After four days of intense debates and dialogues, the II Regional Forum on Local Economic Development ended last Friday, June 30. The Forum, held in the city of Tiquipaya, Cochabamba (Bolivia), featured 3 plenary sessions, 16 panels, 10 workshops, 3 learning agendas and 3 production fairs, along with other initiatives organized in parallel to the event.

With the presence of the President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Evo Morales, and with more than 1,000 participants from 25 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region and beyond, the Forum provided the opportunity to compare the perspectives of the fields national, regional. and local governments, associations, businessmen, academics, researchers and members of civil society on how to achieve more just, equitable and sustainable development.

The Final Declaration (click here to download) of the Forum identified the specific challenges facing the Latin American and Caribbean region and summarized how Local Economic Development today constitutes a consolidated set of diverse and widely applied practices and tools aimed at expanding the equal opportunities. Local development, so rooted in the specificity of territorial contexts and driven by the joint vision of a diversity of local actors, allows us to contextualize and integrate the Sustainable Development Goals, relying on new alliance models that facilitate joining efforts to find solutions local for global challenges.

The Forum is part of a long-standing process that has been consolidating a global alliance to improve political debate and a shared vision of Local Economic Development. The regional position built in this second regional forum of Bolivia will be presented at the next world forum to be held in Praia, Cape Verde from October 17 to 20, 2017.

We hope to see you in Cape Verde!