OCTA Newsletter Overseas Countries and Territories Association

Transcription

1 OCTA Newsletter Overseas Countries and Territories Association January 2016 Dear Members of OCTA and partners, EDITORIAL INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Editorial P.1 OCTA TA 2016 Work Plan P.2 The 14 th OCTA Ministerial Conference: A turning point for OCTA Technical Consultative Workshop on Climate Change P.3 P.4 Webminar P.5 Latest news P.6 As the end of my chairmanship of OCTA approaches, an excellent opportunity arises to briefly review the highlights of the past year, and give a preview of our approaching 14 th OCT Ministerial Conference. On 26 February 2015, during the 13 th edition of our annual ministerial gathering held in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, my territory accepted the chairmanship of OCTA. Building strategic partnerships with our European partners and other relevant stakeholders has been our main objective in addition to supporting the consolidation and continuation of the past work of our organisation. Immediately after taking up the chairmanship, my predecessor travelled to Brussels to meet with the Commission, the European Parliament and the ACP. Encouraging talks were held concerning a closer form of collaboration. Subsequently, a French and a British OCT were visited in order to strengthen the existing ties with OCTA members. As one of OCTA s challenges for the past year has been the alignment of its organisational structure and resources with its strategy, an inclusive and participatory exercise was carried out in the spring of 2015 in order to develop a new strategic plan for the organisation. In order to adopt the OCTA Interim Strategy , the first Extraordinary Ministerial Conference ever was held in Brussels in June That same month an important milestone was reached when the first OCT Energy Ministers Summit ever was also held in Brussels whereby the OCT Sustainable Energy Roadmap was adopted and signed by all of our 22 territories. Another significant achievement in the field of sustainable energy will be at the upcoming 14th OCT-EU Forum, with the signing of the Joint Declaration between the European Union and the Overseas Countries and Territories on reinforced cooperation in the field of Sustainable Energy was the year of two major international events: the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015, held in New York in September and the United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Paris in December. I had the privilege to be present at the Summit in New York and we can expect the universally adopted SDGs to impact on the post 2020 EU- OCT relations in which OCTA is initiating an internal debate as part of the 2016 Technical Assistance Work Plan. Regarding COP 21, OCTA was in a position to assert the contribution of OCTs to the solutions and to showcase our achievements through the organisation of two side events. The OCTA Info Day, which took place at the European Parliament in Brussels in October 2015, was another opportunity for our organisation to gain more visibility. We are but a few days away from our annual ministerial gathering. At this year s meeting two main topics will stand out: the future governance and financing of OCTA and how we can leverage our partnership with the European Union to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and to the economic development of our territories. In closing, I would like to thank all OCTA members and the Executive Committee of OCTA for their support to my chairmanship and their unstinting devotion to the work of our Association. Bernard Whiteman, M.D. Prime Minister of Curaçao OCTA Technical Assistance Team 67 av. de la Toison d Or 1060 Brussels (St Gilles) Belgium Tel : +32 (0) info@octa-bureau.eu This project is funded by the European Union This newsletter is produced under the sole responsibility of the OCTA Technical Assistance Team. The views expressed therein should in no way be interpreted as reflecting OCTA s or the EU s views.

2 OCTA TA PROJECT 2016 WORK PLAN FOCUSES ON COMMUNICATION Following its approval by the Executive Committee of OCTA last December, the 2016 Work Plan of the Technical Assistance to OCTA Project was endorsed by the European Commission on 22 nd January. Implementation can now start. The work plan covers the period January 2016 to 29 May 2016, when the project terminates and foresees the delivery of expected results under the three pillars of policy dialogue, capacity building and communication. The emphasis of this Work Plan is on communication. Being the last work plan of the project, special attention will also be paid to consolidation of past achievements and on ensuring their sustainability through transfer of responsibilities to OCTA, more precisely to EXCO, the newly created secretariat, and EXCO s Working Groups. Strengthening OCTA communication and visibility To ensure improved communication within OCTA and with external partners, as well as greater visibility of the organisation, the Work Plan proposes an integrated approach to OCTA s communication. This will start with a new medium-term communication strategy and involve the development of a state-of-the-art website, modern communication products, as well as a major communications event to put OCTA more clearly on the Brussels map. Given the context of phasing-out of the TA project, all communications-related activities will be implemented in close collaboration with OCTA and its secretariat. Where relevant, adequate training components for OCTA personnel will be included. Support to Policy dialogue activities The main activities planned towards achieving enhanced policy dialogue with the EU include assisting OCTA in the preparation of specific working parties, and facilitating consultations on the political declaration of the 14 th Ministerial conference. In addition, TA will be provided to support EXCO in addressing the outstanding questions related to OCTA s future secretariat, level and structure of membership fees, revision of the articles of association and of the organisation s governance structure. To implement OCTA s Strategy, a new road map will probably be developed jointly with EXCO after the 14th Ministerial Conference. Consolidating Capacity Building Regarding the second pillar, the activities will focus on supporting OCTA in the programming of the thematic component of EDF11, and in upgrading and disseminating EDF-related training material developed under earlier work plans. Furthermore, the TAT will continue to consolidate contacts and networks, notably with National Contact Points (NCPs) of Member States (MS), Local Contact Points (LCPs) in the OCT s as well as Research Officers and national agencies representatives in higher education in the OCTs. A special session bringing together NCPs and EU-based representatives is also planned. Support in the identification of calls will continue, drawing from the findings of the 2014 survey. Towards a successful handing over Finally, the document assumes that OCTA is taking over most of the secretarial functions from the TAT through the setting up of its own secretariat. The main challenge during this ultimate period of the project lies in a successful handing over of project outputs and results to OCTA in a way that ensures full sustainability of TAT achievements. In parallel, the TAT will have to see to the successfully implementation of planned activities, while meeting final reporting requirements. 2

