First edition of the European Development Days kicks off: focus on Africa

The European Union is the world's largest donor of development aid and assistance. But being the biggest is not enough. Efficient aid and appropriate assistance, driven by a genuine commitment of citizens that goes beyond mere 'charity' is far more important. The first edition of the European Development Days (EUDEVDAYS) is exactly aimed at getting the dialogue going on how to achieve a deeper form of cooperation with the global South.

In order to make European citizens feel more committed to engage in a stronger partnership with developing countries and in particular Africa, the EUDEVDAYS organises a series of events aimed at a large public: a youth development prize, an African arts and film festival, and a series of lectures on crucial development topics. Development cooperation is a perfect lever to make young generations of Europeans outward-looking, global citizens aware of the many problems facing people in the South. It also broadens their perspective and allows them to think about global problems in a structural, historical and contextual way.

It is also pivotal for Europe to deliver more, better and faster aid in view of the implementation of the UN's Millennium Development Goals. Bringing all European professionals involved in development together will help to further improve ideas, working methods and delivery. The focus of the EUDEVDAYS is on Africa, the continent that remains trapped in poverty and distress. But the EU is stressing more and more that Africa is also the continent of genuine creativity and potential - perhaps more than any other continent.

Governance key
Poverty reduction requires more than aid money: Africa needs to pursue the strengthening of its governance systems. The Governance Forum (starting today) builds on the European Consensus on Development, through which the Commission, the EU Member States and the European Parliament reaffirmed good governance, democracy and respect for human rights as key pillars of EU development cooperation and a cornerstone of the EU Strategy for Africa.
With this in mind, a series of expert roundtables on governance will be held on topics as diverse as 'State Rehabilitation', 'Improving Governance in the Management of Natural Ressources', 'Environment rights as human rights: A long-term basis to alleviate poverty', 'Consolidation of Social Rights Turning declarations of intent into effective rights', 'Shifting Donor Paradigms' and the 'Role of the Media in Promoting Governance'. Strengthening the 'Voice of Civil Society' and 'Migration and Governance, Moving beyond the security approach' are important roundtable topics as well.

EU-Africa Business Forum
The taboo of the 1990s which held that businesses should stay out of formal development approaches is no longer valid, on the contrary. This is why the EUDEVDAYS organises an important EU-Africa Business Forum, aimed at strengthening private sector development and at encouraging European investors to consider opportunities in Africa (amongst them the bioenergy opportunity):
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: development :: governance :: Millenium Development Goals :: private sector development :: EU :: Africa ::


The added value of an EU-Africa Business Forum is to give businesses the opportunity to help to shape policies.This forum should be attractive and unique because:

* Of the strong commitment of the EU at the highest level to listen to the private sector and to take into account private sector views and agenda while devising and implementing its own strategies in Africa. It will give the opportunity to influence both European and African public policies in order to improve the business opportunities and the business climate in Africa.

It has the potential to lead to concrete actions on the ground and be instrumental in the increase of much needed investment and private sector growth in Africa.

Objectives of the Forum:

*Influence improvements in the business and investment climate through enhanced governance, capacity building an4d policy coherence in order to render business and investment in Africa easier and more attractive.

*Giving the private sector a voice – the opportunity for dialogue between the private sector, the European Commission and the Commission of the African Union regarding Africa, including on matters concerning EU cooperation policies with the continent and thus indirectly with the African governments and regional organizations with which the Commission maintains a permanent dialogue. Furthermore, our plan is to link the Forum to the EU-Africa Troika meetings as from 2007 (see below in “Linking the Forum to a political event”). It will then be able to make its voice directly heard by other key decision makers from both the EU and Africa.

*Making Africa more attractive for the European private sector to provide a more accurate and positive image of the continent as a place for business and investment.