version June 5, 2001

To register, please send an email to info@euforic.org (info@euforic.org) and see the logistical information.

Sponsored by

the European Commission and

the State of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany

On June 11 and 12, Euforic is organising its Annual General Meeting, a unique opportunity to exchange views on Internet strategies in the field of Europe’s international cooperation. Venue of the meeting is the Gustav-Stresemann Institut, Bonn. Host of the 2001 meeting is the Bonn-based Secretariat of EADI, the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes.

Euforic strives for effective and sustainable international cooperation through information-sharing.It provides organisations involved in Europe's international cooperation with an independent, publicly accessible Internet-based platform for policy-related debate and information. Further, it facilitates discussions on Internet strategies and lessons learned among its member organisations and a wider group of like minded organisations. Euforic is a network organisation (Cooperative) that is mainly operating via the Internet, but once a year a Seminar and General Meeting is organised for exchanging experiences, and to jointly work on the future of Euforic. The current 56 members include leading research organisations, NGOs, governmental agencies and NGO networks from both Europe and the South.

In 2001, the Annual Seminar and General Meeting will be organised in Bonn. The Federal Government of Germany, the City of Bonn, and the Government of North Rhine Westphalia are jointly stimulating the transformation of Bonn into an important European centre on international cooperation. This resulted - indirectly - in the situation that five of Euforic's member organisations are based in Bonn.

The general idea of the 2001 Euforic meeting is to strengthen networking among organisations involved in Europe's international cooperation and to jointly share ideas and experiences on Internet strategies for development. The discussion will focus on the possibilities for policy dialogue and networking, and on the implications for European organisations. In addition, the meeting is helping to link the Bonn-based network with the network of Euforic. The first day will have an open character, whilst the second day will focus on the business meeting of the Euforic Cooperative.

The meeting will be attended by directors and information specialists of:

1. Bonn-based development organisations (around 35 people)
2. Member organisations of the Euforic Cooperative (around 40 people)
3. Other organisations interested in the topic and Euforic (around 5 people).

The first day (June 11) will focus on the practical aspects of working together. In a dynamic setting, we will experience the practicalities and benefits of sharing information and views among the participants.

The second day of the Annual Meeting (June 12) will focus on Euforic, and will combine business items with a discussion on the future of Euforic, taking into account the outcome of the first day of the Annual Meeting. Participants will be informed about the progress of the Strategic Plan 2000 - 2004 and asked to come forward with suggestions for the Work Plan 2002. Possible questions to be dealt with are: How can knowledge and information be shared within Euforic? What are the benefits of acting within the platform of the Euforic Cooperative? What is the comparative advantage of Euforic compared with other European networks like Eldis, Ibiscus, and Oneworld. What should be Euforic's position vis-à-vis Worldbank initiatives like the Development Gateway and the Global Development Network?

By June, it is to be expected that the European Commission will have published its policy paper on eDevelopment - in analogy of eEurope - that will explain how the European Union will contribute to bridging the digital divide. In a different forum - the DOT Force - government, private sector and civil society are on a global level advising G8 on the same issue. And individual organisations both in Europe and the South are implementing programmes focussing on ICT for development. It is clear that ICT for Development is an issue.

Less clear are the implications of ICT for Development for organisations in Europe. Less clear is what these organisations are already doing or planning to do to improve flows of information. Less clear are the implications for networking and information sharing, being important instruments for today's international cooperation. Less clear are the potentials for policy dialogue and advocacy by civil society in both South and North. In line with the role of Euforic as information-sharing network on European development policy, the discussion will focus on these elements.

The second part of the programme, participants will discuss more in detail how European Development Organisations can play a role in improving international networking and policy dialogue through the use of ICTs and could this link with the eDevelopment initiative?

To date the discussion has been primarily at a local and technical level in relation to the role of ICTs in Development, is there a role for content management and exchange at an international level particularly in the policy area.

We are looking to construct a shortlist of strategic possibilities, products, and guidelines for measuring results and impact. In particular seeking common and collaborative approaches to our existing activities from European Organisations.

The workshop will be held in two parallel sessions covering the three areas: Areas of activity (the strategic possibilities), Products (existing communications products and planned), Evaluation (guidelines for measuring results and impact).

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10.30 Coffee

11.00 Welcome by

• James Mackie, President of Euforic
• Thomas Lawo, Executive Secretary EADI
• Paul Engel, Director ECDPM, Chair

eDevelopment policy, the position of the European Commission
by Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development & Humanitarian Aid

Civil society strategies towards Internet for development
by Dietrich Mueller-Falcke, ZEF/civil society representative in the DOT Force

An Internet-based civil society information-sharing system
by Simon Stocker, Director EUROSTEP

12.15 Plenary discussion

13.00 Lunch

14.30 Two parallel workshops

Convenors: Chris Addison, CommUniq, Maastricht, and Sarah Cummings, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam
Rapporteur: Rutger Engelhard, Contactivity, Leiden

16.00 Break

16.15 Workshops - continued

17.15 Break

17.45 Plenary closing session

18.30 End

18.30 - 19.30 Side meeting: ELAND