Mercredi 20 mars
« EU for Global Justice » : online debate dedicated to civic space and democracy. Registration

Jeudi 21 mars

Vendredi 22 mars

The workshop will provide a vision and open space for discussion about how the EU climate and energy framework should look like in the next EU cycle, in light of the extreme urgency of effective action. We will notably discuss how to bring everyone on board for high climate ambitions and how to make the transformation socially just within Europe and for the majority world.

Organisé par : CAN EUROPE

Farmers’ mobilizations are intensifying across Europe : the Belgian agricultural sector has been taking action since the beginning of the year. What assessment can be made regarding European political decisions, and how can we ensure that progressive demands, combining social and environmental issues, are taken into account ?

Organisé par : Friends of the Earth Europe, Fian Europe, Fugea, ECVC, CNCD-11.11.11

The objective of this workshop is to explore together and discuss which are the main enabling factors for people to enjoy their right to defend human rights and which are the main disabling barriers that HRDs face. We will jointly discuss which are the most efficient policy and advocacy tactics to address these barriers and to promote the « enabling » factors.

The discussion will be guided by Protection International’s recent paper Towards a Safe and Enabling Environment for the Right to Defend Human Rights. The paper outlines strategic approaches for fostering a conducive environment, emphasizing the need for systemic thinking, political will-building, and engagement across multiple governance levels.

Organisé par : Protection International, CIVICUS et ENAR

In December 2023 EU member states and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the New Pact on Asylum and Migration after years of negotiations. After the final stop, the plenary vote in European Parliament in April, we will soon see the implementation of new policies that will significantly change the EU’s migration approach. The new Pact is heavily criticized by civil society as unworkable and an attack on migrants’ rights. In this panel discussion we will look at next steps to counter the damaging impacts and look towards common strategies in the months and years to come. Both from a legal, humanitarian and awareness raising perspective.

Organisé par : 11.11.11, CNCD-11.11.11, Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, Ciré, EuroMed Rights, Médecins Sans Frontières, Caritas International, Migreurop, Crossborder Forum, La Ligue des droits humains, Transational Institute

Join us at the 2024 European Citizens’ Summit for a workshop on combating fossil fuel lobbyism. Presentations cover advocacy strategies, the Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty, and fossil-free politics. Discuss how to influence EU decision-makers to safeguard climate policy, leveraging the European Parliament elections.

Organisé par : Rise for Climate Belgium, Corporate Europe Observatory

Join our Policy Hackathon to amplify our voices on crucial topics for future generations ! We’ll tackle climate, agriculture, gender, and youth, linking them for impactful advocacy, clarifying the main challenges. Let’s craft innovative policy solutions to influence the European Parliament. The Policy Hackathon format will ensure innovative policy solutions and capacity building of participants.

Organisé par : EDUXO and Oxfam-België/Belgique

Mirror measures are often cited as a solution to end the unfair competition experienced by European farmers. However, imposing compliance with European standards on imported products is a challenge considering WTO rules and raises questions, including the impact on small-scale agriculture in Southern countries.

Organisé par : Institut Veblem pour des réformes économiques, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, ECVC, Humundi, CNCD-11.11.11

Drawing from analyses of corporate abuses, we’ll delve into the critical role the EU must assume in human rights and business negotiations in Geneva. We’ll inquire into ways civil society can expand its influence and garner broader support for this European commitment.

Organisé par : EU Treaty Alliance

The Global Gateway is centred at derisking European commercial interests in the global South with development budgets. At the workshop, we will discuss projects and financing promoted under this approach, key risks and concerns, impacts on EU’s development goals, and opportunities for civil society engagement.

Organisé par : Counter Balance, Eurodad, Alliance2015

This workshop will provide a critical lens on the reinforced EU-Latin America relations, and the pivotal role of civil society in decision-making processes. Starting with a panorama of the current EU-CELAC dynamics and evaluation of the EU-CELAC Summit in July 2023, this panel will explore the new-found opportunities and challenges on the road to the next Summit in Colombia in 2025.

Organisé par : 11.11.11, …

Cet atelier donne la parole aux Collectifs de Sans papier, aux syndicats et aux associations solidaires qui luttent pour l’égalité des droits dont celui au séjour. Nombreux projets portés par ces mêmes acteurs, dans différents pays européens, seront présentés afin de susciter des synergies et des partenariats en vue des élections européennes de juin 2024 : Régularisation Now !

