The Basque Country as a model of development and resilience at the OECD Summit

• Minister, Arantxa Tapia, and the director of ORKESTRA, Mari Jose Aranguren, to take part in the session of the OECD Steering Committee on Employment and Local Economic Development to be held tomorrow in Trento.

The Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment, Arantxa Tapia, will participate tomorrow in the 82^nd Session of the Steering Committee on Employment and Local Economic Development (LEED) of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in Trento, Italy. The organisation has invited the minister to present the case of the Basque Country, at the panel on Community Renewal and Stories of Change in Local Development, to be held on 10 May from 10.15 am to 11 am.

Her speech will tell the story of the Basque Country as a model to inform the vision for the future of the Basque Country, local development and resilience. In an ever-changing landscape for local development, the organisation has considered it “of great interest” to learn about the policy priorities that have helped in the Basque Country's recent history and which in turn “have provided resilience for possible future challenges, transitions and shocks”.

The OECD LEED Programme was created in 1982, when OECD governments were striving to provide solutions to the jobs crisis and saw the need to create an international body to share innovative approaches to local job creation, social inclusion and economic growth. The next Steering Committee of the Programme will take place in Trento, Italy, as part of the 20^th Anniversary of the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development.

There are several links between the Basque Country with the OECD LEED Programme and Trento (Italy). For example, Orkestra is an official partner of the Spatial Productivity Laboratory of the Trento Centre. For this reason, the minister will be accompanied by Mari Jose Aranguren, Director General of Orkestra and Professor of Economics at the University of Deusto.

The meeting will also serve to hold bilateral meetings with authorities from different European countries.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives. Its aim is to prepare policies that promote prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all and they have 60 years of experience and expertise on which they work to better prepare the world of tomorrow.

Together with governments, policy-makers and citizens, the OECD works to set evidence-based international standards and find solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and job creation to promoting sound education and combating international tax evasion, it provides a unique forum and knowledge hub for analysing data, exchanging experience, sharing good practice, and advising on public policy and international standard setting.