EUROPE-AFRICA: FUTURE ON THE TABLE!
EU-AU Summit for dummies Page 1
I MUGABE Reality theatre Page 3
Youth declaration Page 9
2 Basics Where and when? In Lisbon, on December 8th and 9th. why lisbon? Portugal currently hosts the rotating EU Presidency (Slovenia will take over this role in January). This summit has been an ambitious project for Portugal‘s presidency.
frica A U E
Was this the first EU-Africa summit? No, the second, the first summit was in 2000. Who attended this years summit? 67 leaders from the two continents.
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By Angela Steen
Who was noticeably missing from the line-up? Prime Minister of the UK, Gordon Brown, who boycotted the event owing to the decision to invite President Robert Mugabe.
Coupled with this, President Mugabe is accused of severe human rights abuses in his homeland of Zimbabwe and blamed solely for the economic demise of his nation. The EU imposed travel restrictions on him in 2002 that have been renewed every year until now. The decision by the Portuguese government to invite Mugabe was criticized by many commentators because it compromised the issue of good governance, which was one of the main discussion points of the summit.
Why did he do that? There has always been tensions between Britain and its former colony, Zimbabwe.
Is Mugabe really a bad guy? Well, yes. Though Mugabe blames the British and EU for Zimbabwe’s misfortunes.
Why did the Portuguese invite Mugabe then? The Southern African Development Community (SADC) threatened to boycott the event if Mugabe was excluded from the summit. However, critics argued that this was an empty threat. The Franco-Africa summit in Paris in 2007 did not extend an invitation to Mugabe, and no African nation boycotted the event. Is Mugabe the only controversial leader at the Summit? No, the leaders of Sudan, Eritrea, Libya, Ethiopia and Guinea-Conakry are also accused of leading corrupt regimes. Was the Zimbabwe issue raised? Yes, the issue was raised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday. Javier Solana, the EU Foreign Policy Chief added to this critique stating there was a „crisis of governance“ in Mugabe‘s country. This was severely criticized by the SADC, because it was not part of the agreed agenda. What did Mugabe have to say about it? He called the European countries who criticized him arrogant.
Is Mugabe really a bad guy?
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EU - Africa Summit 8 · 9 December 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal
Were any of the other African leaders criticized? Yes. Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates and French President, Nicolas Sarkozy targeted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. They implored him to allow the rapid deployment of a UN-led peacekeeping force to the western Darfur region. He has so far refused to allow non-Africans into a 26,000-strong U.N.-A.U. peacekeeping force planned for Darfur. Why, what is happening in Darfur? Darfur is experiencing an armed conflict comprised of the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed (a militia group) against a variety of tribal groups. The conflict started in 2003. The UN has estimated that the conflict has left as many as 450,000 dead.
EDITORIAL Thinking about the exhaustive coverage of both Europe-Africa summits (youth and heads of state) it is impossible not to think about the excellent team of young journalists coming to Portugal on purpose. 9 people, in total, came together to write, participate and cooperate to a common goal: produce two ORANGE magazines in a record time. That‘s the reason why this editorial is totally dedicated to them. As the chief editor of the project I must say it was not easy to coordinate everything, but it was possible and better… it was perfectly done! Dealing with different personalities and ways of working is not a simply task, however it is the best way to achieve great success and real plurality. It is in situations like these, with lots of stress and lack of sleep, that we realise and recognise the importance of the „human capital“: more than the tools, the will to do! I‘m sure; from 2007 on, European Youth Press will score great marks in the field of information and communication among young journalists thanks to people like you!
