Poverty and poverty reduction

The first international week of the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt was dealing with Poverty and Poverty Reduction Strategies. Around 75 students and 10 lecturers participated at this international seminar, which was organized and held by the faculty of Social Sciences. Respectively five students from the University Jamia Millia Islamia in India, the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, the University Ivan Franko in Sambir, Ukraine, the University Lvivska Polytechnika in Lviv, also in the Ukraine, and the Temple University in Philadelphia in the USA and 20 students from the University of Applied Sciences in Erfurt were discussing and sharing different aspects of poverty. The aim of the week was to comprehend poverty and poverty reduction strategies as on the one hand a global phenomenon and on the other hand a regional and context dependent problem, each implying specific challenges. These aspects could be compared and analyzed in several workshops and while visiting different institutions and organizations in Erfurt. To deepen certain aspects and as an input for further discussions, the lecturers of the participating universities as well as invited lecturers were sharing the situation in their respective country in seminars and lectures. The present work collected and deepened these contributions to deliver an insight in regional and national differences and particularities concerning poverty and poverty reduction in each of these countries. This volume illustrates to what extent different regions and states are dealing with the problem of poverty and it reveals several guidelines for poverty reduction which might be relevant as well for Social Work strategies concerning poverty alleviation in other countries.