A strong start to the forum in Lima

The First Annual Forum of the Programme was inaugurated with the presence of Hans Allden, Head of the EU Delegation in Peru, Marcelo Cortês Neri, Brazilian Minister for Strategic Affairs, Fernando Samanez, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Javier Quintana, Director of FIIAPP, and over 150 representatives from organisations and institutions in Europe and Latin America.
The presentations began strong. Allden commented that 10 years ago the EUROsociAL programme began in Mexico and these forums for debate did not exist. “Today, when the world is changing rapidly, political systems cannot change at the same speed. It is time to learn from the mistakes made in Europe so they are not repeated”, concluded the Chief Ambassador of the EU Delegation in Peru.
Javier Quintana, as representative of the consortium which comprises the Programme, highlighted the opportunity to “ask ourselves whether we are responding to the objectives of social cohesion”.
In the debate about the future agenda of social cohesion in the region and the challenges remaining in order to reduce inequality, Julio Cotler, Lead Researcher of the Peruvian Studies Institute, asked for policies to be created in all areas – sport, culture and art – to create a consensus. “Without a consensus, there can be no social cohesion. The political parties are discredited and bankrupt, and they appear to be more electoral franchises”, concluded Cotler.
The aim of the Forum is to share experiences and analyse the coherence and coordination of EUROsociAL‘s intervention in our countries, formulate the lessons learnt and rethink the orientation of the initiativesin the light of the key themes on the Latin American agenda, which include citizen security, education and decentralisation.