Presentation to the English Language School Geo Milev Burgas, an European Ambassador School

1. What is hidden behind EU’s
Development Policy?
Teodor Kalpakchiev
Governance and Political Inclusion Fellow to the African Union –
European Union Youth Plug-In Initiative

2. How poor are you?
• Is your daily allowance higher or lower than 1.9$ /
Day, resp. 3.15 BGN (or 94.5 BGN per day / per
person?)
• Child Labour in Bangladesh (17% below 14 work, for 8$ /
Month, more than half below poverty line) -
http://bit.ly/2B599lw
• Do you have access to medical care, water and
sanitation, safe shelter?
• In Myanmar you receive injections with steroids for
virtually anything, the alternative is to fly to Thailand for
medical treatment.
• Do you have access to knowledge, information,
advanced education, clean air, food and water?
• If you were born disabled in South Africa you would
probably not go to school.
• Water in most developing countries is poisonous and only
bottled water is to be drunk. Caution must be exercised
even when showering.
• Waste is virtually everywhere and when there are floods,
you are covered in waste up to the waist.
• Do you have personal freedoms, are you being
maltreated by your family?
• Many kids in conservative societies have marriages
arranged from the age of 14.

3. Development Aid – Volumes, Aims, Recipients
• Where does foreign aid go? -
http://bit.ly/2nLY1Vn
• From Poverty Alleviation to
Sustainable Development
• Brundtland „Our Common Future“
report, 1987
• Without compromising the needs of
the future generations
• Addressing existing needs, esp. poverty
(36-12% in 2000-2015)
• Overcome limitations imposed by the
state of technology and social
organization on the environment's
ability to meet present and future
needs

4. The post-2015 Sustainable Development
Agenda

5. Why does the EU engage in this process?
• The developed western societies
are built on exploitation of labour
and resources during the industrial
revolution (esp. cotton, metal and
slaves)
• It’s a an act of redemption that
aims to offset the future costs of
non-development
• Critical perspectives include:
• Economic neo-colonialism
• Regulatory hegemony
• Geopolitical influence

6. European Colonization of Americas and South
East Asia

7. Why is it so complicated?
• These processes are dependent on
economic growth
• But we overproduce, pollute and create
enormous amounts of waste
• https://vimeo.com/73234721
• The rest of the world is deteriorating
– there are wars and insecurity,
insufficient education coupled with
exponential demographic growth,
resources and people are exploited
• Social progress vs. Economic Growth -
> each $ creates less social progress
and more pollution than before

8. How to approach the situation?
• Prioritize domestic reinvestment of
economic gains into social progress
• Transform linear into a circular economy -
> http://bit.ly/Q9VcYB
• Invest in the wellbeing of other societies,
as otherwise migration and pollution will
increase
• Your personal role?
• Communicate these problems, reduce your
usage of resources, check packaging of
goods, don’t throw food (in EU – 150
tons/person), etc.
• Create social ventures – e.g. apps for
optimization of farming, which you sell to
agricultural producers and reinvest the
gains to expand your business

9. Brought to you by: