Newsletter – n°33 – May 2015

Headlines

On the 19th of May, the French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (AFCCRE) gathered 120 representatives of the civil society and of local and regional governments to discuss issues related to the conservation of solidarity-based and international cooperation policies for the territories.

Such a debate appears fundamental to defend one of the first public policies to be systematically called into question and contested in times of austerity.

International territorial policies are an opportunity to support positive change in partner countries, which in turn means a better quality of life for citizens; and to strengthen social cohesion in its own territory.

Indeed, through the implementation all actors (elected officials, local administration services, public institutions, associations and private actors) driven by the same passion - international cooperation - and guided by values of sharing, are gathered around a project to serve others.

Cooperation policies are an entry point to sensitize people on global citizenship and development education - which can be summarized as raising awareness about our planet’s limitations, the world inequalities and a sense of responsibility to tackle those issues.

The survival of this policy depends on convincing citizens of the merits of international action for communities and of the mutual benefits that can be gained for territories. Therefore, during the workshops, participants were given the possibility to discuss and share arguments on how to respond to popular beliefs, such as Cooperation is only about communication and is just a political show-off or local authorities have no legitimacy getting involved in international issues, it is central governments and NGOs’ businesses.

In the light of the European Year for Development, it is crucial that this debate, which is not only relevant in the French context but also concerns many European countries, is enriched by the views of European local and regional representatives, and that the arguments confront preconceived ideas expressed in the Italian, Spanish, British, Swedish, Romanian territories, etc.

The conference, held in Orleans, was organised in collaboration with le Conseil régional du Centre-Val de Loire, le réseau régional multi-acteur Centraider, le Centre National de la Fonction Publique Territoriale  and with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD).