Ecdn European Consumer Debt Network

The European Consumer Debt Network (ECDN) was founded in 2007 as an European civil society network by the following organisations: -ASB Schuldnerberatungen GmbH, Austria -GP Forschungsgruppe, Germany -Guarantee Foundation, Finland -L’Observatoire du Crédit et de l’Endettement (OCE), Belgium -National Institute for Budget Information (NIBUD), The Netherlands -Schuldnerfachberatungszentrum Mainz (SFZ-Mainz), Germany -SOS-Consumer Defence Association, Czech Republic -Society for Promotion of Financial Education (SKEF), Poland The establishment of ECDN was financially supported by the European Commission (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities). ECDN brings together a broad range of actors in the fight against and prevention of over-indebtedness and promoting financial inclusion, who are active in: -debt advice/debt regulation -financial literacy programmes and projects -development and provision of adequate financial services for excluded people -and research on over-indebtedness and financial inxclusion The network provides different platforms for information exchange and effective interaction on legal, economic and social matters in the field of consumer debt and of financial resilience. Networking for financial inclusion: -Raising public awareness -Expanding debt and money advice services -Improving debt settlement regulations -Strengthening financial capabilities -Guaranteeing access to financial services -Initiating research -Lobbying for integrated policies -Tackling over-indebtedness -Fighting financial exclusion Promoting financial inclusion and well-being: -Informing and influencing policies on national and European level -Playing an active monitoring role -Raising public awareness -Increasing the dialogue between all actors and all levels of politics -Encouraging development and implementation of various activities for promoting financial inclusion