The director of European Social Fund Agency Povilas Česonis attented the conference in Malta

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the European Social Fund (ESF), the Maltese Presidency on 23 – 24 March, 2017 hosted and organised a conference “European Social Fund: Past, Present and Future Conferenc” in Malta, Gozo.

The objective of the conference was to bring together ESF stakeholders, social partners policy makers and practitioners to exchange views on the results, the role and the value added of the ESF, as well as on how to make the fund more effective and efficient post 2020. Starting from the lessons learnt and the current experience, the main topics of the conference explored: the role of the ESF in the economic governance process; simplification for beneficiaries and ESF authorities/stakeholders; partnership and collaboration; as well as measuring and delivering results. In addition, the conference was dedicated to the role of the ESF investment in ehancing human capital development, with a special focus on skills.