Rafaela Gracio
What was the other main issue of the Summit? The other contentious issue of the summit concerned trade agreements. This is mainly owing to China‘s recent interests in Africa and the fact that the current trade agreements with the EU expire at the end of the year. What are these trade agreements? The World Trade Organization ruled that the EU‘s 30-year-old preferential trade agreement with Africa was unfair to other trading nations and violated international rules. The new free trade deal, known as the European Partnership Agreements (EPA‘s) would require 78 African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) countries to gradually open their markets to European goods. In exchange they would be granted open access to European markets from January 1, 2008, with the exception of rice and sugar. Have the ACP countries signed up for this? Not really. Only 15 ACP countries have set up initial trade accords with the EU. They fear that opening up their markets to cheap European goods could damage their economies. Senegal‘s President Abdoulaye Wade and South African President Thabo Mbeki have led African oppo-
sition to these agreements. What were other main themes were discussed at the Summit? Migration, climate change, energy, the Millennium Development Goals and the impact of the emerging powers. What was the goal of the two days? To create an agreement entitled „The AfricaEU Strategic Partnership“, which was signed on Sunday the 9th of December by all 67 leaders. So was it seen as a success? Portuguese Prime-Minister, José Sócrates concluded the Summit by stating, „What is important is that we met each other face-to-face, on an equal setting, in a new spirit. I think I can say the idea that has been expressed most often is that this summit represents the turning of a page in history.“ So, what happens now? Now parliamentarians, media, NGO‘s, academic and corporate actors must roll up their sleeves and interact to ensure that the promises made here turn into a reality.
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reality theatre But the loudest crowd at the demonstration shout some surprising mantras. Their banners scream the words „Mugabe is right!“ in bold, black print. In one shocking moment it becomes obvious. These people are protesting for Mugabe. By Katharina Moser and Angela Steen
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lags are burning. Men raise their fists in angry chanting. The face of Mugabe is reflected on posters in the afternoon sun. It is the first day of the EU-Africa summit and groups of demonstrators fill the square in front of Oriente train station next to where the summit is taking place. Their presence is not a surprise. The “Mugabe issue“ has dominated debate at the event, culminating in the decision of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown not to participate. The charges against the Zimbabwe President have been well documented. He is accused of conducting a reign of terror in his homeland, subjecting his people to severe and brutal repression, and blamed for economic mismanagement and corruption. There are three different groups gathered here. On the left are the expected objectors in black with red, yellow and green flags. In the middle a few young people hold signs defending human rights. But the loudest crowd at the demonstration shout some surprising mantras. Their banners scream the words „Mugabe is right!“ in bold, black print. In one shocking moment it becomes obvious. These people are protesting for Mugabe.
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MUGABE
Their arguments don’t sound convincing “I just like Mugabe, I don’t know why there are so many people against him” shrugs a protestor. Beside him another adds starts to talk, initially using phrases employed by the anti-Mugabe lobby. “We are here for the unity of Africa and Europe. I support every man who is standing for democracy and the freedom of the people” he states. “Like Mugabe and any other African leader.” But wasn’t Mugabe the one to be accused of abusing human rights? “I don’t know much about Mugabe”, he later admits. “But Mugabe stands for his people and these are his people”. His neighbours support his statements by screaming “Africa”, blocking the remainder of his absurd comments.
„We are here to protest the right of President Mugabe to govern Zimbabwe under the mandate the people of Zimbabwe elected him on” begins a man who stands on a pedestal clutching a poster that reads „Britain, Hands of Zimbabwe!“ His arguments are well rehearsed. When challenged on the validity of the Zimbabwe presidential elections he becomes animated. „Where is the proof ?“ he asks defiantly. „George Bush is the expert when it comes to stealing elections. Not Mugabe“.
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EU - Africa Summit 8 · 9 December 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal
Their voices stream across the square to meet the softer voices of the other group. Their signs are smaller and simpler. One woman holds a red paper. It reads „Mugabe kills“.
(continued..)
A FEARFUL FATHER The group starts shouting again, louder this time. „Africa! Africa!“ Their voices stream across the square to meet the softer voices of the other group. Their signs are smaller and simpler. One woman holds a red paper. It reads „Mugabe kills“. Sten Zvorwadza, Vice President of Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe explains how 20,000 people were killed in the country at the end of the 1980’s. “This is like a father who would kill his own children. Who loves such a father?” he asks. Mugabe’s “children” currently suffer from 85% unemployment, shocking inflation and over four million of them have fled the country since the turn of the millennium. The demonstrators are calling for is the support of the West for the people of Zimbabwe.
MONEY TALKS?
