“It’s a paradigm change, something historic”, stressed Jolita Butckeviciene, Programme Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of EuropeAid. “It’s not just investing in development, it’s investing in all of us”, asserted Neven Mimica, the European Commissioner for Development. “We are entering a new policy era, not only for European Union institutions but also for the joint action of the Member States”, concluded Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs. European Development Days 2017 can’t be understood without the new European Consensus on Development, an agreement that aligns EU development policy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the 2030 Agenda.

But the EDDs also left behind many images and messages. Culture played an important role in the colourful village. Without culture, there is no future, that is the message. Young people and women were also prominent in the spaces for dialogue, more present than ever in this edition. They are the protagonists of development.

Partnership formation recovered its usual networking space in Brussels. For example, FIIAPP, within the framework of the Practitioner’s Network, the platform that unites the main European development agencies. Sharing stand and space in a debate on mobilisation of European public expertise, FIIAPP cited its experience managing the Cuba-EU Expertise Exchange programme, expanding horizons and generating complementarity with other programmes like EUROsociAL+.

And, as always, the reunions of old friends. As if in a typical joke about nationalities, a Spanish ex-FAO, a Swedish ex-ASDI and a Peruvian ex-DUE, all with new horizons, with their gaze fixed on not leaving anyone behind, got together in a huddle.

Enrique Martínez is a communication and visibility officer in EUROsociAL+.

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