Some 1,000 development practitioners, policy makers and representatives from donor and partner countries are arriving in Warsaw, Poland, for this year's European Development Days on the 15 and 16 December 2011.
Organised by the European Commission and the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the "EU Dev Days" are Europe's premier forum on international affairs and development cooperation. They provide a unique opportunity for the face-to-face exchange of information and ideas and the sharing of experiences from development projects already in place across the world.
'Development and Democracy' is the 2011 edition's main theme and focus. Last year saw the beginning of the 'Arab Spring' uprising in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Over the two-day event, a number of prominent sessions will gather the development community together with representatives from Libya, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen to take stock, analyse and review the links between political change and socio-economic progress.
The Agenda for Change – refocusing the EU's development policy to concentrate on fewer sectors and those countries most in need - as well as the EC's reform proposals for EU budget support are also billed as high profile issues at the event.
The European Commission will be represented at the event by Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs.
The Commission is also organising two high-profile sessions on:
- Human Rights and Development: Mixing the Families?"
- "Democracy in Practice: Confronting Tough Issues"
Online streaming of both sessions as well as of other high-level panels are available in the 'Live streaming' section of the EDD11 website.
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