President José Manuel Barroso will deliver a keynote speech at the opening of this major political discussion forum which brings together current and former Heads of State and Government from Europe, Africa and rest of the world; high-level representatives of governments, international organisations as well as development practitioners, NGOs, media and civil society. Organised a few days after the Africa-EU Summit in Tripoli, in parallel to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancún, the European Development Days provide a timely and focused interface for stakeholders and governments to address global challenges in an open and often informal atmosphere.
“The European Development Days are a landmark event in the European development calendar and Europe’s foremost platform for dialogue and exchange on development issues”, European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs said. “It provides a unique opportunity for development actors to debate and share ideas; it provides a channel for the public to discover music, art, and films from the developing world. This year’s edition of the European Development Days takes place at a crucial time when development policy is evolving in response to the EU’s new institutional set-up and the current global context.”
EDD 2010: Current programme
Under the leadership of President José Manuel Barroso and Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, the 2010 edition of EDD will feature 15 High Level Panels, two keynote speeches and 30 seminars on subjects as sensitive as the place of development in the institutional setup prescribed by the Lisbon Treaty, governance, reflection on the future of development cooperation, access to energy, the “Global Health Policy”, the management of natural resources, support to the private sector, the effectiveness of aid, human rights, etc. The EDD will be accompanied by numerous side-events, and launch of Prizes and reports. A highlight among these will be the award ceremony of this year’s Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize in the Town Hall of Brussels and the award ceremony of the winners of the Music Against Poverty contest.
At this point the list of confirmed participants includes – beyond EU Commission representatives: the current Presidents of Benin, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Mali, Tanzania and Malawi (which currently has the presidency of the Africa Union), the Prime Ministers of Zimbabwe and the Palestine Authority, the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, Jean Ping (President of the African Union Commission), the former President of France, Jacques Chirac, recognised academics such as Prof. Paolo Buss, Prof. Paul Collier, Dr. Armando De Negri and Dr. Rajendra Pachauri and representatives from international organisations such as Filippo Grandi (UNRWA), Dr.Ibn Chambas (Secretary General of ACP), and Cheick Sidi Diarra (United Nations High Representative for the Least Developed Countries). Representatives of the Nike and Bill & Melinda Gates foundations have also confirmed their participation.
Background:
European Development Days was launched in 2006 as a vehicle for aid effectiveness and an opportunity to strengthen the European Consensus on development cooperation. The four previous editions have featured 31 Heads of State, 44 Heads of Government or ministers and 6 Nobel Prize winners. The last edition in 2009 in Stockholm attracted a total of 6000 participants.
To attend the European Development Days, please register at http://register.eudevdays.eu/.