Organisé par : CIRE, Collectifs Sans Papier de Belgique/GB/France, CNCD-11.11.11, 11.11.11, CRID, FGTB, CSC-ACV, LDH, Crossborder Forum

As the climate crisis hits harder as the time passes, the financial needs are increasing daily. Ahead of COP29, the definition of a new global objective opens the doors to blended finances and MDBs/IFIFs to unlock new sources of funding for climate action. Next to bringing to light the inherent problems of these pathways, we aim to highlight the innovative sources of fundings we advocate for.

Organisé par : Re-Course, ActionAid, CAN-E, Eurodad, 11.11.11, CNCD-11.11.11

L’objectif de cet échange est de développer, ensemble avec des acteurs de la société civile congolaise, une analyse holistique des pistes de solutions et de plaidoyer pour protéger les populations et s’attaquer aux causes profondes des conflits violents en RD Congo.

Organisé par : Caritas Caritas International, CORDAID, CJP Belgique, Entraide et Fraternité, EurAc, 11.11.11

The actions taken today will profoundly impact the future of our planet and its inhabitants : alterglobalism & internationalism are an urgent necessity. By opening a space for citizens and social movements to share knowledge, resources and strategize, we can build power and unity – for the long run.

Organisé par : European Alternatives, Altersummit, ATTAC Spain, CRID

Climate change is hitting worldwideand the climate crisis is the defining challenge of this generation. Less well known is that the climate crisis is primarily a children’s rights crisis and is already having a devastating impact on the well-being of children globally. In a 2021 study, UNICEF showed that nearly half of the world’s children, or about 1 billion people, are exposed to extremely high risk from the effects of climate change. Young children are hit disproportionally hard by these extreme eventsand are more are more vulnerable to climate and environmental shocks than adults for a number of reasons. The climate crisis has become one of the most important child rights challenges. It is creating a water crisis, a health crisis, an education crisis, a protection crisis and a participation crisis. It is threatening children’s very survival. In all these ways, it is infringing on children’s rights –as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Organisé par : UNICEF, Save the Children, Benoît Van Keirsbilck –member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and Director of Defence for Children International –Belgium.

Political instability in West-Africa has long represented a major problem. For decades, the AU has adopted the zero tolerance to unconstitutional changes of governments and assigns regional blocks including the ECOWAS to deal with such a situation. The same has resulted in ECOWAS imposing financial and economic sanctions to coup plotters. Yet, this has not prevented more coups d’état from occurring in the region, in the name of fighting terrorism and preserving security. When these situations have materialized, security and defense has become the main concern of juntas. Other aspects of social and public life have tended to be forgotten, in particular access to services, social cohesion and the economy, which are needed to tackle the root causes of insecurity and poverty. Also, the burden of debt for West African countries aggravates the situation. In addition, civic space has been reducing in all of these countries, with critical voices being repressed, sometimes ending up in jail, while others are self-restricting what they say publicly to keep safe. The EU’s response has been diverse vis-a-vis the various States, and the current state of play in EU discussions reveals deep divisions among Member States, with many uncertainties about the continuation and types of long-term support. As a main funder of the region, how will the EU support stability, democracy, civic space, and access to services ?

In this session, we will reflect on the current state of play, on the role of humanitarian aid and development cooperation in this context, and what the added value is of the peace part of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. We will seek to explore common views on problems and possible solutions with the diverse European audience to feed into the European discussion.

Organisé par : CNCD-11.11.11, Search for Common Ground, Alliance2015

For the European Citizens Summit we propose to delve into the only study providing a comprehensive analysis of concrete actions taken to shift power between NGO’s. Where do we go from here examines the nature, extent and effect of actions undertaken by Northern and Southern NGO’s within NGOs partnerships and the broader aid system – and its insights can help to figure out where we go from here.

Drawing on more than 450 survey respondents and 53 interviews from the global North and South, the report highlights sources of power imbalances, who does what to change it, limitations, barriers and priorities. Ultimately, the research draws a clear conclusion : there is a need to go beyond actions within programmes and individual organisations. There is a need to revise the broader framework in which aid actors operate. Check out our animation video here.

With questions of international solidarity, democracy and fairness being central to this summit, the prime relevance of this research and workshop lie in the role they can have contributing to transformations in the aid system that help reshape Europe’s role in international development. In the workshop, using the research, participants reflect on the aid system, their role in it and options for transformation.

The study emphasises the importance for development professionals to ask themselves the following questions :

• What dimensions of the system I am part of should be changed to address power relations, and in what way ?
• What am I doing that promotes such system change ?
• Who else needs to be involved and how must we cooperate in this ?

This workshop will start with a presentation of the main findings of the research. Thereafter, we will try to answer these questions in smaller break out groups using a creative learning tool/method.

