EUROMOD celebrated its 20th anniversary with a special conference on September 5 and 6 at the Essex Business School at the University of Essex. The Conference marked achievements so far and looked forward to future developments, with plenary sessions, poster sessions, discussions and keynote presentations. Around 120 delegates, from 31 countries, attended the event, including Barbara Kauffman, Director of Employment and Social Governance, DG-EMPL of the European Commission.

Welcoming delegates, Professor Holly Sutherland, Director of EUROMOD, thanked the contribution of many academics, including Professor Sir Anthony Atkinson, in creating the model which has evolved and developed over 20 years and has been used as a basis for creating similar models for many other countries. Thought-provoking keynotes were delivered by Olivier Bargain (Aix-Marseille Université and Institut Universitaire de France), Herwig Immervoll (OECD, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs) and Andreas Peichl (ZEW and Universität Mannheim).

A well-received message of congratulations from Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, was relayed by a video file.