Denis Benton from the Zimbabwe Vigil, a UK based group, looks across the square to the other protestors. “They are also a UK based group”, he explains. „They are organized by a man who is paid entirely by Mugabe.” The Zimbabwe Vigil has been protesting outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London for five years. “Ask them - if they are so fond of Mugabe and Zimbabwe - why don‘t they live there?” Mr. Zvorwadza reinforces his sentiment “They are not doing it out of passion. They are paid. They just need the money.” Across the square the crowd surges forward. A young girl holds a poster quietly in the background. When asked the reason why she is there she glances to her friend. He points his finger to his mouth. That’s how easy it is to keep people quiet. Making them speak up for something they don’t believe in might cost someone more. The question that remains is, why fake a propaganda demonstration when the outcome actually underlines exactly what it is supposed to hide – corruption?
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A Concrete History? „We made history“. It was a sentence repeated often in the last few days, by Heads of State, ministers, newspapers and everyone involved in the EU-Africa summit that took place in Lisbon during the weekend. However, in the end, we cannot really talk about concrete measures but of a different and new relationship with the African continent. By Helena de Carvalho
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ow is it possible that we gave up dialogue with Africa during the last seven years?“ was one of the questions that José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, made in his last statement during the summit.
If the previous summit (that happened in Cairo, in 2000) was perturbed by the conversations around the colonialism issue, this one was marked by a diplomatic ambiance that left the impression that cooperation between Africa and Europe could be done in a different way. That‘s why the meeting between the Heads of State had an agenda with subjects that are commonly important for both continents, such as human rights, trade, immigration, environment, peace and security. Europe appears to be a continent with a more intervenient role in several zones of the globe. An example of this is the efforts made by the Portuguese presidency of the Council in relation to various summits that were organized during these six months. All had concrete importance, and many of the others were seen as a historical event, as was defended by the Spanish prime-minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The only problem is that no concrete measures were announced. We know that the situations in Darfur and in Zimbabwe were discussed at the summit, but we don‘t know concretely what was agreed or if Europe will be really be able to give help to these conflict areas. The president of the European Commission and Luís Amado, Portuguese Minister for
Foreign Affairs, underlined that this was a summit for all the represented countries and not just for Zimbabwe and Sudan, but that these issues were debated in the best possible way. José Manuel Barroso, remembering a poem of a Brazilian writer, Vinicius de Moraes said that „life is done of moments of union and of separation and this summit represents a moment of union in a city of union“ This is owing to Lisbon’s past connections with some African countries and all the immigrants from the ancient colonies that live in Portugal. Now, the cooperation of the African countries with the 27 countries of the European Union is reinforced. And it includes more than just empty words. There is an action plan for the next three years and also mechanisms to implement this plan. And even if we don‘t know exactly what will happen in the future, after this meeting, an important step has been taken, we just don‘t know yet of which size. But if Africa is situated only 14 kilometres from Europe, lots of steps might have to be made until an equal relationship between these two continents is reached.
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EU - Africa Summit 8 · 9 December 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal
'No! No a Europa fortaleza!‘ Every top level international summit to be considered a real summit must have an alternative summit. This happened also for the EU-Africa Summit. They blame the ‘fortaleza Europa’, that in Portuguese means ‘fortress Europe’. That was the battle scream that you could hear in the centre of Lisbon where they demonstrated. The European agricultural and trade policies are under siege. By Marco Riciputi
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t started at the Facultade des Beles Artes. There delegates from NGOs, trade unions and the civil society of Africa and Europe had two days of conferences, namely the ‘África – Europa, que alternativas?’ alternative summit. At the end they took to the street playing drums, shouting and marching to Praça de Figueira, the very heart of the city.
Multilinguism affects everyone. Especially, if you are not in the best high tech building of the town that usually host Heads of State meetings served by an army of translators . (No need to mention the tons of tiny quiches and pretty cakes!) The plenary session appointed to discuss the final statement was intense. People interacted on every single point. They got over linguistic traps and some feared they may not even ever leave that room. They were very passionate and shared this will to deal with the problems of the world with their young colleagues of the youth summit. This alternative scene mixes young and old people even if the deep political division remains about the strategies for reaching values claimed by both. How keep the contacts high after the main event? After the Youth summit a permanent Africa – European Union youth platform is supposed to be created. ‘An important thing’, said Nuno Mendes, spokesperson of the Alternative summit. ‘But the dialogue must be constructive and they are funded by the EU’, he remarked.