Organisé par : Partos and Wageningen University & Research

Amid the energy and digital transition, the EU is formulating new strategies to secure access to minerals and metals. These strategies are couched within a narrative of mutual benefit for both the EU and resource-rich nations such as Chili, DRC and Mozambique. The mining sector, integral to these strategies, is however not without controversy, grappling with issues such as green washing, environmental degradation, land grabbing, and social unrest. Historically, resource rich countries have not benefited from trade in resources - following patterns of extractivism.

This workshop initiates a discussion on the necessary policies to reverse these trends. Starting with an overview of EU’s policy, followed by a deeper analysis of the supposed win-win scenario, encompassing diverse perspectives. The spotlight then turns to a specific case study : mineral extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Concluding the session, a panel discussion will convene to devise strategies for fostering partnerships that prioritize sustainable development, ensure environmental sustainability, and uphold the rights of local communities.

Organisé par : 11.11.11, Friends of the Eart Europe, EurAc, Belgium Network Natural Resources

These clauses are a priority of the European and Latin American trade unions and of the Belgian civil society. They are needed to counter global social dumping caused by the violation of fundamental labour rights. Without respect for these rights (especially the democratic right to collective bargaining), no social just transition possible. The EU/MERCOSUR relationship illustrates this.

Organisé par : ABVV-FGTB/ACLVB-CGSLB/ACV-CSC (Belgium)

In the contemporary European political space, an overly securitized and criminalized approach is often pursued in the design and implementation of public policies towards vulnerable populations, such as migrants, homeless people, poor people and racialized populations. For instance, rates of arrest and detention for petty offenses are often significantly higher amongst these categories of individuals. They are targeted and criminalized on the basis of who they are rather than what they have done. Current European migration policies and the question of migrant rights also needs to be reframed in the wider context of anti-discrimination in Europe. Such an approach enables a full appreciation of the various and intersectional challenges to ensuring migrant justice and its overlaps with promoting and guaranteeing equality across different groups at risk of discrimination in Europe.

Closely linked to these challenges is the shrinking civic space in the EU : activists are criminalized for resisting to these different discriminatory policies towards vulnerable populations.

This workshop will offer a momentum for collective reflection and discussion on how to shift the narrative and advocate for a non-discriminatory coherent approach to migration and poverty in Europe and its neighborhood.

Organisé par : Avocats sans Frontière, Prison Insider, FEANTSA et European Alternatives

Despite a commitment to support sustainable agriculture and food security in its development operations, the EU has failed to fully translate these commitments into a coherent and comprehensive set of financing instruments and conclusive influence strategies over international governance mechanisms. In line with Concord’s Task Force on Food Security 2024 workplan, this workshop would be an opportunity for CSOs to share perspectives and strategies around the need for the EU to shift its development funding away from intensive industrial agriculture and act in international governances for a accordingly. It will build on the various work undertaken by the coalition, to build common understanding and strategies of influence, notably ahead of the new European political cycle. The event will take the form of a participative workshop whereby participants will have the chance to share perspective and experiences as well as to strengthen synergies and common strategies for future collective actions.

Organisé par : ActionAid International, Action Against Hunger, Alliance 2015, CIDSE, Humundi

This workshop will challenge EU militarisation as worsening conflicts, human rights violations and environmental deterioration worldwide, with testimonies from Mexico and Palestine, and discuss how the EU could represent an alternative, non-violent and cross-sectoral approach on the world stage.

Organisé par : ENAAT, QCEA, GRIP, CNAPD

Le sommet citoyen européen alliera des temps de conférence en plénière (avec des orateurs/rices inspirant·es), des temps en ateliers thématiques visant 50 à 70 personnes (avec des panels d’intervenant·e·s), et des temps d’échange consacrés à des discussions stratégiques pour construire et renforcer les contre-pouvoirs et les discours communs pour une Europe solidaire, juste et durable.

Les 6 thèmes définis par le comité de pilotage pour le sommet sont

• La paix, les droits humains et la sécurité humaine
• Les grandes transformations économiques
• Le climat et la biodiversité / les limites planétaires
• Les défis mondiaux communs
• La justice migratoire justice migratoire
  migrations
• La participation citoyenne et la démocratie

Termes de référence des ateliers et séances d’échanges

Principe : un atelier réunit des panélistes et le public pour aborder une question spécifique. Il comprend un ou plusieurs speechs et des interactions avec le public. Une session d’échange est un atelier dédié à l’élaboration de stratégies, à la création de synergies sur une question spécifique.

