Newsletter – n°22 – July 2013
News from partners
Second national meeting “Twinnings and Partnerships” – “Making sense of the European project, fighting the rise of populism”Organised in collaboration with the City of Montpellier and the Languedoc-Rousillon region, the second national meeting on “Twinning and partnerships”, was held in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty and the European year of citizens.
As such a workshop was devoted to the theme development and international solidarity education so as to highlight what can local and regional governments gain from better engaging their citizens with their development cooperation policies.
There is no consensus among European actors on the exact meaning of “development education” but some common features can be identified in the various definitions. The ultimate objective is mindset and behavior changes and development of a global and respectful citizenship. Actions undertaken include awareness raising, information and critical thinking development on global challenges.
While several speakers underlined the crucial role of local and regional governments in encouraging synergies among the numerous actors who work in this field, and the need to mainstream development education across every local public policies, in July 2012 the European Parliament discussed the opportunity of making development education a European policy.
The second national meeting on “Twinnings and Partnerships” was organised by the French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (AFCCRE), in Montpellier, and gathered about two hundred participants, elected representatives, local civil servants civil society organisations.
A press release can be found on the AFCCRE website. The report of the event will be published in the coming months.
