Policy Forum on Development (PFD)

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Development education and awareness raising (DEAR) aims to encourage people to take personal and communal actions inspired by the EU's founding principles. DEAR promotes sustainable development as a shared human responsibility through understanding, reflection and action. Development education and awareness raising are complementary approaches, pursuing connected objectives.

CSOs have an important role to play in this regard. Due to their work in partner countries, they are well placed to highlight development challenges as well as the impact of policies and behaviours in Europe on development elsewhere. Over the years, European CSOs have acquired vast experience in promoting the European public's understanding and recognition of the significance of development decisions and actions for people globally. LAs play another key role in development education as they often have specific responsibilities in this area.

As a third priority, this programme thus aims to develop citizens' awareness and critical understanding of their role and responsibility in an interdependent world. It also aims to support their active engagement with global efforts to eradicate poverty and promote justice, human rights and a sustainable social-economic development in partner countries.

In the current programme supports DEAR actions in the EU. The new Thematic Programme may open up to DEAR actions in partner countries, notably in Middle Income Countries.

3.1: To raise public awareness and mobilise the public regarding development issues on a European scale.

The programme will support to support the anchoring of development policy in European societies, raise public awareness of development issues; as well as mobilise greater public support for action against poverty and for more equitable relations between developed and developing countries.

3.2: To promote development education.

• The programme will support development education in the formal and non-formal education sector.
• The programme will seek complementarity between its actions and Member States actions, particularly in the formal education sector. Attention will be paid to ensuring that supported actions are integrated with development and education policies at both national and European levels.

3.3: To foster policy development and complementarity.

• The programme will support processes that ensure lessons learnt and best practices are identified, analysed, and then made available. It will also support capacity building per se and networking of CSOs and other DEAR stakeholders to ensure more coherence and better exchange in the field.
• Mechanisms will be supported which allow for the exchange of policies, experience and practices among DEAR stakeholders, including EU Member States. Finally, the programme will support measures which strengthen the policy role of the EU and the coherence and complementarity of the EU action in DEAR with the Member States' actions.

4. Proposed allocations for the Thematic Programme

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