3 THE 14 th OCTA MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE: A TURNING POINT FOR OCTA Brussels, 25 th & 26 th February 2016 The 14 th OCTA Ministerial Conference and the 14 th annual EU-OCT Forum will be held in Brussels on the 25 th and 26 th February This is a unique occasion for all partners to meet and engage in a substantial and meaningful dialogue. The Forum and the Ministerial Conference are two main OCTA events dedicated to reinforce and increase the relationships between the OCTs and the EU. The Ministerial Conference chaired by the Prime Minister of Curaçao and OCTA Chair, H.E. Bernard Whiteman, M.D will take place on 25 th February. The theme of this ministerial gathering will be: OCTA s strategy and governance post-2015: increasing OCTs relevance as a constructive partner for the European Union. OCTA 14 th Ministerial Conference: towards a stronger organisation? OCT leaders will explore partnering with the EU in order to strengthen climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and enhancing growth and investment opportunities in the OCTs. But beyond these thematic issues, the major challenge of this 14 th Ministerial Conference will be to tackle the pending questions generated at the end of the last Extraordinary Ministerial Conference which took place in June These recommendations revealed a will to initiate processes that need to be brought to successful conclusions. The 14 th Ministerial Conference will be the occasion for OCTA members to discuss and decide on the future of the organisation, its institutional set-up and funding. These decisions will impact directly on the sustainability of results achieved under the EU-funded Technical Assistance project which is coming to an end in May. This 14 th Ministerial Conference is therefore a crucial one for OCTA. OCT political leaders will be called upon to decide on the preferred structure of the organisation s secretariat, membership fees and the governance structure. Their decisions will shape the future of the organisation set up in th edition of the Forum: the place to discuss the future of the EU-OCTs Partnership As a high policy dialogue instance, the EU-OCTs Forum, which will take place in Brussels on the 26 th February, will enable high-level exchanges on issue of common interest between OCT political leaders, representatives of Member States and the European Commission. During this 14 th edition of the Forum, two roundtables will be organised which will build upon discussions held during the Ministerial Conference on the topics of climate change and growth and investment opportunities. It is hoped that the common conclusions that will summarise the outcome of the dialogue will pave the way for concrete follow-up on both themes. 3

4 CLIMATE CHANGE TECHNICAL CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOP 9 th & 10 th February 2016, Brussels Following initial consultations over the period among government representatives from the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), Member States and the European Commission, OCTA has identified climate change, including disaster risk reduction, as one of the two sub-sectors of concentration under the 11 th European Development Fund (EDF) Thematic Intra OCT Envelope. To complement the stakeholder consultations required by the EDF programming process, a two days consultation workshop was organized on 9 th and 10 th February 2016 in Brussels. Climate change is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges to island populations and their natural ecosystems, as these are vulnerable to the resulting, and often interlinked, social, economic and environmental consequences. Consequently, a shared understanding of the climate change challenges facing OCTs and a broad agreement on the priorities would be an important next step. One workshop, several objectives A major objective of the workshop was to develop a consensus on the most pressing common challenges affecting the OCTs, related to climate change and disaster risk reduction, and how to address them. Another objective of the workshop was the identification of common priority actions which could be undertaken using EDF11 resources in addressing OCTs main common challenges in the areas of climate change and DRR. Furthermore, participants were called upon to discuss implementation modalities, taking EDF rules into account. Discussions in plenary and break-out groups The event benefited from the participation of around 70 delegates, including representatives from Denmark, France and the United Kingdom, who delivered a speech; representatives from 18 out of the 22 OCTA members; the European Commission, as well as other relevant stakeholders, including the Territorial Strategies for Innovation (TSI) project, and IUCN. The first day of the workshop started with an overview of ongoing activities and lessons learnt. The programming process and calendar were recalled, while presentations on BEST, GCCA and the OCTA TSI Project provided examples on possible approaches to the use of the thematic envelope. This was followed by a brainstorm exercise to identify priority areas on climate change and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The day ended with a networking cocktail, to which the friends and partners of the OCTs in Brussels had been invited. On the second day, possible implementation modalities were presented by the European Commission, and exchanges took place to further define the priority areas in which the OCTs would like to see possible projects. In the light of workshop conclusions, OCTA, in its role of Regional Authorizing Officer will further develop the programming documents, with the support of the Technical Assistance Team. A major corollary outcome of the workshop was the strengthening of the OCTA Climate Change & Ecosystems network. This is the most recent thematic network, following the successful establishment of the OCTA Renewable Energy network and the Research and Education network earlier in the context of the TA to OCTA project. These OCTA thematic networks are composed of OCT specialists, technicians and civil servants working within the specific area of the network, and serve as a first line of contact, consultation and experience-sharing at a technical level among the OCTs. 4

