Development and Co-operation Programme - [04/21/2008]

Co-development under debate: a new concept?

On 18 April, Enric Royo, Coordinator of the CIDOB Foundation's Development Programme, took part in the First International Conference on Co-development . Organised by the Centre for Cooperation of Rural Development at the University of Lleida , the four-day event brought together academic experts and representatives from public administrations, NGOs and immigrants' associations to debate the theory and practice of co-development. After analysing the origin of the concept, and the difficulties that exist in agreeing on one single definition (as well as how to examine in greater depth the complex, multidimensional links between migrations and development), the participants went on to tackle the practical experiences and different views of co-development by public administrations and cooperation agents.

In his summing-up of the public co-development policies carried out by the AECID, the ACCD, the Catalan Fund for Cooperation and Lleida City Council, Enric Royo summarised the addresses of each of the representatives, placing particular emphasis on the differences in their processes and approaches. Some administrations began offering practical support for projects before deciding on a definitive strategy, while others commenced by establishing a conceptual and strategic framework, after which they proceeded to its practical application. It is the local administrations that have accumulated the most experience in this new approach. Generally speaking, the experiences are so recent and limited that it is still too early to carry out an assessment in order to draw conclusions and draft recommendations. Enric Royo oriented the debate toward a reflection on the substantial existence (or not) of the concept of co-development, and toward whether what we are talking about is traditional concepts of cooperation and development and just incorporating a new agent, or if we are simply trying to apply a coherent approach to policies on migration, cooperation with development and social integration. Royo also highlighted several positive elements from the practical application of co-development, such as the cooperative work that forces people to learn and coexist with difference, as well as generating an inevitable reflection on concepts and models of development, cooperation and coexistence in our own societies. He warned of the danger of concentrating the attention and responsibility too much on the immigrant as an actor of development in his country of origin, as well as the temptation to re-orientate the use of financial remittances. These approaches, Royo concluded, can cause us to lose sight of the fact that the way that private money is transformed into public funds is through a suitable fiscal system in countries of origin.

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