Knowledge sharing
Young Political
Leaders Rountables
EPD held 2 EU-Latin America countries Young Political
Leaders meetings (April 2009 and April 2010) during which representatives from
Youth Wings of Political Parties in Latin America met leaders from the Youth
Wings of European Political Parties in Brussels. The Round Tables were the
result of a joint effort by EPD and Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica
de Administración y Políticas Públicas (FIIAPP) from Spain.
The Round Tables focused on the role of political
parties in the processes of supranational integration and creating a space for
the exchange of experiences between Leaders from Youth Wings of European
Political Parties and Young Latin American Leaders.
The forums gathered together some 20 young political leaders from Latin America
as well as representatives from the Youth Wings of European Political Parties
(EPP, PES, European Liberal Party and European Green Party).
One of the main conclusions of the debate was that
favoring the establishment of spaces for multiparty-cross-national political
debate among political leaders is an important step in order to build stronger
ties between Europe and Latin America. Platforms of this sort offer
participants a unique opportunity for exchanging experiences and mutual
learning as well as for building dense cross-national and cross-regional
networks of individuals, based on shared values and perceptions of common
challenges
"Building
consensus about EU policies on democracy support" conference
The conference "Building consensus about EU policies
on democracy support" was held in Prague in March 2009 co-organised by EPD, DEMAS,
the Czech Foreign Ministry and the European Commission. The conference
addressed the issue of the European approach to democracy assistance.
The conference concentrated on enhancing the political
commitment to supporting democracy in third countries on the part of the EU and
its Member States. Discussions were aimed at laying the foundation for a future
European Consensus on Democracy creating an overarching framework of the EU's support
for democracy. There were exchanges of experiences and "best-practice" among
democracy experts from the non-governmental sector, academia, EU member states
and institutions.
"Strengthening
cooperation between Europe and Africa on democratic reform" conference
The conference "Strengthening cooperation between Europe and
Africa on democratic reform" was held at Val Duchesse in October 2010
co-organised by EPD, the Egmont
Institute, L'Observatoire de l'Afrique,
the Institute for Security Studies and the Belgian Presidency of the EU.
The
scope of this conference was to take stock of the current practices and
policies, review cooperation instruments in support for democratization in
Africa and assess political challenges and opportunities in a policy area of
constant flux.
The development of democracy in
African states - often prone to situations of fragility or facing difficult
post-conflict transitions - remains a considerable challenge. Since the end of
the Cold War, one of the cornerstones of the international engagement in Africa
has been the reinforcement of democracy. To that end, the European Union and
the African Union have both developed frameworks and policies in order to
support these complex democratisation processes. It brought together African and European policy
makers, analysts and stakeholders from different backgrounds with an overall
objective to feed directly into the ongoing policy debates both at the EU and
AU the level.