II World Forum of Local Economic Development

The main objective of the II World Forum of Local Economic Development is to facilitate dialogue and exchanges between local, national and international actors, on the efficiency and impact of local economic development in tackling current challenges through existing practices. More specifically, the objectives of the II World Forum of Local Economic Development are the following:

- Facilitate an international political dialogue on Local Economic Development (LED) that includes public and private actors.

- Promote the formulation of public policies on LED.

- Showcase the relevance of the territories and LED in achieving an integral development that incorporates the economic, social and environmental dimensions.

The II Forum will take place between October 29 and November 1, 2013, in Foz de Iguazú, Brazil. The Forum will be inaugurated on October 29 with an evening activity. In the morning of October 30, participants will attend a plenary presentation by a well-known speaker (or speakers), to position the debate on the established objectives and thematic areas. On the morning of October 31, there will be two round tables on the forum’s main issues. On the afternoon of both the 30th and the 31st, various workshops will be organized. On November 1, the conclusions and declaration of the II Forum will be presented, followed by the closing ceremony.Advocate the need for instruments aimed at implementing LED strategies, such as Local Economic Development Agencies (LEDAs) and Regional Development Agencies.

The Forum is part of an ongoing process that started in the lead-up to the I World Forum of Local Development Agencies “Territory, Economy and Local Governance: New Perspectives for Times of Change ” that took place in Seville in October 2011. The I Forum gathered some 1,300 participants from 47 different countries; they exchanged territorial practices and instruments for Local Economic Development (LED) and discussed their relationship with national policies on local development and their stances on the global debate on Sustainable Human Development (SHD). Linking this debate with operative tools and practices in order to overcome the gap between conceptualization and implementation in the territories is a global challenge that requires more attention, as shown during the discussions in events such as the World Social Forum (January 2012), the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 (June 2012) and Africités (December 2012).

More information: http://www.foromundialdel.org/