European Development Days 2015 - Main contents

Forging the Future of Development Cooperation

This year's European Development Days took place on 3 and 4 June in Brussels featuring more than 400 high level speakers and more than 5000 participants. Among them, for the first time we had 14 young ''future leaders'' who had a unique opportunity to help shape the policies that will affect their future. More than 50 initiatives were showcased in the 'project village', demonstrating to the participants how working together makes the difference.

Precisely the phrase ''working together'' shows us the way in which the future of development cooperation should move. One of the key features that I would like to see developed in the future is our ability not only to debate but also to share and to solve. I have been very impressed by the concentration in the brainstorming lab and in the lessons learnt from our projects across the globe, especially those showcased in our practice village.

The issues discussed covered the entire development area: from sustainable energy, climate change and resilience to the gender rights, the right to health, food security, migration and inequality. The panels demonstrated correlation between all these issues, which in the future cannot be dealt with in isolation. This is one more reason for working together.

Overarching theme of the European Development Days was the same as for European Year of Development: ''Our world, our dignity, our future''. This motto should lead us into the future of development. Repeating word in the motto is ''our'', saying simply that we are all actors in development. Only through the mobilisation of all actors - multilateral organisations, governments, experts, researchers, civil society, business, journalists and citizens - can, and will, the world change. Title of the closing panel of European Development Days was: ''From Development Aid to International Cooperation''. In this historic year for the future of the planet, we are aware that development aid alone will not be enough. Move to effective International Cooperation is essential for the future of development. European Development Days offered not only great ideas in development cooperation but offered the ground to forge new partnerships. One such example is the Partnership between European Union and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at fighting undernutrition in the world.

European Development Days gave us a clear signal in which way we should move. Future of development lies in cooperation. It is up to us to demonstrate ability to cooperate: in July at Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa, in September in New York by defining post 2015 development agenda and agreeing on the sustainable development goals, and in December in Paris by adopting a new climate change agenda.

Finally I would like to thank all all participants for making European Development Days a highly successful event. You contributed your part to the future of development cooperation.