Conference Agenda:

The following issues will be addressed and explored:

New Opportunities for Inter-regional Cooperation

Enhancing inter-regional cooperation between Africa and Europe is a mutually beneficial necessity in today’s globalized world. The conference will permit the numerous strengthening mechanisms of the Euro-African alliance to be explored in depth, thus laying the groundwork for closer economic, social and cultural ties.

Cultural youth exchange and education
Strengthening education, youth organizations and youth movements in Europe and Africa is a critical step for development in general and in particular for developing youth policies that will allow for sustainable co-operation among the younger generations of the two regions.

Empowering women: two visions, one goal
Female empowerment is a shared objective of European and African societies and possibilities of new partnerships to increase women´s role in the political, economic and social spheres. As such, the elevated representation of women - both at an institutional and grassroots level will be discussed during this segment of the conference.

Peace and security through open dialogue
An open dialogue on the subject of peace and security is highly conducive to future developments in Europe and Africa and will create a platform for sharing expertise on the contemporary question of socio-political stability in both continents. Additionally, such an open exchange will further solidify mutual trust and understanding between two major world powers.

The Search for Economic Stability in Europe and Africa

Europe´s current economic instability is having significant effects beyond its borders and threatens to disrupt European-African trade. More specifically, economic insecurity has the potential to drive the focus away from “corporate social responsibility” or “corporate sustainability”, hampering the firm establishment of these concepts as principles of business. Perhaps most damaging is the potential weakening of young entrepreneurship, which is an indispensable component of the successful future of both continents.

Corporate social responsibility
Whether in Africa or in Europe, corporations can positively influence development via their activities with regards to consumers, employees, communities and stakeholders. The exchange of ideas and best practices on the ethical dimensions of corporate activity can lead to the improvement of companies´ contributions to further societal goals.

Corporate sustainability
The systemic integration of environmentally sustainable practices into conventional management is a challenge that must be confronted by enterprises all over the world. Thus, ecological management on the part of companies is a responsibility shared by Europe and Africa, and much remains to be learnt from each other in order to ensure sustainable development.

The future of Europe and Africa: Young entrepreneurship
The innovative potential of the younger populations of Africa and Europe is a vital catalyst for the continuous economic development of both regions. This section of the conference will provide a platform for the sharing of ideas and strategies that will facilitate the flourishing of enterprise.

Cultural Diplomacy in Practice: Inspiring Change through Music, Cinema and the Arts

A practical approach to inspiring effective change and enhancement of inter-cultural dialogue and multidimensional cooperation between Europe and Africa is the permeation of art, music and cinema into partnership-building activities. These expressions of culture transcend borders, cultural differences and divisions and manage to unite and shape the relations between the two continents in an unparalleled manner. A variety of mechanisms functioning as cultural bridges between Africa and Europe will be explored, including:

• Voices transcending borders,
• Enriching perspectives through film,
• Images extending cultural horizons