International development under debate in the EDDs forum

The European Development Days, organized by the European Commission, have been bringing the main players in European cooperation together every year since 2006, and aim to be a hub for ideas and experiences that promote new alliances and solutions to major international challenges. The theme of this year’s EDD is: “Addressing inequalities: building a world that leaves no one behind “.

Many topics on global development were discussed during the two-day event, based on three major themes: the importance of inequalities in sustainable development; the structural causes of inequalities; and working together as the most effective policy to address the differences. The event featured conferences with prestigious speakers and the involved heads of state, commissioners, MEPs, specialists, and activists. The event also included information stands (global village), a young leaders programme to give a voice to representatives of young people on a number of panels, and photographic exhibitions.

FIIAPP was one of the partner organisations for the event and played an active role in the conferences, with the presence of its director and a large group of technical specialists. They contributed to the global debate on aid and development by examining some of the main programmes financed by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP, such as: EUROsociAL +, EUROCLIMA +, SOCIEUX +, EVALUATE, Bridging the Gap and Qudra.

EUROsociAL+ is a programme for social cohesion in Latin America. It was deeply involved in the EDDs, participating in a session on “inequalities in the labour market, challenges of the European Union and Latin America” and in the “Development in Transition” topic, which featured senior top representatives from Colombia, Chile, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic, alongside the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance (AECID), the European Economic and Social Committee and a representative of a youth organisation in Peru. FIIAPP had astand in the global village, which hosted activities with young leaders and panellists from the debates, and bilateral meetings with other regional programmes in Latin America. The success of this programme made it one of the two projects chosen as a joint implementation model by the Practitioners’ Network stand.

EUROCLIMA+, a regional programme dealing with climate change in Latin America also had astand in the global village and participated alongside EUROsociAL+ in the high-level panel “The role of international cooperation: enabling new responses for inclusive growth“, which discussed the complex, innovative approach to international cooperation through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

SOCIEUX+, a European Union initiative for social protection, work and employment, presented a debate on “Universal social protection: from poverty to inequality”, which featured panellists from the International Labour Organization, the LIS research centre in Luxembourg, and the Belgian International Social Protection Agency, along with the director of Bogotá’s Institute for the Social Economy, the director of Population Planning and Social Protection (BAPPENAS). The debate was chaired by Alexander Pick of the OECD in Paris.

Bridging the gap, a project for socio-economic inclusion, equality and non-discrimination, participated in the special event “Inequality of opportunity”. It also made a significant contribution to improving the accessibility of the event, with its participation in the guide used to organise the Inclusive and accessible communication event, and fostering the improvement of online accessibility.

Qudra, a resilience programme for refugees, and EVALÚA, a triangular cooperation project for the evaluation of public policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, also had stands in the global village.