In the margins of the 6th European Union – African Union summit on 17 and 18 February 2022, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen launches the first Africa-Europe Week including the 7th EU-Africa Business Forum (EABF). This new forum’s objective is to strengthen cross-continent people-to-people relations.
The Africa-Europe week aims at bringing together young people, civil society organisations, local authorities, cultural actors and the private sector from both continents to discuss the aspects of the Africa-Europe political partnership that matter most to them.
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen looks forward to receiving participants for these exchanges, online and in person, in the coming weeks:
“Strengthening people to people contacts is central to the new Global Gateway strategy and our Africa-Europe renewed partnership, building on a number of joint priorities and enhanced focus on human development. As a new platform of exchange, the Africa-Europe Week will push forward the essential views of young people, civil society, local authorities, cultural actors and the private sector of both continents.”
Taking place from 14-18 February 2022, the Africa-Europe Week will be a unique moment with dedicated tracks for youth, culture, civil society, local authorities and businesses, to reinforce the links that connect people from both continents and feed into the political discussions at the Summit.
- Youth Track: sessions will be youth-led and include exchanges with decision-makers to amplify youth voices and foster meaningful participation. The first sessions will start on 7 February.
- Civil Society and Local Authorities Forums: this track includes two forums aiming to forge a way forward towards ‘Participatory and transparent governance: A people-centred approach’ for the African-European partnership.
- Culture Track: this track aims atstimulating intercultural dialogue and exchanges on cultural relations between Africa and Europe, to further develop the future of Africa-Europe cultural relations
- EU-Africa Business Forum:co-organised by the European Commission and African Union Commission as well as EU and African business organisations, the 7th edition of this well-established forum will bring together political and business leaders from both continents, under the key themes of EU-Africa business, trade and investment relations:
- Creating an enabling framework
- Building stronger value chains
- Making it work for people and planet
The events will take place in a hybrid format, online and in Brussels, Belgium.
