law, the Catholic Workers’ Movement calls for improvements. "The supply chain law must not become a toothless tiger," warned the Federal Chairman Andreas Luttmer-Bensmann.

With the present draft, "tens of thousands of workers would have to continue to toil without rights in supplier factories". He said the draft does not take into account the entire production and supply chain and demonstrates a "caving in to business interests that do not take labor rights into account".

After a long tug-of-war between the development, labor and economic ministries, the federal cabinet passed the law on corporate due diligence in supply chains at the beginning of March. According to the draft, large German companies must follow a staged procedure to ensure that human rights are also observed by foreign suppliers.

Environmental pollution is included insofar as it affects human rights. Violations could result in fines of up to eight million euros or temporary exclusion from public contracts. The Bundestag will debate the bill in its first reading on Thursday.

KAB complains about lack of civil liability

The Catholic Workers’ Movement (KAB) criticized the gradation of due diligence obligations and quoted from the draft. Thus, the obligations are to apply in full only to the company’s own business operations and to direct suppliers. In addition, more than 4.200 German companies that operate internationally but have less than 1.000 employees are taken out of the responsibility. There was also a lack of civil liability.

The Supply Chain Act initiative, which includes 125 organizations, had already called for improvements in March. It also criticizes the graduations, the lack of civil liability rules and the scope of the law. According to the draft, starting in 2023, the approximately 600 German companies with more than 3.The new standards will apply to more than 2,000 employees worldwide and, one year later, also to the more than 2,000 employees worldwide.600 with more than 1.000 employees.

Fair opportunities for all – this is what the leaders of the EU states want to discuss at the social summit in Gothenburg starting Friday. A recent study shows: The EU has become more socially just. Nevertheless, the DGB calls for more commitment from the German government.

"We call on the German government to work to ensure that fundamental social rights finally take precedence over competition law. "We need binding European workers’ rights so that the social dimension of the single market is significantly strengthened," DGB head Reiner Hoffmann told Die Welt (Thursday) ahead of the EU social summit in Gothenburg on Friday.

As examples of binding European workers’ rights, the DGB cited the demand for equal pay for equal work in the same place and Europe-wide rules on occupational health and safety based on European directives. The social summit must provide clear guidelines on how to deal with these ies in the future.

"Strong pillar for social justice"

"The EU social summit in Gothenburg can be an important step toward overcoming the crisis of confidence in Europe," Hoffmann continued. But this will only succeed "if previously non-binding rules with weak specifications become a strong pillar for social rights".

Marianne Thyssen, the EU Commissioner for Social Affairs, emphasized the importance of the meeting in Gothenburg: "This is the first time in twenty years that European heads of state and government have met for a social summit and that they agree that social Europe is the way forward. I think this will be a strong signal to people."

"Social justice index shows positive development"

According to a recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, the EU has become more socially just in recent years. According to the "Social Justice Index 2017" published in Gutersloh on Thursday, the main driver for the improved participation opportunities is a noticeable recovery on the labor market.

Ten years after the outbreak of the economic crisis in 2008, there are now signs of a trend reversal. "The bottom has been reached, but there are still clear deficits," concluded Daniel Schraad-Tischler, an expert on the labor market and social security systems and author of the study.

Gap between northern and southern Europe

For example, according to the study, unemployment has fallen significantly across the EU, but the recovery is proceeding at two speeds. The gap between northern and southern Europe remains wide – especially with regard to the threat of poverty and social exclusion of children and young people in southern Europe. Germany belongs to the "extended top group" and economically to the top performers. However, the authors see deficits in the fight against poverty as well as in education and intergenerational justice.

The foundation has used the index to examine participation opportunities in the EU annually since 2008, based on six dimensions: Poverty prevention, labor market, education, health non-discrimination and intergenerational equity. The study is based primarily on the most recent data from the European Statistics Authority, covering the year 2016.

Scandinavia in the lead

The Scandinavian countries, as well as the Czech Republic, Slovenia and the Netherlands, rank at the top, ahead of Germany. Greece is at the bottom of the rankings behind Romania, Bulgaria and Italy. However, the data on social justice refers to the standard of living in the respective country. For example, the poverty risk is 60 percent of the median income of the corresponding EU country. So a direct comparison is not possible in all areas.

Germany has the lowest youth unemployment in the EU and ranks in the top four for the overall employment index, the general unemployment rate and the labor force participation of older workers. However, Schraad-Tischler criticizes a high proportion of long-term unemployed people. It does not succeed to melt away the base lastingly. Furthermore, despite a "humming economy," there has been no progress in the fight against the risk of poverty.

The study also sees a "mixed picture" in terms of educational opportunities. She sees intergenerational justice in an imbalance, for example, due to the pension level and the national debt at the expense of younger people.

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