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