300 EU stakeholders joined us to count down 6 months to go before the European Year for Development

Over 300 participants  from all over Europe joined us on 19 June, in Brussels,  as we prepare for the EYD2015, an exciting 12 months that aims to communicate  to Europeans everywhere about the goals, results and future directions of development cooperation in Europe.

​This first networking and brainstorming event gathered communication professionals from all over Europe with government representatives, international organisations, civil society, youth ambassadors, key players from the private sector and think tanks.Master of Ceremonies, Klaus Rudischhauser, was joined by notable key note speakers.

Image

The aim of the event was to facilitate exchanges and discussions around the European Year, in particular about the best ways to communicate development to European citizens, including to young people.

The programme included an opening session with

Klaus Rudischhauser, Deputy Director-General DEVCO

Stina Soewarta, Head of DEVCO Communication and Transparency Unit
Eric Schnure, former White House speech writer, on story telling
Johnson, Youth Ambassador from Uganda
Preethi Herman, Director of Change.org campaign in India
Charles Goerens, MEP

The afternoon was devoted to workshops on how to target non-traditional audiences and have a real impact with communication. They included topics such as storytelling, social media, how to engage young people and working with the private sector. 

We thank all participants for their creative and constructive input in these workshops. The communication strategy for the year, currently in its final stages of preparation, will benefit from this input. 

In the coming days we will be posting video interviews, photographs and summaries of the workshops to share with all of you the outcome and spirit of this event.

We equally encourage you to continue our fruitful discussion via this group. You are all welcome to write a blog post to share impressions of the event, any questions to the EC and to other stakeholders, as well as any further ideas on:

1. using social media effectively during EYD2015

2. story telling to show engagement and results

3. the role of the private sector during the European Year for Development

4. communicating development cooperation with and to young people

We look forward to your contributions!