18-10-2023 | di COOPI

Milan. Saturday October 28 100 aid workers from over 20 countries for the annual conference

COOPI Meeting begins Monday, Oct. 23: A week of meetings about cooperation and global perspectives, Saturday 28 a day open to the public in presence and live streaming

100 international cooperation actors from more than 20 countries gather in Milan to discuss experiences, approaches and perspectives for action as the global scenario becomes increasingly complex and dense with the consequences of humanitarian emergencies that extend far beyond the affected areas.

Now in its 12th edition, is the return of the COOPI Meeting, an annual international gathering dedicated to international cooperation and organized by COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale, an NGO founded in 1965 by Father Vincenzo Barbieri. Taking place in Milan from Monday, October 23, it will be concluding on Saturday, October 28, with the roundtable discussion "Complexity in the present and future of international cooperation", open to the public in presence and live streaming. An opportunity to question and develop strategies with which to deal with the complexity of global crises.

Crises are increasingly grafting onto one another in a global "polycrisis" that has a multiplier effect on their consequences. Consider countries at war where the annual mortality rate from natural disasters is 34 % higher than in countries at peace, or the wheat shortages linked to the conflict in Ukraine, which has affected countries in Europe as well as in the Horn of Africa,

says Ennio Miccoli, director of COOPI, adding:

Complexity is mounting and we must equip ourselves to respond.

The conference focuses on the continuing emergencies, triggered or exacerbated by the growing number of climate disasters, natural disasters, and wars. The year 2023 was marked by such dramas as the crisis in Sudan, earthquake in Turkey and Syria, floods in Libya, the war in Ukraine, and the reigniting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last year there were more than 270 thousand deaths from 387 climate disasters and 55 wars: a record number that is likely to increase in 2023. Already in 2021, the number of deaths in armed conflicts had increased by 45 percent since 2020 (more than 100 thousand), reversing the downward trend that began in 2014. In addition, in 2022 more than 108 million people were fleeing from their homes, 19 million more in one year, a record figure, never seen before is also the number of internally displaced persons, more than 71 million, (+20% in one year). Meanwhile, the number of people escaping conflict and violence doubled to more than 28 million, touching a total of 62 million, and those leaving as a result of disasters totaled nearly 9 million.

A 'massive cascade of crises,' as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it, is straining the humanitarian aid system,

said Claudio Ceravolo, president of COOPI.

Cooperation must redefine itself in a world where the effects of natural disasters, violence, the aftermath of the pandemic, poverty, migration flows, and geopolitical rebalancing are intertwined.

COOPI is increasingly committed to emergencies, to which 191 projects out of of 252 are dedicated. In 2022, it supported a total of 6.8 million people in 33 countries including Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Italy.

SCHEDULED AT THE COOPI MEETING. In-depth discussions and working groups with COOPI leadership and members, coordinators, managers and cooperators are expected during the week. In addition to Italy, there will be representative from Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.

Saturday's public meeting will host the talks of COOPI President Claudio Ceravolo, LINK 2007 Network President Roberto Ridolfi, Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti, Professor of Economic Policy, at the University of Pavia, Edouard Rodier, Board member of VOICE (Voluntary Organisations in Cooperation), Francesca Paltenghi, UNHCR Protection Associate; the journalist Antonella Tagliabue will moderate the discussion. The panel discussion (9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) can be attended in person at Palazzo delle Stelline, Corso Magenta 61, Milan, or live streamed (in Italian, French, English, Spanish). Attendance is free after registering in person at coopi.org/meeting-milano while streaming at coopi.org/meeting-online.

 

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