Comitetul Economic si Social European
... "The method of democracy – inasfar as it is that of organised intelligence – is to bring … conflicts [of interest] out into the open where their special claims can be seen and appraised...” (John Dewey). We are all stakeholders!
... "New role of national level: SD facilitators. Sustainable Development can only be achieved with a broad alliance of people, governments, civil society and private sector, all working together to secure the future we want for present and future generations...” (para 13, The Future We Want).
..."Seize an opportunity to ask the public what it wants – build on strongest engagement ever at such an international SD conference (Rio+20: >10.000 people of 30.000) to launch an open dialogue and consultation on what the EU needs to ensure that SD is clearly defined (targets), design an effective strategic vehicle, supported by enabling mechanisms, and has active support from key stakeholders (civil society, companies/business, local/regional governments, scientific/research community, etc.)..."
..."Seize an opportunity to ask the public what it wants – build on strongest engagement ever at such an international SD conference (Rio+20: >10.000 people of 30.000) to launch an open dialogue and consultation on what the EU needs to ensure that SD is clearly defined (targets), design an effective strategic vehicle, supported by enabling mechanisms, and has active support from key stakeholders (civil society, companies/business, local/regional governments, scientific/research community, etc.)..."
"...Civil society must move on!..."
... "The method of democracy – inasfar as it is that of organised intelligence – is to bring … conflicts [of interest] out into the open where their special claims can be seen and appraised...” (John Dewey). We are all stakeholders!
In this event we want to share experiences of civil society participation by looking at different models from global, regional, national and local level. There is no right or wrong model, as long the dialogue and involvement were have come out into meaningful results and make an impact.
The European Economic and Social Committee has been actively preparing for this moment, in particular through fostering dialogue aiming at a joint understanding of the issues at stake and at common civil society recommendations. I am pleased to say that this work has been particularly fruitful with our Brazilian partners. We have been working for more than one year with the Brazilian Council for Economic and Social Development on our views on sustainable development. All this work has been synthesised in a joint report by the two organisations, which aims at contributing to the debates in Rio.
Partnerships are a very important model for involving civil society actors in sustainable development. They bring together governmental authorities and non-governmental actors, in particular NGOs and stakeholders from businesses in order to pursue common objectives. This makes transformative partnerships so important to us, the EESC.
