KEYWORDS: GDP-economics

The European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF are hosting a high-level conference on the true wealth of nations at the Plenary Room of the European Parliament in Brussels on the 19th and 20th November 2007.

President Barroso will be opening the conference on the 19th, European Parliament President Pöttering will open Day 2, and Commissioner for the Environment, Stavros Dimas, will close the conference on the 20th. There will be live webstreaming, available on www.beyond-gdp.eu.

The European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF will host a high-level conference with the objectives of clarifying how best to measure progress, wealth and wellbeing of nations. It will also look at how these can best be integrated into the decision-making process and taken up by public debate. The conference will bring together high-level experts and policy makers to address these critical issues. Over 500 people from economic, social and environmental spheres from across the globe will attend. It will take place in the Plenary Room of the European Parliament in Brussels.

The conference will feature several high-level speakers including internationally recognised leaders and government representatives, members of the European Parliament as well as speakers from civil society, think tanks, industry, and key institutions such as the World Bank.

President Barroso will be opening the conference on the 19th, European Parliament President Pöttering will open Day 2, and Commissioner for the Environment, Stavros Dimas, will close the conference on the 20th. In addition, HE Chief Emeka Anyaoku (President, WWF), Ashok Khosla (Co-President, Club of Rome) and Pier Carlo Padoan (Deputy Secretary General, OECD) as well as Commissioners Joaquín Almunia and Vladimír Spidla have each confirmed they will speak.

IEEP is part of the team supporting the partners with the conference, helping with conference content and with press/outreach activities. The team also includes Ecologic, MNP and SERI. The conference is also supported by an Advisory Group of key actors and experts from across the World, and by a series of media partners. For more information, please visit www.beyond-gdp.euBeyond-GDP will have live web-streaming, available on www.beyond-gdp.eu