From May 3 to 5, 2017, the National Organizing Committee of the IV World Forum on Local Economic Development participated in the Dialogue Conference on Growth and the Blue Economy. The event, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Cape Verde, brought together 30 delegations from African countries and small island developing states (SIDS), with around 150 participants representing African institutions , government and private organizations, as well as civil organizations. society.

The conference provided a space to share experiences and success stories from around the world on the Blue Economy. Consequently, it provided the opportunity to follow up on the meetings held since the beginning of the Blue Economy conferences, debating in depth on fishing and aquaculture, food security, environmental issues, sustainable development, climate change and adaptation, resilience of societies, fight poverty, growth and development.

The program had 15 sessions, and the National Organizing Committee of the IV World LED Forum, represented by the President of the National Organizing Committee, Francisca Santos, participated in the sessions “How Blue Growth and the Blue Economy present different but different visions and perspectives. common elements” and coordinated the session on “Local economic development and blue economic growth” together with the local territorial institutions of Cape Verde.

The conference served as a preparatory meeting for the United Nations Ocean Conference to be held in New York in June. It was also the occasion to have some enriching dialogues about the local SISD economy, which will be addressed in greater depth during the IV World Forum on Local Economic Development. SIDS LED, its common challenges and potential will, in fact, be among the special focuses of the Global Forum.