European Economic and Social Committee

President Nilsson participated in the Planetworkshops’ Global Conference 2012.

The EESC president spoke in the special panel discussion session on the theme: "What articulations to co-construct a sustainable future in Africa?"

Africa is the continent of all stakes and all possible. Fight against deforestation, biodiversity preservation, access to water, to education and to health services, development of infrastructures, necessary emergence of social entrepreneurship, are several of the challenges to achieve a sustainable future in Africa. President Nilsson stressed that along with governments, private sector and civil society must be at the center of these new cooperation and development schemes.

The role of the EESC is part of the overall EU relationship with Africa. The EESC has firmly supported stronger ties between Europe and Africa and the involvement of civil society organisations. More precisely our work has focused on:

• First, creating and keeping consultative structures between European and African civil society organisations to tackle common challenges;
• Secondly, demanding the necessary legal framework and implementing measures so that civil society organisations can actually play their role;
• Thirdly, demanding capacity building programmes for civil society organisations. This is one of the main obstacles hampering the access of civil society organisations to development cooperation funding.