The Asia-Europe People’s Forum (AEPF) constitutes the people’s equivalent of the meeting of the Heads of State and of Government of the ASEM partners.
The International Organizing Committee (IOC) of this civil society event includes three organizations on the European side – led by the Transnational Institute (TNI) in Amsterdam – and three organizations on the Asian side – led by the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) in the Philippines. In order to help the IOC organizing the AEPF 2010 in Belgium, a Belgian National Organizing Committee (NOC) has been set up at the end of 2009. The umbrella organization “Centre National pour la Coopération au Développement” (CNCD-11.11.11) with the support of the “11.11.11. Noord-Zuid Beweging” has taken on the leading role. Co-Chair of the NOC are the Belgian trade unions.
AEPF 2010 has already announced that it will focus on four themes: trade and development (Millenium Development Goals), decent work (ILO Jobs Pact), food sovereignty (agriculture and regional markets) and environmental crisis (climate change). Apart from holding internal meetings, AEPF 2010 has also decided to reach out to political leaders, inviting them for debate/dialogue sessions.