On 8th May 2021, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, India and the European Union will hold the 16th EU-India Summit, in which they will take steps to negotiate a free trade agreement. The diplomatic summit is closed to civil society and stakeholders whose future the Summit will influence in the short- and long-term. To ensure that the voices of the people, these two plural and multicultural democracies represents, are given place we host the first ever People’s Summit from 1-8 May 2021.
The People’s Summit is a non-partisan, non-bureaucratic festival of ideas. Through panels, fireside conversations, movie screenings, spoken words and workshops, we take a closer look at the core areas of collaboration as documented in the EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025 and the 9th EU-India Human Rights Dialogue.
What results does our Summit produce?
- With speakers from the European Parliament, domestic politics, academia, civil society, and the private sector, we look ahead to shape the vision for a future that envisages a plural, democratic, secular and rights-based collaboration between EU and India.
- We give first-hand accounts that strongly support the idea that the future of diplomacy should be embedded in human rights and become progressively open sourced.
- The Summit discussions will form the People’s Blue-Print of the Roadmap that EU and India relation should take. This will mean stronger commitment to human rights, religious freedom and minority rights in near and far future.