Brussels, 05/07/2001 (Agence Europe) -6 and 7 July in Brussels (Palais d'Egmont) was the date and venue for an international conference on civil society's involvement in implementing the June 2000 Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the 77 ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries. Organised under the Belgian Presidency of the EU in co-operation- with European and developing country NGOs and the Secretariat of the ACP group of countries, this meeting, attended by 180 participants, is designed to extend the operational role of non-governmental protagonists in the creation and implementation of Development initiatives thereby giving tangible shape to one of the Cotonou Agreement' innovative aims for the ACP-EC partnership.
The conference is to be opened by Eddy Boutmans, Belgium's State Secretary for Development Cooperation, whose country now holds the EU Presidency, Jean Robert Goulangana, Secretary General of the ACP group, Hidipo Hamutenya, Namibia's Trade and Industry Minister and the President of the ACP Council, Koos Richelle, the European Commission's Director-General for Development, a joint President of the ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and a representative of civil society in the ACP and EU countries.
This conference is being held in the wake of the ACP/EC civil society meeting (Brussels 3-5 July) organised at the instigation of the ACP General Secretariat with the backing of the European Commission. During that encounter Jean-Robert Goulangana clearly expressed the challenge that had to be met. « Several ACP states have begun a multifaceted dialogue with their civil societies, one that has often resulted in the creation of charters, or platforms offering original and effective opportunities for consultation. It has to be recognised that this dynamic process is not unfolding in all areas. Hence the Secretariat's decision to organise this conference to consider the situation and table meaningful proposals about the best ways of planning schemes for providing information and consulting with civil society, for the representation of its different components, its involvement in the implementation of projects and programmes, cooperation with the ACP civil society and with the EU civil society. »
The ACP/EU conference will take stock of the preparatory seminar and then work within theme-specific groups to pinpoint the key concerns to be reflected in an action plan.