Thursday 22 October 2009

European Development Days and the global response to the economic downturn and climate change

22-23 October 2009. Stockholm. Almost 6 000 people participate at the European Development Days, the huge annual event on development and development assistance at Stockholm International Fairs. Delegates from 125 countries are represented, including heads of state and leading world figures, Nobel prizewinners among them.

This year’s EDD, falls one month after the G-20 Leaders meeting in Pittsburgh, two weeks after the IMF-World Bank meeting in Istanbul and six weeks before the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Against this backdrop, the 2009 edition focuses on the global response to the economic downturn and climate change, as well as on the challenges of democracy and development.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberian participated in the high-level roundtables on three topics: Giving Rural Development a Voice; Women and Security; and Media and Development. She also addressed a plenary session on Democracy and Development, the overarching focus of which is Citizenship and Development. Other plenary sessions will deal with the response to the global economic downturn; and climate change: the road to Copenhagen.

CTA is organising a high-level round table on Global land acquisition on 22nd October




Video interview: Mr Stefano Manservisi has been the European Commission’s Director-General for Development since November 2004.

Mr Stefano Manservisi explains the European Development Days (EDD) which is a key European platform for discussion and exchange on global challenges in all key areas – governance, climate change, international finance, trade, food security, water, energy, the role of the media and human and social rights. This forum blend a great diversity of political leaders and parliamentarians, international institutions, local authorities, NGOs, business leaders, academics, researchers, media representatives and the young.

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