In preparation for the first-ever European Report on Development (ERD), African and European experts and policy-makers will meet in the Ghanaian capital Accra from 21 to 23 May.
The meeting will take stock of the impact of the global economic crisis on the world’s most vulnerable countries and discuss coping strategies to deal with the fallout. The two-day conference in Accra – entitled ‘Financial markets, adverse shocks and coping strategies in fragile countries’ – will bring together 80 prominent researchers and policy-makers from Africa, Europe and international organizations to discuss ways out of the emerging crisis. The gathering will focus on two main issues: financial markets in African countries in situations of ‘fragility’, and how well these countries are coping with external shocks, such as rising food prices.
This event is part of the preparations for the first-ever European Report on Development (ERD), a new research initiative spearheaded by the European Commission and several EU Member States. The ERD seeks, in close o-operation with developing and donor country partners, to enhance the European Union’s perspective on evelopment issues on the basis of knowledge excellence, innovation and the building of bridges between the European research community and policy-makers. The first edition of the ERD is elaborated by the European University Institute (EUI) and is due out in October 2009, following intense networking activities with academics, policy-makers and civil society. States’ fragility will be a central topic in this first edition.
Further information:
There will be a ‘meet the press’ session on the sidelines of the conference on 22 May at 18:00 at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel.
If you are interested in attending or would like to arrange an interview with one of the key speakers, please get in touch with us using the contacts below.
For the press conference in Accra: media@esn.eu – Bettina Braun – tel: + 32 2 287 1531
For further information on the conference and about the ERD initiative, please visit the ERD website at http://erd.eui.eu/.
Contact:
The ERD Secretariat at the European Commission:
Phone: +32 2 2993200
E-mail: DEV-EDR-Secretariatiat@ec.europa.eu
