ORU gives voice to the regional leaders in the Turin LED Forum
Between the 13th and the 16th of October, Turin’s Royal Palace, in the Piedmont region, was the venue for the Third World Forum of Local Economic Development (LED). Co-organised by ORU, the meeting aimed at discussing how to implement the Post-2015 Development Agenda through LED, just as it has been launch and in the year the Millenium Development Goals are coming to their deadline. One of the key thematic issues addressed in the Forum was the significance of territorial policies as a bridge between governments and civil society. ORU acted as spokesperson for the regions in the world and mobilised some of its members to attend the event and share their experiences in this respect.
Both the opening and the closing ceremonies featured a speech by ORU’s President, Paúl Carrasco, in which he underlined the importance of defining the role of regional and local governments in order to foster an inclusive development. "Regions cannot be bodies with power vacuums, they must have clear powers, adequate budgets and capacities", he stated at the opening ceremony. Then, the Governor of the Argentinian Province of Santa Fe, Antonio Bonfatti, was the first of a long list of members of ORU taking part in the panels. "Decentralisation and regionalisation are the yeast for development” was one of his most remarkable sentences in a panel on the efficacy of LED in the reduction of inequality.
The different panels and workshops included the participation of Michel Vauzelle, President of the PACA region, France; Pedro González, Paraguayan governor of the Department of Amambay; Marne Osorio, Intendant of Rivera, Uruguay; Manel Manonelles, General Director of Multilateral and European Affairs of the Catalan Government and Leyre Madariaga, Director of International Relations of the Basque Government. Besides, ORU’s Food Security Group led the debate on “Food Safety and Food Sovereignty in cities and regions”. Valérie Nicolas, Decentralised Cooperation at the Association of French Regions (ARF), was the panel’s moderator, and included as speakers M. Jean-Paul Bachy, President of the French Region of Champagne-Ardenne and Jackson Mandago, Governor of the Uasin Gishu County and member of the Council of Governors of Kenya.
Carles Llorens, Secretary General of our organisation, also took part in the event with an appeal to stem migration to the cities in the panel “Sustainable Development Strategies for promoting urban-rural linkages in agro-food systems”. The event concluded with the signing of the Final Declaration of the III World Forum of Local Economic Development, which reflects the conclusions emanating from the Exchange of experiences of the more than 2.000 participants from all over the world.
To view the full Turin LED Forum photo album, click here.
Related Content:
Our commitment to the global agenda. Opinion article by ORU's President, Paúl Carrasco, on the Turin LED Forum 11/11/2015
ORU denounces persecution of local and regional leaders at the LED Forum in Turin. News item published on ORU's website. 20/10/2015
Video of Paúl Carrasco's speech at the LED Forum, in Youtube
Video Summary of the Turin LED Forum in Youtube
Article "Vers une urbanisation durable. Stratégies de DEL pour créer des liens-positifs rural-urbains" by ORU's Food Security Group
