In the framework of the EU-funded project El-Hiwar, ‘dialogue’ in Arabic, managed by the College of Europe Development Office, a workshop on ‘Civil society and Euro-Arab cooperation’ took place in Brussels on 15-17 December 2015.
The project ‘Training and information course on Euro-Arab relations, El-Hiwar’ aims at improving the flow of information and promoting dialogue among officials working in the European Union (EU) and the League of Arab States (LAS) Secretariat.
In this framework, more than 20 officials both from the EU and the LAS met in Brussels from 15 to 17 December 2015 to analyse the potential of civil society as a transformative force in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On the first day of the workshops, discussions were focussed on the ‘Declaration of the Arab Decade for Civil Society Organisations’ recently approved under the wing of the LAS. On the EU’s side, the ‘EU strategic framework for engagement with civil society’ was the main contribution to the discussion.
At the opening of the session, Ms Irène Mingasson, Head of Unit Regional Cooperation Neighbourhood South at DEVCO, expressed her deep satisfaction with the project and with the specific workshop on Civil Society, in a moment where cooperation between both sides is key to achieve ideal levels of democracy, security and stability. Mr Giovanni Buttigieg, Director of Programmes at the European Commission – LAS Liaison Office (ECLASLO), reinforced the idea that EU-Arab cooperation exists. Dr Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary General – Head of Media and Communication at LAS Secretariat, delivered the main presentation of the first session of the workshop. She explained and outlined the content of the already mentioned ‘Declaration of the Arab Decade for Civil Society Organisations’, created as result of several consultation meetings and on the basis of the 17 SDGs, and that could guide the actions and partnerships of the LAS countries’ civil societies.
On 16 December, participants visited relevant EU institutions, meeting the officials working on regional programmes and on civil society: DG DEVCO and DG NEAR at the European Commission, the European External Action Service and the European Economic and Social Committee. On 17 December, participants visited civil society organisations based in Brussels such as the NGOs Foyer Dar al-Amal, the NGOs’ network European Peacebulding Liaison Office (EPLO) and the platforms CONCORD and SOLIDAR.
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This project is funded by the European Union.