On the 28th of May 2021, The Portuguese NGDO Platform will host the Conference “A Partnership of Equals: Africa-EU relations in an increasingly complex world”, organized within the project “Towards an open, fair and sustainable Europe in the World”. The event will bring together both officials and civil society from Africa and Europe to discuss the main issues on the table regarding the Africa-EU partnership.
The Covid-19 pandemic deepened already existing challenges and highlighted the need for structural transformations in our societies. From the impacts of climate change to the increasing of inequalities, the pandemic made it impossible to ignore that global challenges can only be met through genuine cooperation between all countries and sectors. In a key moment for Africa-EU relations and in the run up to the next AU-EU Summit, the Conference “A Partnership of Equals: Africa-EU relations in an increasingly complex world”, aims at discussing the fundamental principles that should be at the core of a genuine and meaningful partnership, focusing on its the potential to promote people-centered policies.
The event will take place online on the 28th of May from 9.30am to 4.30pm GMT+1. The session will be conducted both in Portuguese and English and simultaneous interpretation will be available for Zoom participants (to French, Portuguese and English).
Participation is free, but subject to registration. Upon registration, the day before the session you will receive in your e-mail the link through which you can attend the webinar. Register for the conference here until the 26th of May.
More information on the conference can be found in the agenda below.
Agenda (* tbc)
9:30 AM – Opening
> Ana Patrícia Fonseca, President Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD
> Francisco André, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Portugal)
9:45 AM – Keynote address – Africa-EU Partnership in an increasingly complex world
> Jutta Urpilainen, European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships
> Awad Sakine Ahmat, Permanent Representative of the African Union to the EU and ACP State
10:05 AM – Africa-EU Civil Society Survey – presentation of key findings
> Ian Mengel, VENRO
10:20 AM – Towards a genuine and meaningful Africa-EU Partnership
> Faten Aggad, Senior Advisor to the AU High Representative on AU-EU relations
> Luís Leandro da Silva, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Portugal)
> Tanya Cox, Director CONCORD Europe
> Moses Isooba, Executive Director Uganda NGO Forum
Moderated by Josianne Gauthier, Secretary General CIDSE
12:00 PM – Lunch break
2:00 PM – An equality driven Partnership that leaves no one behind
> Cristina Moniz, Vice-President Camões – Portuguese Development Agency
> Ernestina Menezes, Executive Director National Institute for the Promotion of Gender Equality of São Tomé and Príncipe
> Carine Nsoudou, Executive Director Africa-Europe Diaspora Development Platform (ADEPT)
Moderated by Luísa Fondello, Caritas Europa
2:45 PM – A fair, inclusive, and sustainable economic Partnership
> Domenico Rosa, Head of Unit for “Strategic Partnerships with Africa and with the ACP” in the DG INTPA
> Paul Okumu, Head of Secretariat Africa Platform
Moderated by Jean Saldanha, Director Eurodad
3:30 PM – Human Rights at the core of a democratic partnership
> Marisa Matias, Member of the European Parliament (GUE/NGL)
> Salah S. Hammad, Head of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Secretariat at the African Union
> Simão Tila, JOINT Mozambique
Moderated by David Kode, CIVICUS
4:15 PM – Closing