6th EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT DAYS[1]
WARSAW, COPERNICUS SCIENCE CENTRE (15-16.12.2011)
The European Development Days (EDD) are the most important European platform devoted to exchanging experiences in the area of development cooperation. Since 2006, the EDD have been organized annually[2] by the Member State holding the EU Council Presidency in the second half of the year, in cooperation with the European Commission.
EDD 2011 was the first edition to take place in Central-Eastern Europe. Over 1,000 guests from all over the world attended the event.[2] The EDD event in Warsaw was, however, much broader in scope: they were accompanied by numerous side events focusing on global education (including a photo competition and a film festival), attended by around 100,000 people.
The main topic of the EDD was "development and democracy". Much attention focused on the issue of aid effectiveness in connection with the finished Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (Busan, 29.11 - 1.12.2011). Some 100 panellists took part in the panel discussions.
Furthermore, the Warsaw University Library hosted a session open to the general public, entitled "Pacific Connection", devoted to climate change, rational use of natural resources and gender equality in the Pacific region.
Agenda of the 6th European Development Days
Thematic panels:
- Agenda for Change - season 1: Human Rights and Development: Mixing the Families
- Agenda for Change - season 2: Democracy in Practice: Confronting Tough Issues
- Aid Effectiveness and Accountability How to Share Transformation Experiences
- Can we use aid to promote democracy?
- Central Asian Awakening
- Democracy 3.0. Re-Casting Media Development in Response to a Changing Environment
- Democratic Ownership After Busan. The Role of National Parliaments and Civil Society
- How to Prevent Another Famine in the Horn of Africa: The Role of the European Union in Building Resilience
- Migration, Development and Human Rights - Towards a Changing Paradigm in EU Development Policies
- Modernising EU development Policy
- Moving Beyond Electoral Democracies: Enhancing the Capacities of Political Actors Before, During and After the Electoral Process
- Pacific Connections
- South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Competition or Complementarity for Development effectiveness?
- Spotlight on Decentralization
- Supporting Change Through Advocating More Power to Women: Gender Equality and Development
- The Power of the Private Sector in the Development Process: from Financing to Implementing Public-Private Partnerships
[1] Earlier editions: Brussels (2010), Stockholm (2009), Strasbourg (2008), Lisbon (2007), Brussels (2006)
[2] The event was attended among others by President B. Komorowski (opening ceremony); J.M. Barroso, European Commission President; Presidents: M. Saakashvili (Georgia), R. Otunbayeva (Kyrgyzstan) and M. Issoufou (Niger), former Polish President L. Wałęsa; R. Grynspan, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations; M. Essebsi, head of Provisional Government, Tunisia; M. Jalil, Chairman, National Transitional Council of Libya; former Polish Prime Minister J. K. Bielecki, EU Commissioner for Development - A. Piebalgs and Humanitarian Aid - K. Georgieva, Prof. S. Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
