EDD: THE FORUM
EDD: THE 'OFF'
About
Political Forum of EDD: Together for Development
> Summaries of the various sessions
> Read here the highlights of the declarations of high-level personalities
European Development Days is now a major event in the Development agenda. They are at the same time:
A Forum of Expression for the entire development family
EDD gathered in 2008 during three days more than 4,000 people, amon which:
- Six head of States or government
- the Peace Nobel Prize 2004
- Three European Commissioner
- NGOs like Plan International, ActionAid…
- 40 ministers
- Scholars from Asia, Europe, Africa…
- 300 local elected local officials
- Committed Artists (music, fashion…)
- International organisations (European Commission, United Nations…)
A platform for exchanges on all Development issues from the global level to the local level
Were discussed in the 4 plenary sessions, the 40 round-tables and the 50 network meetings topics such as:
- The financial crisis and its impact for the poorest
Richard Branson (Entrepreneur, Founder of Virgin) and Morgan Tsvangirai (Prime Minister of Zimbabwe) - the food crisis
- Climate change
- the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs)
- The role of medias in our democratic societies
- local authorities
- partnerships as motors for development (exchanges, twinnings…)
- global governance
- youth and education
A development village which gathered 125 organisations from the North and the South which came to present their projects, ideas and vision.
European Commission organises EDD to enhance debates and dialogue with its partners on Development. It is about confronting the European thinking to the debate on the basis of its values, its experiences and its flaws. This event is indeed participative, more than half of the agenda is organised by other development actors than the Commission.
Open, participative, contradictory, as first global donor for development, it seems natural that the European Union proposes a platform for an international debate on Development. But it is also about creating synergies of actors, exchange good practices, opportunities for meetings…
EDD are a place where all the development family can gather and confront plural ideas but with the same dream: "Together to manage development".
