20 March 2014: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), along with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the Government of Germany, hosted a Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) High-Level Symposium, from 20-21 March 2014, in Berlin. The symposium brought together over 170 experts and stakeholders to discuss ‘Accountable and effective development cooperation in a post-2015 era.’

The Symposium was the last in a series of preparatory events for the Development Cooperation Forum of ECOSOC. It built upon preparatory events held earlier in the 2012-2014 DCF cycle in Ethiopia, Switzerland and Austria.

Speaking at the opening of the Symposium, Martin Sajdik, President of ECOSOC, welcomed the opportunity to discuss a new era of development cooperation that will come with implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. He called the DCF a “vibrant forum for exchange among all development partners on an equal footing.” He suggested that the post-2015 role of the DCF could include: monitoring the global partnership for development; focusing on development cooperation rather than implementation; and reviewing mutual national accountability and transparency.

Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, called the present time one of a “fundamental re-orientation of global development efforts.” He, too, called for a DCF more focused on development cooperation and a renewed global partnership for development in the post-2015 era, and outlined the need for an “inclusive global architecture for monitoring and accountability of development cooperation.”

The 2014 High-Level Meeting of the DCF will take place in July 2014, in New York, US, in a recently re-designed ECOSOC High-Level Segment that also includes meetings of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR). [UN Press Release] [Statement of ECOSOC President] [Statement of USG Wu]