For Giulia Massobrio, the event provided an opportunity for more in-depth analysis of global issues linked to development cooperation (post-2015 agenda, development financing and climate change), identifying the priorities in terms of national and regional trade union advocacy in these areas.
The meeting was supported by Minister Eduardo Porretti of the Argentinian Foreign Relations Ministry, Milton Rondó Filho, General Coordinator of International Actions to Combat Hunger, from the Brazilian Foreign Relations Ministry, and José Elosegui, a member of the Climate Justice programme of REDES-AT (Friends of the Earth Uruguay) and Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean.
Key issues on the development cooperation agenda were examined, such as democratic ownership, horizontal cooperation, the role of the private sector and the mobilisation of domestic resources – with a view to clarifying their relevance in terms of the trade union demands for cooperation effectiveness. Global and regional analyses were presented by Matt Simonds of the ITUC and Rafael Freire of the TUCA.
Lastly, the work carried out by TUDCN-Americas during 2014 was reviewed in preparation for defining the national, regional and international action priorities for the coming years, in line with the implementation strategy of the Development Platform for the Americas (PLADA) and ahead of the ITUC Congress in 2016. As a result, the Network identified national advocacy, research, capacity building and dissemination as priorities and tools for strengthening the participation of trade unions from the Americas in the formulation of the region’s cooperation and development policies.
“The work of the TUCA Trade Union Development Cooperation Network, permanently backed by the ITUC, directly contributes to developing our capacity to have a better and greater impact on the region’s development policies,” said Freire.
