The negotiations on a new agreement between the EU and the ACP-Countries (African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States) will start during the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2018. Considering the economic and geopolitical strategies of China in Africa on the one hand and the international consensus of implementing the Sustainable Development agenda on the other hand demands new political commitments and new strategies in the European relationship with Africa. This conference highlighted the importance of the African European relationship and offered space for discussions, information and facts about economic and political strategies from different perspectives.

What are the key features of last year’s development consensus of the European Union? How have the EU’s role and its financial instruments changed over the years and what is the status implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the EU? This year’s Directors’ Meeting kicked off with some reflections on these issues:

After 37 years of collaboration, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research has decided to terminate funding the Austrian Commission for Development Research (KEF). Members of the EADI Management Committee and participants of the recent EADI Directors' Meeting have issued a statement of solidarity with KEF calling on the Minister to revisit this decision.

Most recently, the EADI team participated in the World Social Science Forum, 24-28 September 2018, Fukuoka, Japan, which was organised by the International Science Council (ISC), of which EADI is a member. The International Science Council (ISC) is unique in that way that it brings together 40 international scientific Unions and Associations and over 140 national and regional scientific organizations including Academies and Research Councils. It was created in 2018 as the result of a merger between the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and thereby emphasizes the need for collaboration beyond disciplinary silos that is urgently required to successfully tackle global challenges and #leavenoonebehind in the spirit of the Agenda 2030.