PROGRAMME Working languages: EN, FR, PT

Thursday 21/11

From 8.00 a.m. Registration

8.30 – 9.00 a.m. Opening session

Moderator –  Jarosław Mulewicz, EESC Member, President of the ACP-EU Follow-up Committee

  • Introductory remarks –  Vincent Degert, EU Ambassador in Mauritius, Head EU Delegation to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles
  • Welcome address – Jarosław Mulewicz, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) External Relations Section, on behalf of EESC President Luca Jahier

Group photo of all participants

9.00 - 1.00 p.m. Session I : Infrastructures, as a factor of progress

Moderator – Gunsham Seeborum, President of the Falcon citizen league. Mauritius.

  • Mainstreaming gender equality and women empowerment to improve infrastructure development impact,  Fiona Gandiwa Magaya, Head of Education, Women and Gender department, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
  • Supporting the professionalisation of young people and companies in the transport-logistics-port sector of Djibouti, Mohamed Ali Hassan, deputy secretary general and director of the Transform project, Djibouti Chamber of commerce

 12.15 - 12.30 p.m. Coffee break

  • Sustainable energy and water technologies through cooperatives,  Nekemte Melaku, Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia
  • Agrivoltaism in Madagascar, an emerging system, Institut pour la maîtrise de l'énergie (IME), Madagascar, Professor Rakotomahevitra Andrianelison
  • The importance of building consumer trust in B2C e-commerce, Xaverine Ndikumagenge, Regional Networker for Africa Hub, Consumers international

Debate with contributions from participants

1.00 - 2.30 p.m. Lunch, offered by the EESC

2.30 - 6.00 Session II : A greater role in trade relations and regional integration for civil society

Moderator – EESC Member Ozlem Yildrim

Panel 1: the specificities of the EU ESA trade relations
  • Women and Trade in the context of regional integration,Francis Mangeni, Director of Trade, Customs, and Monetary Affairs of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Recorded presentation
  • Update and insights from the negotiations to deepen the EU-ESA Economic Partnership Agreement, Ewa Synowiec, director responsible for sustainable development, European Partnership Agreements, Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission
  • Renegotiation of the EU-ESA partnership agreement: the challenges for the ESA region, his Excellency Ali Said Mdahoma, Ambassador of Comoros to the EU

Coffee break

Debate on the contribution of civil society as a valuable partner to contribute to the assessment and monitoring of trade relations
  • Facilitator, Kevin Ramkaloan, Business Mauritius
  • Presentation of the upcoming Sustainability Impact Assessment accompanying the EU-ESA negotiations, by Lisa Eifert, trade affairs officer, Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission

Debate with contributions from participants

6.00 - 7.30 p.m.  Meeting of the ACP-EU Follow-up Committee

Friday 22/11

8.30 - 12.00 a.m. Session III: Towards Blue economy? 

Moderator – Jacqueline Mugo, Chief Executive Officer, Federation of Kenya Employers

  • The impact of climate change in the Indian Ocean Region and Natural Heritage, Batouli Said Abdallah, member of the IPPC's task force on National Greenhouse inventory
  • Resilience of the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, Raj Mohabeer, officer in charge for economic and infrastructure development, regional integration and maritime security, Commission of Indian Ocean
  • The challenges of the artisanal fisherman in the islands of the Indian Ocean, Darrel Green, Fédération des pêcheurs artisans de l’Océan indien (FPAOI)

Coffee break

  • The contribution to sustainable fishing methods in the island of Rodrigues,  Georges-Eric Jolicoeur, vice-president of the Rodrigues Council of Social Services (RCSS)
  • Project of a wave power station, Oomarsing Gooroochurn and Murughen Sadien, Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI)
  • EESC member Simo Tiainen, presentation of the EESC Exploratory opinion requested by the Finnish Presidency NAT/770 Blue Bio-economy (tbc)

Debate with contributions from participants

12.00 - 12.30 p.m. Presentation and Adoption of Final Declaration & closing remarks by Jarosław Mulewicz, president of the ACP-EU Follow-up Committee

12.30 - 2.00 p.m. Cocktail offered by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles and Lunch offered by the EESC

2.00 - 6.00 p.m. Field visits

  • Albion Fisheries Research Center
  • Mauritius Oceanography Institution

Downloads

Programme-17th Regional Seminar - Mauritius 2019