Friends Of Europe Podcasts

The last session of Friends of Europe’s Africa Summit focused on ‘jobs, growth and economic cooperation’. Africa and Europe can and should learn from each other’s’ experience in tackling economic challenges. Speakers included Richard Amor (Head, Global Partners Operations Directorate, European Investment Bank (EIB)); Christoph Beier (Vice Chair of the Management Board, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)); Arancha Gonzalez (Executive Director, International Trade Center); and Frank Matsaert (Chief Executive Officer, Trademark East Africa). This debate was moderated by Shada Islam, Director for Europe and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe.

As a part of Friends of Europe’s Africa Summit, Session II explored the creative and high tech industries in Africa and the massive potential for continent-wide job creation and GDP growth. The event took place on 4 June 2018 in Brussels. Speakers include Sindiso Khumalo (Designer and Founder of Sindiso Khumalo Fashion, working towards promoting sustainable and ethical African creations) and Pauline Mujawamariya Koelbl (Managing Director, African Innovation Foundation and Programme Director of the Innovation Prize for Africa and Innovation Ecosystems). This debate was moderated by Shada Islam, Director for Europe and Geopolitics

Friends of Europe’s ‘Africa Summit’, held in Brussels on the 4 June 2018, looked at the evaluation and re-setting of Africa-Europe relations. Speakers included Mo Ibrahim (Chairman and Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation); Elisabeth Guigou (President of the Anna Lindh Foundation Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue); Esther Nakajjigo (Uganda’s Ambassador for Women and Girls); Günther Nooke (Commissioner for Africa and the German Chancellor's Personal Representative for Africa at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)); and Lapo Pistelli (Executive Vice President for International Affairs, Eni; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy (2013-2015)). This debate was moderated by Shada Islam, Director for Europe and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe.

Friends of Europe’s debate on ‘walking the talk on youth engagement’, looked into youth-driven analysis of shared challenges and opportunities faced by young people in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The event was held on the 23 May as a part of the Young Mediterranean Voices & EYL40 Young Leaders event. Speakers included Hella Grichi (Young Mediterranean Voices (YMV)); Abdelbasset Ben Hassen (President, Arab Institute for Human Rights); Michael Köhler (Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission); Tarik Yousef (Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development programme at Brookings); and Haia Bako (Young Mediterranean Voices (YMV)). The debate was moderated by Shada Islam, Director of Europe and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe.

Friends of Europe’s debate on ‘what youth really want’, explored the youth-driven analysis of shared challenges and opportunities faced by young people in the Euro-Mediterranean region, identifying cross border commonalities and differences, discussing action-oriented proposals to develop more positive policy narratives. The event was held on the 23 May as a part of the Young Mediterranean Voices & EYL40 Young Leaders event. Speakers included Elisabeth Guigou (President of the Anna Lindh Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue); Jaafar Abdul Karim (Presenter of Shabab Talk at the Deutsche Welle TV and winner of the Mediterranean Journalist Awards); Bjorn Ihler (Founder of Khalifa-Ihler Institute and Kofi Annan Extremely Together Young Leader); Esmat Elsayed (Young Mediterranean Voices (YMV) and delegate to the Africa-EU Summit); and Fadi Quran (Senior Campaigner at Avaaz and MENA Young Leader (EYL40)). The debate was moderated by Shada Islam, Director of Europe and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe.

The introductions, ‘ice-breaker’ and plenary session on Beyond Clichés, hosted by Friends of Europe, looked at education, cross-cultural skills and critical thinking as the basis of political participation and active citizenship. The event was held on the 22 May as a part of the Young Mediterranean Voices & EYL40 Young Leaders event. Speakers included Jasmina Cibic (performance, installation and film Artist & European Young Leader (EYL40)); Paul Dujardin (CEO & Artistic Director, “Bozar” Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels); Nabeel Abboud Ashkar (Co-Founder and Director of the Polyphony Foundation and MENA Young Leader (EYL40)); and Rihab Mejri (Civil Society Activist, Member of Young Mediterranean Voices (YMV)). This debate was moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy at Friends of Europe.