And he stressed the ambiguity of the EU that whilst try to create strong ties among the continents they offer legitimacy to African Heads of State who are not democratically elected and suffocate civil society. Having a conversation is not easy. Around 200 participants took to the square. A girl leads a group of people playing drums and some are preparing a DJ set in the back of a yellow van parked in the middle of the square. ‘We organize ourselves because we want to be heard’, so Moise Gomis. People hear him speaking loudly with the megaphone. He describes himself as a “citizen of the world”. He is member of Solim, an association that fight for the right of housing. Jóse Socrates, President of the European Union Council, is ready to announce a new era between Europe and Africa, marked by the ‘spirit of Lisbon’ of mutual cooperation. Gomis has no doubts. ‘Europe gives money to Africa just for a matter of
interest’, he said. ‘Europe’, argued Mendes, ‘creates dependency with its money’. ‘It depends on how the deals are applied’, said Gomis, before being brought away by a dark haired girl. The main policies accounted to generate poverty in Africa are the Agricultural European Policies and the Economic Partnership Agreements. The final declaration states that Europe ’constitutes the most direct source of threats and pressures on the peoples of Africa’. The yellow van plays reggae music. Someone is dancing. Somewhere numbers are burning, you can smell it.
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Where‘s the difference? A Youth summit and a Heads of States summit must be worlds apart I thought until I got the chance to experience both summits on the same topic within one week. Now I know that the world that divides them is maybe not as big as I thought. by Katharina Moser
All different, all equal
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s a young person who has never participated in any political event before, you imagine these things as though they were from a different world that you are only told about in newspapers and on TV. Important people who have to say important things which mysteriously happen to become true (or not). It seems abstract and far from everything you have experienced so far.
So what are the main differences? Is it just the size (which is, by the way ,definitely impressive at EU-AU summit)? The necessary security measures that have never been seen during a youth summit? The hours of waiting for press accreditation until you are finally allowed to enter the fortress where the worlds most important meet? The media centre that is so diverse that journalists start reporting about each other? Yes, these definitely are some big differences!
That was my impression at least, until I participated in my first European Youth event and I first got into contact with structured political discussions within a certain framework. But listening to these young people asking for peace and immediate change in the politics of the world seemed naïve to me at first. This was not how I imagined politics was made in the real world. Of course there must be major differences between youth politics and ‚proper‘ politicians summits.
But strangely I do have a déjà vu when it comes to other parts. Haven‘t I just heard people talking about „human rights“, „good governance“, „migration“ or „sustainable development“? Reassuringly, most of the topics are actually the same. It‘s the point of view that might be different. Politics often seems to be more about discussing problems than proposing concrete solutions. And even the methods of expression is similar. The behavior of those who make a living from being a politician starts sounding familiar having listened to the young people orating in front of an audience, no doubt imagining their faces on the future daily news. Keywords like „future“, „important“, „equal partnership between Europe and Africa“ or „progress“ have been bandied about thousands of times on both sides.
Over the last few days I had the chance to experience both - a Youth Summit and a Heads of States Summit which gave me the opportunity to compare them to each other.
And whoever thinks that older politicians would be the ones with better English pronunciation has never heard politicians talking without translators! They make mistakes as
well! But this is a good thing. It makes them more human, more palpable and more similar to young people.
Forever young So what divides us in the end? In fact the differences aren‘t so big. In fact young politically engaged people and sophisticated politicians might not only speak and behave similarly, maybe they even support the same aims as well. The only question is, how to work on them together? What more senior politicians certainly have is more experience. But experiences can not only teach you a lot, they can also frustrate. Young people in the field of politics should not pretend to be proper politicians but could instead profit from not having so much experience. Because we are the ones who can believe the cliché of creating our dreams even if they might be a bit unrealistic in the first place. We can be motivated by topics that we don‘t have to pretend to know everything about because we just discovered them. We can be creative and have ideas without worrying about economic or political aspects in the first place. We can put our whole energy into things that we actually worry about, not because they are on our agenda but because they affect us. Therefore it is not only important to see the similarities between committed young people and politicians but also not to forget about the differences. We are young, let‘s not forget about that!
