The "First World Forum on Local Economic Development Agencies" (ADEL Forum) took place in Seville (Spain) from 5 to 7 October 2011 on the initiative of the Andalucía Autonomous Regional Government, ART-UNDP and the Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity (FAMSI).
More than 1,300 delegates from 47 countries attended the meeting, representing local, regional and national governments, economic development agencies, universities, international cooperation organizations, as well as many networks, social organizations and experts.
The ADEL Forum was a unique opportunity to learn about the many aspects of local human development, as well as its complex links with decentralization and decentralization policies, and its sustainability in the context of the current global crisis.
The ADEL Forum is based on an approach that aims to overcome the approaches exclusively focused on micro-initiatives and disjointed projects. As an example of this approach, the Forum placed particular emphasis on the role played by Local Development Agencies as a public-private instrument for the coordination policies of territorial actors using a wide and varied range of tools, such as value chains, employment generation services, the social and solidarity economy, technical and financial services for small and medium enterprises, instruments for a green economy and the socio-economic empowerment of women based on a human rights perspective. All of these are examples of the many options offered by the territorial approach in the economic and employment sphere.