(1) pfd meeting

Â

PFD Europe Regional Meeting: Gather and Share to Leverage Development Together

Participants of Policy Forum on Development Europe Regional Meeting, 15-16 January 2018, Ghent, Belgium.

INTERNATIONAL Convention Center in Ghent, Belgium, saw the participation of more than 100 local government associations, civil society organizations, Trade Unions, Cooperatives and private sector organisations and European Institutions in Policy Forum on Development Europe Regional Meeting held on 15th and 16th January 2018. Organized by the European Commission and co-hosted by the City of Ghent (a member of the PLATFORMA coalition), PFD Europe Regional Meeting convened leaders from various regions of Europe to discuss European development policies and global development agendas. Key representatives from Asia-Pacific, Latin-America and Africa accompanied their European colleagues in the assessment of how the internal European affairs influence international cooperation.

The Forum started with session that gathers acknowledgement from participants on the challenge they faced in guaranteeing policy coherence for development.

Addressing this, the Forum provided room for sharing different perspectives; from the EU institutions, the European local and regional governments as well as various civil society organizations. Included also were discussions relating to the progress towards achieving the SDGs. In addition, the meeting invited participants to understand current trends in civic space in the achievement of the SDGs. Speakers and participants looked together into the challenges and their effects on the work environment of development actors from local government and civil society perspective. As a platform for knowledge sharing, the dialogue addressed the role of cities in realizing the global agenda, how to impart the initiatives and deepen collaboration. Topics revolved around decentralised cooperation, how to involve private sectors, and how to make sure private actors comply with international human rights, social and environmental conventions as well as questions of security, migration, peacebuilding, fragility, and resilience.

UCLG ASPAC, represented by Secretary General, Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, is a member of PFD Task Team. Our presence enriched the discussion and opened up to the network for fruitful collaboration. Together with other Regional Sections’ Secretary Generals, she visited the City Hall of Ghent and its hall, a historical site, where International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) – an origin of UCLG – was formed more than 100 years ago (1913).