5 WEBMINAR Third Webinar for OCTA s Local Contact Points The third Local Contact Points webinar took place on Thursday the 28 th January The objective of that session was to welcome the newly appointed LCP from Montserrat Ms Angela Estwick, and to brief the LCPs on the latest developments concerning the Research and Education network and forthcoming events. In addition, a presentation was made on the results of the survey that sought to better understand what are OCT s themes of interest in EU funded projects in the fields of Higher Education (mainly Erasmus +) and research (mainly Horizon 2020). Jimena Arango, key expert at OCTA, gave a quick recall on the Knowledge Centre s functionalities and services regarding the Research, Education and Innovation component of OCTA. She reminded participants that the KC is the platform and central tool from which LCPs will exchange knowledge and communicate with their fellow colleagues and research & academic community. Hence, the importance for LCPs to familiarize themselves with the features of the platform. Fruitful exchanges and interesting results from the H2020 and Erasmus + calls Participants from Curaçao, Aruba, St Maarten, Montserrat, St Barthelemy and St Pierre et Miquelon participated in the January session. There were discussions on how to enhance communication schemes between the LCPs and the stakeholders in the Territories, plus a fruitful exchange on the survey results and initial conclusions on the matter. LCPs were invited to look at the broader picture of the Research Education and Innovation (REI) pillar and their key role in bridging information gaps. Further exchanges on how to empower LCPs on different aspects of the REI agenda in view of the future configuration of OCTA also took place. Expanding the network OCTA is still looking forward to enlarging the number of LCPs and participants keen in developing a network for R&E knowledge exchange among the OCTs and the EU. We look forward to host the next webinar in March 2016 and we welcome interested parties to join us! For more information on the outcomes, we invite you to access the webinar recording here: The summary notes of the webinar and the survey results can be consulted here: 5

6 LATEST NEWS EU-OCT relations: the Task Force replaced by DEVCO Unit 0.7 The Task Force Within the European Commission and Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development EuropeAid, the Task Force OCT was formerly in charge of coordinating all activities in the sphere of EU-OCT relations. It also had the primary responsibility for implementing the legislative and regulatory framework established in accordance with the Treaty provisions dedicated to OCTs. The role of the Task Force OCT was to lead on the definition and the updating of the association of the OCTs with the EU. It has also led and coordinated the programming of European aid for all OCTs and plans, coordinated and supervised the Directorate-General s activities and reports on the relations of the EU with the OCTs. Over the past years, the Task Force OCT has organised and chaired partnership meetings between the Commission s services, the OCTs and the four Member States to which they are linked (annual OCT-EU Forum, tripartite meetings and partnership working parties) and chaired the Commission Inter-Service group on OCTs. The Unit 0.7 The conversion of the Task Force into a unit took place in January This went along with the replacement of Mr. Théo Saramandis by Mr. Denis Salord as Head of Unit. Before joining the new unit, Mr. Salord was Head of Unit "Regional Programmes Sub-Saharan Africa and ACP wide" at EuropeAid. The unit remains under the direct responsibility of the Deputy Director General of DEVCO. The conversion led to an increase of the human resources dedicated to this unit that now includes 8 members. CE M. Denis Salord, Head of Unit 0.7 The new Devco organisation chart has been published on 1 February 2016 and is available at the following address: Appointment of Mrs Emmanuelle LÉCUYER as Communication Expert and Assistant Coordinator within the OCTA TAT The TA to OCTA Project team has a new Communication Expert. Mrs Emmanuelle Lécuyer joined the TAT mid-january and has been busy working on the Technical consultative workshop on climate change of early February and the forthcoming Ministerial Conference since. Emmanuelle comes from France and holds degrees in Sociology and Information and Communication Sciences. Besides a broad experience in Cooperation and Development issues, as well as in Information and Communication, she has a strong knowledge of the functioning of EU institutions, as she worked for the European Commission, first in the Delegation Emmanuelle Lécuyer of the European Commission in Tunisia as a Communication and Culture Expert, and in EuropeAid, within the Information and Communication Unit. She has also worked as a Public Relations Officer in the European Parliament, both in the Information Office of the European Parliament for France in Paris and in the Directorate- General for Communication in Brussels. As per the TOR of the TA to OCTA project, Emmanuelle is also Assistant Project Coordinator. You may contact her at the following address: lecuyer@octa-bureau.eu 6