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EU - Africa Summit 8 · 9 December 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal
Presenting the declaration It only took three minutes to present the 12 page outcome of an 18 month Declaration. Bettina Schwarzmayr, President of the European Youth Forum was the one to use these three minutes to present the Youth Declaration to more than 70 Heads of State on the second day of the EU-Africa summit. interview by Katharina Moser Her goal was to stress three points, as stated in the following shortened version :
What can we, as youth organizations offer? Youth organizations play a key role in reducing the gap between how decisions are made and how they are implemented. We want to contribute with a spirit of enquiry, new thinking and competence. What are the basic requirements we have? The basic requirement is more support and better cooperation with youth organizations. Youth organizations need to be partners when policies are defined, implemented, monitored and evaluated. What are we asking from the Heads of State? We are asking them to fulfill the targets that have already been set for the countries like the Millennium Development Goals and the implementation of the European Youth Pact.
ORANGE: How did it go presenting the Youth Dummit Declaration to the Heads of State? B.S.: It was actually unspectacular. But the four important men where certainly there. José Manuel Barroso (President of the European Commission), José Sócrates (Minister of the Presidency), Alpha Oumar Konaré (Chairperson of the African Union Commission) and John Kufuor (Chairperson of the African Union). But a lot of the Heads of State had already left, for instance Mugabe and Gaddafi weren’t there any longer. Sarkozy had left as well. Merkel left whilst I was speaking. ORANGE: Were there any reactions? B.S.: José Socrates was very nice and appreciated how clear I presented the points. And I was the one to hand over the Declarations from the five other summits like our youth summit, two business summits, a trade summit and a civil society summit. Afterwards we had to leave the room immediately. It was a bit frustrating that there was no more feedback. When it comes to the end it is just a big staging. That’s unsatisfying. But on the other hand we had some people from the Directorate General (DG) Development or DG Educational Culture with us during the Youth summit who already made proposals how to put our requirements into action next year, which is motivating. ORANGE: Some people during the Youth Summit understood that their Declaration would actually have an impact on the EU-AU strategy as well. Do you think this actually happened? B.S.: There were a lot of diplomatic meetings before the event where the first draft of the strategy plan was drawn up. Therefore we decided to work on the same topics as well. But where our declaration can really influence is in making these people work together with us on the implementation. There are a lot of commitments in the EU-AU Strategy that don’t really state how they are going to be put in action. I hope throughout the solid work at the Youth summit we can convince them to continue cooperation with us. This was my most important topic to underline.
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Lisbon: The most African city in Europe During the last three days Lisbon’s movement doubled. From intense traffic to overbooked hotels, thousands of policemen ruling the citizen’s common rhythm, everyone could feel that a very big event was happening in the city, and even if most of the inhabitants didn’t know how to explain much about it, the influence is transversal By Helena de Carvalho
diplomatic cars with two drivers each. The list goes on. Some delegations were comprised of hundreds of people. For example, the Libyan delegation was made up of 200 participants. If we compare this summit with the last to occur in Lisbon in October, this is three times bigger. But it‘s not all about numbers. Police cars constantly stop drivers on the streets because they are in the way of one of the overbooked 5-star hotels.
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One of the main tourist areas, the Parque das Nações (where the World Exposition of 1998 happened) is full of police vans halting the normal Lisbonite from walking through the zone.
Besides the Christmas movement around the shop streets, for the Portuguese people the month of December is normally calm. But this weekend they have seen the city undergo a complete transformation.
[rummor has it] Camels even invaded a beach near Lisbon‘s coast because an African leader wanted to feel “at home” during his three day visit to Europe.
The most African city in Europe“. That is how the Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates described Lisbon during the EU-Africa summit.
More than one hundred delegations of invited nations and institutions, 5000 people involved either directly or indirectly, 3000 policemen, 76
All eyes are centred on Lisbon, this calm city on “Europe’s tail”,that has accommodated 67 Heads of Stat over the weekend. This was much more than was primarily envisaged when
the Portuguese presidency decided that the EU-Africa summit would be one of their priorities. The initial provision was to invite 15 to 20 leaders from Europe and Africa. Expectations are more than many, but there is a single certitude. This summit is about creating a new and transversal strategy between Africa and Europe. The key points of the meeting are human rights, trade, immigration, environment, peace and security. Five different fields of action that cover all the delicate areas that, in the end, have to work together on both continents. They are the “5 senses of one fragile body that have to be cured” simultaneously to be healthy again (Crado). And in the end that is what everybody wants - a healthy relationship between Africa and Europe.
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EU - Africa Summit 8 · 9 December 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal
European Youth Press NETWORK OF YOUNG JOURNALISTS The European Youth Press is an umbrella association of young journalists in Europe. It involves more than 48 000 young journalists less than 30 years of age. Up to now the young association consists of thirteen national youth media associations. The objectives of the European Youth Press are the strong cooperation among national youth media structures in Europe and their support. The overall aim is to strengthen the role of youth media and the freedom of press in Europe. The association sees itself as a service for the national structures and will foster projects of the different partners and projects that are organised by young media makers in Europe. The association provides contact forums and educational seminars for multipliers of the member associations and forces internal and external communication among all partners. With concrete projects, e.g. the international event magazine „Orange“ with print magazines or Blogs, PodCasts and V-Casts, the association wants to give young media makers from all over Europe the opportunity to cooperate directly
ORANGE TEAM AT WORK
with each other. Above all, the aim of all member associations and the umbrella structure is to inspire young people to deal with media and take an active part in society by fostering objective and independent journalism. Orange EVENT MAGAZINE Orange is a Europe based event and theme magazine made by young journalists. This creates learning by doing experiences for the young journalists and also a magazine with a young and innovative view for the reader. The fact that the journalists come from different countries with different backgrounds of course makes this magazine very unique. Oranges have been created on a European basis since 2004 on several different topics and events such as political topics, religion and different festivals. The aim of the magazine is to let young journalists from all over Europe meet, work together and create multi-faced magazines with new and interesting contents. Creating it means having an exciting time in a quite unusual environment. Reading it means getting facts and opinions directly from young and innovative journalists. All in all, our Orange is always fresh and juicy.
AFRICA-EUROPE ??? SUMMIT Seven years after the first meeting of heads of state and government from the European Union and Africa, in Cairo, the II EU-Africa Summit will be held in Lisbon on 8 and 9 December, where representatives from the 80 countries that comprise this partnership, as well as heads of the regional institutions from both continents will be present. The Summit seeks to take into account the deep changes that affect Africa, Europe and the world during this period, by launching the basis for a long-term strategic partnership, and supplying the necessary tools for a joint work on the big global issues. Besides the approval of the two documents that shape the new EU-Africa partnership - the Joint Strategy and the Action Plan - , it is hoped that during the Summit there will be an open discussion of the five central themes of this mutual relationship: peace and security; democracy and human rights; trade, infrastructures and development; migrations and energy and climate change.
IMPRINT This Orange was made by a team of international young journalists from Austria, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania and Portugal at the Africa-Europe Youth Summit 2007 in Lisbon. All articles do not necessarily represent the opinions of the magazine. Editorial staff: Orange Magazine European Youth Press, rue de la Tourelle 23 BE-1040 Brussels, Belgium Editor in chief : Rafaela Gracio, r.gracio@youthpress.org AD: Vilius Puidokas, v.puidokas@youthpress.org Editorial Staff: Helena de Carvalho, Elisabete Farinha, Rafaela Gracio, Katharina Moser, Marco Riciputi, Angela Steen Proofreading: Angela Steen Photos by: Elisabete Farinha, eli.farinha@gmx.de; Angela Steen and eu2007.pt Also have a look at: www.orangelog.eu