Friends of Europe’s conversation on ‘women power’, looked at empowering women to take more of an active and leading role in business. The event was held on the 22 May as a part of the Young Mediterranean Voices & EYL40 Young Leaders event. Speakers included Yostina Boules (Founder of Taqa Solutions and MENA Young Leader (EYL40)); Ulla Engelmann (Head of Unit Clusters, Social Economy and Entrepreneurship at the European Commission directorate general for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs); Assita Kanko (Author, politician & founder of #Polin, the political incubator); and Silvana Koch-Mehrin (President and Founder of the Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL)). The conversation was moderated by Shada Islam, Director of Europe and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe.

The ‘tech talk’, hosted by Friends of Europe, breached upon rapid technological developments and how they could be a key driver for growth in Europe and the MENA region. The event was held on the 22 May as a part of the Young Mediterranean Voices & EYL40 Young Leaders event. Speakers included Abdallah Absi (Founder & CEO of GivingLoop and MENA Young Leader (EYL40)); Julie Foulon (Co-Founder, MolenGeek); Sana Odeh (Founder of Arab Women in Computing; Founder & Chair of the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Hackathon for Social Good in the Arab World); and Andreas Schleicher (Director, Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)). The talk was moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy at Friends of Europe.

Friends of Europe’s conversation with Sherin Khankan, Denmark's first female imam who has led the foundation of a women-led mosque in Copenhagen. The event was held on the 22 May as a part of the Young Mediterranean Voices & EYL40 Young Leaders event. Sherin Khankan is an activist on Muslim issues including female integration and extremism, and has written numerous texts discussing Islam and politics. The conversation was moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy at Friends of Europe.

The debate on building climate resilience, hosted by Friends of Europe, explored on how national and subnational bodies can respond to growing irregular risks such as disruptions in food, water, and energy supplies or rising sea levels. The event was held on the 24 of April in Brussels. Speakers included Tessa Kelly (Climate Change Coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)); Sébastien Maire (Chief Resilience Officer of Paris); Oli Brown (Senior Programme Coordinator for Disasters and Conflicts at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)) and Michael Ruehle (Head of Energy Security at the NATO Emerging Security Challenges Division). The debate was moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy at Friends of Europe.

Friends of Europe's debate on the future of mobility took place in Brussels on 27 March 2018, with a focus on hydrogen and electric-based solutions and their role in the quest to transition to low-emission mobility. Speakers included Jean-François Aguinaga (European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation); Greg Archer (Transport and Environment (T&E)) and Michèle Azalbert (ENGIE’s Business Unit dedicated to renewable hydrogen). The debate was moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy at Friends of Europe.

In recent years many of the world’s major cities have had first-hand experience dealing with the prevention or aftermath of deadly terrorist attacks. With improved capabilities and knowledge, most local authorities are becoming better at tackling terrorist threats and dealing with the consequences of such attacks. But with urban terrorism - especially high-profile but low-tech attacks - expected to continue, national and local governments must do more to minimise the risks of lethal attacks and ensure a quicker bounce-back when they (inevitably) occur. This requires local policies and actions to boost the resilience of individuals, neighbourhoods, communities, businesses and institutions so that they can survive, adapt, and grow in the face of terrorism. Also, as urban terrorism tears down rigid divisions between the developed and developing countries, the focus must be on ensuring a concerted and coordinated response to urban terror among cities worldwide. This can be done through the sharing of knowledge, e

National and international peace talks routinely exclude women despite their key role in peace-building and ensuring sustained stability. Despite stereotypical images of women as passive victims of war, women are largely active in the informal spheres, at community and civil society levels, beneath the radar of the international community and the traditional peace and security framework. Although traditional efforts by governments and nongovernmental organisations to combat radicalisation typically focus on reaching out to political or religious leaders-who are predominantly male-recent research shows that antiterrorism messages are effectively disseminated throughout families and communities by women, who are well placed to challenge extremist narratives in homes, schools, and social environments, and have particular influence among young populations. - What are the key benefits of including women in national and international peace and security negotiations? - Why is there a need for increased female part

