European Development Days shapes a new global development agenda with a focus on youth

Themed “A Decent Life for All by 2030 – Building a Consensus for a New Development Agenda,” the 2013 edition of the European Development Days (EDD13) took place in Brussels from the 26th to 27th November.

Organised by the European Commission, EDD is Europe’s premier forum on international affairs and development cooperation. This year, it aimed to help shape a new global development agenda. The thread was the post-2015 debate and the need to build a consensus for a strong, common European position advocating for a joint approach to address global poverty and sustainable development.

The European Youth Forum participated in two panel debates on key issues held on the 27th November. One panel was titled "Young voices for inclusive governance" and was organised by World Vision, Plan International, Save the Children, SOS Children's Villages International, UNICEF and the Youth Forum.

“Very often you need people on the streets smashing the door down, but once the door is open, you need formal structures to be able to walk through that door and negotiate with decision makers […],” said Youth Forum Vice President Lloyd Russell-Moyle during the panel discussions. “If you only have formal structures, the door is never going to be smashed down.”

The other panel, called "Productive work for youth," was set up by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and SOS Children's Villages International with the support of the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises (JADE).