Almost 100 national NGO platforms gather in Paris

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 55, October 2008

During the French presidency of the European Union, in Paris on Thursday 30 October 2008 Coordination SUD, in partnership with CONCORD, organised an international conference entitled “World Views on Europe”. Here, for the first time in history, representatives of national NGO platforms from almost 100 countries came together. The conference, which was open to the press and the public, was an opportunity – at this time of world crisis – to compare the visions of NGOs from all over the world with those of the French, EU and international institutions on four major challenges for the future of humankind: globalisation, sustainable development, building a peaceful world and human rights.

The participants took the opportunity to give Mr Joyandet, French State Secretary for Cooperation with responsibility for the French-speaking World, a road map entitled "Messages from the World to the European Union". This asks the EU for a reform of world governance that would be in the service of the most vulnerable and calls on it to review all its trade, farming, environmental and economic policies, to make them contribute to genuinely sustainable development, north and south, and to the fight against inequality.

According to Bakary Doumbia, President of FECONG (Malian NGO Platform), "European development cooperation focuses on the fight against illegal immigration, promoting the interests of European companies and fighting terrorism, instead of strengthening the policies on education, health and equality between men and women".

Mike Mathias, Chairman of CONCORD’s Policy Forum, explained that "the European model of development must be reexamined from scratch. The planet cannot bear the consumption by the economically privileged populations of the world. The current model, based on economic growth alone, does not allow for a better distribution of wealth".

Click here to see some videos made at "World Views on Europe".

"World Views on Europe" briefing

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on EU cooperation, and on Concord