About the conference The Eurodad biennial conference is a leading forum for discussion, idea-sharing and collective strategising for civil society groups advocating for reform of development finance. The Eurodad conference will bring together leading civil society thinkers from around the globe working on issues ranging from debt, tax justice, aid, private finance, the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and global monetary reform. Held at least every two years for over a decade, the conference allows Eurodad members, allies and partners to broaden understanding of key issues, identify and move forward on collective struggles, forge new alliances and meet inspiring people. Experts from academia and other leading thinkers will provide additional stimulus, and allow us to break out of our traditional habits when strategising and planning for the future. Objectives Provide space for joint strategizing and practical planning on the FfD conference and beyond, informed by external experts and colleagues from around the world. Share analysis and strategies on other important issues and opportunities for advocacy and campaigning on finance and development. Format A two and a half day conference, followed/ preceded by a General Assembly of Eurodad members. Traditionally, the opening afternoon and evening have served to broaden our minds with expert and high level speakers, before moving into further discussion and workshops on day two. Day three normally focuses on collective strategizing, and contains space for participants to organise sessions to raise new ideas or inform and engage colleagues in key campaigns in addition to FfD. Financing for development – an opportunity for change 2015 will be a landmark year for the global fight against poverty, with three crucial summits in just six months. The Third UN Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa in July will be followed in September by the UN Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda in New York; and in December by the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) on Climate Change in Paris. A central issue for all three summits is how to reform the global financing system to allow the achievement of global sustainable development goals. On this issue, the FfD conference will play a critical role. The Addis Ababa conference is a follow up to the first FfD conference convened in Monterrey in 2002. The outcome ‘Monterrey Consensus’ introduced six chapters or “leading actions” for FfD that have been in the centre of the sustainable development agenda. The second FfD conference in Doha in 2008 added a chapter on new challenges and emerging issues, addressing the impacts of the financial crisis and climate change, among others. In 2009, the UN General Assembly held a Conference on the World Economic and Financial Crisis and its Impact on Development in New York, which responded directly to the global financial crisis, setting out an important plan for tackling the systemic failings which brought the global financial system to its knees. The process towards the third FfD conference has been preceded by reports from the UN’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Finance (ICESDF), and a forthcoming UNSG Synthesis Report. The issues tackled in Monterrey, Doha and New York continue to be of central importance, and the challenge for Addis Ababa is to set out a concrete action plan, and to tackle new important issues. Before the FfD Conference in July 2015, the UN will convene following preparatory, intergovernmental meetings: – 27 to 29 January 2015: 3 days – February 2015: first draft of the outcome will be released. – March 2015: Interactive hearings with CSOs and Business sector (TBC) – 13 to 17 April 2015: 5 days. – 15 to 19 June 2015: 5 days. The Eurodad-IBIS international conference is therefore timed at a critical moment, when CSOs and allies will need to jointly strategise for the ‘big push’ needed to overcome resistance and make sure critical commitments are in the outcome document. As this is a UN process, developing countries, under the G77 umbrella, will have played a leading role in developing and pushing key issues. A central task will be to get European governments to support a progressive outcome. It will also be critically important to strategise for beyond the conference, including how it links to the post-2015 summit later in the year. A lot is at stake. By May next year we could be discussing fundamental changes to the international architecture, such as a sovereign debt workout mechanism or giving developing countries a powerful voice in international tax discussions through the creation of an intergovernmental tax committee. It will be a key opportunity to get a balanced set of proposals on private finance, a commitment to stronger aid targets, and a chance to advance the innovative public financing agenda, among many other topics. Save the date and join over a hundred leading development finance experts and activists discuss how to make this vital progress a reality! Download our position paper here. Download the full concept note here.
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