European Development Days

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2015 is the European Year for Development (EYD2015) and European Development Days (EDD15) will be its flagship event.

As declared by President Juncker at the opening of EYD2015 in Riga: 'It will be a year, in which we will see actions all over Europe, in all Member States, among civil society, local authorities and from all European institutions.
The motto of this European Year, which we owe to the European Parliament, embodies this well: 'Our world, our dignity, our future'.

Each individual and every policy have a role to play for a more sustainable and peaceful world. In 2015, we want to tell stories from around the world to show that regardless of where we come from or where we want to go, our aspirations remain the same. We strive for a stable and peaceful world, education for our children, jobs for young people and a decent life on a planet, of which we need to take a better care.

The title for EDD15 thus echoes the motto of EYD2015: 'Our world, our dignity, our future'.

Commissioner Mimica believes in the importance of collaboration between development actors: ‘Today’s challenges are universal and interrelated, and need a global response – just think of climate change, insecurity, migration, or famines. These problems are not just limited to a specific region; they are issues that affect the whole world. This obviously makes them Europe’s concern, too. The EU, as a major global player, is ready to play its part in tackling these challenges.’

The European Think Tanks group agrees. Their 2014 report explained that ‘It is no longer simply a one-way relationship of supporting developing countries – and especially not just about aid. We understand international development in this century to be about all countries and citizens tackling shared problems of sustainable development, with each partner playing its part’.

Themes and topics

This year’s programme is structured around four key aspects of the common vision for development.Each theme will be composed of three topics that form the basis of auditorium panels, which the community is invited to help organise.  

EDD15 Topics

1. Our world / Creating sustainable growth within the limits of our planet

• Halting climate change and building resilience 

• Sustainable energy for growth

• An urban world: challenges and opportunities

2. Our dignity / Developing a shared vision consistent with universal and fundamental rights

• Gender rights

• Right to health

• Inclusion and inequality

3. Our future / Each of our policies can make a difference

• Feeding the planet together

• Fair globalisation

• Migration

4. Our future / We are all actors in development

• Growth and poverty eradication

• Global citizenship

• Decent jobs