Le format est libre mais doit encourager le dialogue et l’échange d’idées dans le respect mutuel et la liberté de parole et d’opinion.

Tous les ateliers et séances d’échange doivent être équilibrés en termes de genre et de diversité ethnique.

Durée : 1h30 par atelier.

Public : 50 à 70 personnes.

Langue de travail : anglais (une interprétation sera prévue par les organisateurs si nécessaire)

Public-cible : Représentant·es d’organisations de la société civile belge et européenne, chercheur·euses, citoyen·nes, étudiant·es, journalistes.

Comment proposer un atelier ou une session d’échange ?

• Les propositions se font via le formulaire d’inscription en ligne
• Lors de l’inscription, veuillez préciser
  • Le titre
  • Le lien avec l’un des 6 thèmes. Si ce n’est pas le cas, veuillez spécifier « autre ».
  • Le jour préféré (le cas échéant)
  • Toute autre information utile

Informations pratiques

Où : L’événement est organisé au Théâtre royal flamand (KVS, rue de LAken 146 à Bruxelles) les 21 et 22 mars 2024. Le lieu dispose d’une grande salle pour les plénières et des salles plus petites pour les ateliers.

Equipement : Toutes les salles sont équipées de WIFI et d’un dispositif d’affichage.

La législature qui se termine en Europe a été marquée par une accélération des crises qui frappent le monde depuis de nombreuses années. Crise du Covid-19 Covid-19
Coronavirus
covid-19
coronavirus , bien sûr, marquée non seulement par ses dégâts sanitaires, mais aussi par de graves conséquences économiques et sociales qui ont mis à mal les finances de nombreux Etats et paralysé les chaînes de production mondiales. Crise géopolitique consécutive à l’invasion de l’Ukraine par la Russie, qui met en danger la stabilité mondiale, a déstabilisé les marchés énergétiques et alimentaires et poussé des millions de personnes sur les routes de l’exil. Crise climatique dont les effets sont de plus en plus visibles, y compris en Europe, où tempêtes, inondations, sécheresses et incendies se suivent d’années en année.

Crises qui frappent systématiquement plus fort les pays les plus fragiles et, à l’intérieur de chaque pays, les personnes les plus vulnérables. Crises profondément imbriquées, à tel point que l’on parle aujourd’hui de « polycrise ».

Que ce soit d’un point de vue environnemental, démocratique ou géopolitique, cette période d’incertitude radicale crée la menace de basculements dangereux pour notre avenir collectif. Mais elle porte aussi le ferment de la mise en œuvre d’alternatives au service d’un monde juste et durable. Ces alternatives sont promues au quotidien par des millions de personnes, des milliers d’organisations, partout dans le monde. Elles prennent leur sens dans une optique systémique : il n’y a pas de souveraineté alimentaire Souveraineté alimentaire possible sans justice climatique Justice climatique
changement climatique
changements climatiques , pas de justice migratoire sans égalité des genres, pas de travail décent sans commerce juste et durable commerce juste et durable
accords de commerce , pas de réduction des inégalités ou d’accès à la santé sans justice fiscale justice fiscale
Justice fiscale
Justice Fiscale , pas de progrès social sans égalité des genres, etc.

En Europe, la législature a été marquée par des avancées, qui sont aussi le résultat de la mobilisation citoyenne : aussi imparfaits soient-ils, le Pacte vert européen Green Deal
Pacte vert européen , l’emprunt collectif Next Generation EU ou la Loi sur la restauration de la nature n’auraient pas vu le jour sans les nombreuses mobilisations que l’Europe a connues en 2018 et 2019, et sans le travail acharné de la société civile européenne pour créer un rapport de force qui transforme ces mobilisations en levier pour obtenir des politiques publiques plus ambitieuses.

A quelques mois des élections européennes, on voit pourtant remonter le poids des lobbies et des voix nationalistes et conservatrices. Plus que jamais, il importe que l’ensemble des organisations de la société civile et des mouvements sociaux qui défendent une Europe ouverte, juste et durable fassent entendre leur voix, ensemble et en force.

C’est pourquoi, dans le cadre de la Présidence belge de l’UE et en amont de l’échéance électorale de juin 2024, nous proposons à la société civile belge et européenne un rassemblement inédit lors du « Sommet citoyen européen » les 21 et 22 mars 2024 à Bruxelles, avec deux objectifs principaux :

• Permettre aux personnes et organisations qui y participeront d’échanger sur leurs propositions et leurs stratégies en faveur d’une Europe ouverte, juste et durable
• Affirmer une voix collective vis-à-vis des futures Institutions européennes