The 3rd International Conference on Federalism:
'Turning Diversity into Harmony, Sharing Best Practices' in Brussels, Belgium (European Parliament), 3-5 March 2005
Brussels, 16-2-05:
After the successful Conferences at Mont Tremblant, Canada (1999) and Saint-Gallen, Switzerland (2002), Belgium has the honour to host the Third International Conference on Federalism. It is jointly organised by the federal and regional governments of Belgium and will constitute one of the highlights in the celebration of the 175th anniversary of Belgium's independence and the 25th anniversary of federalism in Belgium.
The Conference will offer a unique forum for more than 600 participants - leading policy makers, representatives from civil society, academics, journalists, youth - to exchange ideas and experiences on the central question: how can federalism, in its various expressions, contribute to good governance, social and economic welfare, peace and democracy, as well as to the respect of identity in the context of globalization?
Special attention will be paid to conflict prevention, to the efforts carried out in the framework of nation-building (or re-building) and to federalising tendencies in the international co-operation or integration systems.
Managing cultural diversity is one of the central challenges of our time. Examples thereof make headlines on a daily basis: Iraq, Sudan, the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Cà´te d'Ivoire, Afghanistan and many more.
In this world we can all learn from each other. Belgium is very willing to contribute to this process of sharing experiences.
Combining experience and creativity will eventually bring solutions to many existing or emerging conflicts and thus foster greater tolerance. The Third International Conference on Federalism aims at contributing to this process.
The Conference consists of plenary sessions in the morning and working groups in the afternoon. The Conference program is available at http://www.federalism2005.be.
Confirmed speakers at the 3rd International Conference on Federalism in Brussels include:
Beverley Mc Lachlin, Chief Justice of Canada
Lucienne Robillard, Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs of Canada
Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec
Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba
Tassos Papadopoulos, President of Cyprus
Wolfgang Schüssel, Chancellor of Austria
James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank
Ali Osman Taha, First Vice-President of Sudan
Micheline Calmy-Rey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland
Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State of India
Zola S. T. Skweyiya, Minister for Social Development of South-Africa
Mulatu Teshome, Speaker of the House of the Federation of Ethiopia
Jose de Venecia, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Josep Borrell Fontelles, President of the European Parliament
Jean-Luc Dehaene, MEP, Vice-President of the European Convention
Jo Leinen, MEP, Chairman of the Commission for Constitutional Affairs
Elmar Brok, MEP, Chairman of the Commission for Foreign Affairs
Peter Straub, Chairman of the Committee of Regions
Arnold Koller, former President of Switzerland
Ousmane Sy, former Interior Minister of Mali, King Baudouin Prize Laureat 2005
Alvaro de Soto, former UN Special Representative for Cyprus
Lakhdar Brahimi, UN Special Representative for Afghanistan
and many more
The registration procedure for media is now open.
| What: |
3rd International Conference on Federalism.
All conference sessions will be open to the media. |
| When: |
March 3-5, 2005 |
| Where: |
European Parliament
Rue Wiertz
1047 Brussels, Belgium |
How to register: To obtain accreditation to the conference, journalists must send their request to Pieter Schueremans of the Managing Team of the Conference at pieter.schueremans@diplobel.fed.be. Journalists who wish to bring audio-visual equipment, must state so in advance. Registration deadline: February 28, 2005
Journalists will receive confirmation by email or phone that they have been approved for accreditation. They will be able to pick up badges at the conference site starting from 8:00am on Thursday March 3th.
The Forum of Federations is providing support to the Belgian organizers of the conference. Contacts:
Karl Nerenberg, Director of Public Information and Senior Editor
(613) 244-3370, ext. 203, mobile: (613) 2286-5573, email: nerenberg@forumfed.org
Carl Stieren, Program Manager, Public Information
(613) 244-3370, ext. 207, email: stieren@forumfed.org
Rita Champagne, Program Assistant/Editorial Assistant, Public Information
(613) 244-3360, ext. 215, champagne@forumfed.org
Facsimile: (613) 244-3372
Internet: http://www.forumfed.org
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