ASEAN-EU relations have grown and evolved steadily over the years, with both sides inter-acting on a range of economic, political and social issues. Meeting in Manila last August, ASEAN and EU ministers crafted an extensive and multi-faceted plan of action for a further upgrade of cooperation with a focus on bilateral ties, including security issues and connectivity, as well as on the wider global agenda including climate change, counter-terrorism and sustainable development. Ministers and the European Parliament have come out in favour of a resumption of negotiation on an EU-ASEAN free trade agreement. Contacts between ministers, policymakers, business leaders and civil society representatives are increasing. It hasn’t always been plain-sailing, however. Differences over human rights and the application of EU standards in sectors such as palm oil and fisheries as well as the EU’s long-standing quest to become a permanent member of the East Asia Summit continue to cast a shadow over relations. - ASEAN-EU re

ASEAN and the European Union are adjusting and adapting to unexpected geopolitical transformations and uncertainties. Having just celebrated its golden jubilee, ASEAN is entering a critical new chapter in its quest for greater regional cooperation and integration amid expectations it will play a bigger and more relevant role in global affairs. The EU has reaffirmed its unity, ambition and resolve in the face of Brexit as well as rising pressure from populists and difficult neighbours. ASEAN’s main challenge in the coming years will be to move towards a truly integrated economic community while also navigating the difficult US-China relationship and maintaining “ASEAN centrality” in the face of external pressures. Europe is charting a new course for its relations with its neighbourhood including Russia, Turkey and Africa as well as with China and has taken important steps in building a defence and security identity. Both ASEAN and the EU are dealing with immigration and refugees and have a shared interest in t

European security and defence cooperation has gained fresh momentum, most notably through the recently signed Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), an ambitious binding framework that aims to build a true ‘cooperative security’ approach. To achieve such a holistic approach to security, spending targets could go beyond a strict focus on defence towards a ‘single security budget’ that would include budgets for the police, intelligence services, border guards and counterterrorism, as well as parts of development budgets and humanitarian assistance – in line with official development assistance rules. Speakers included: Amy Dodd, Director at UK Aid Network Brian Donald, Chief of Staff at Europol Ana Gomes, Member of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defence and Trustee of Friends of Europe Christian Mölling, Deputy Director at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) Nicolas Suran, French Permanent Representative to the Political and Security Committee at the Council of the European

Refugee flows, while not new, have sent many systems into shock over the last several years, creating tensions between states and their international obligations, as well as between national and local governments. Indeed, while cities and regions are often able to demonstrate resilience on the surface, issues of finance, governance, integration and urban planning are all linked to local systems which are being tested in ways for which they were not designed. Welcoming remarks by: Hande Bozatlı, Honorary President of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) Speakers included: Magnus Berntsson, President of the Region of Västra Götaland, Sweden Rainer Münz, Adviser on Migration and Demography at the European Commission Political Strategy Centre Kati Piri, Member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep, Turkey Moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy at Friends of Europe

Africa’s future largely hangs on whether it can deal with its massive infrastructure deficit. The good news: digital infrastructure has made great progress, with telecommunications coverage expanding at a fast pace across both low- and middle-income countries. The bad: only 35% of the population has access to electricity, with a huge urban-rural divide. Both the EU and Japan recognise that massive and immediate investment in infrastructure in Africa is the only way to create the backbone needed to foster agricultural and industrial development, create jobs and promote sustainable growth; and linking up their multi-faceted development actions could bring huge benefits.

This event is part of Friends of Europe’s Health and Wellbeing programme, which focuses on how the obstacles of vested interests and short-term political thinking can be overcome in the difficult transition to new healthcare models and systems – and how these new systems can be financed. Speakers included Cristian-Silviu Bușoi (Member of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy), Francesca Colombo (Head of the OECD Health Division), Jean Lang (Associate Vice President at Sanofi Pasteur Research & Development) and Charles Price (Head of AMR at the Unit for Crisis management and preparedness in health in the European Commission DGl for Health and Food Safety)

The final session of Friends of Europe's annual Balkans Summit focused on regional actions: democracy, peace and stability as well economic development, integration and interconnectivity in the Western Balkans do not just depend on the policies and actions of national governments but also on the role of regional, municipal and city authorities.