Conference on Consumption and disputes. Which solutions?

In Florence, on October 12th 2006, it was held the second Conference on ADR, organized by ECC Italy, in co-operation with Tuscany Region (the regional government), Adiconsum Tuscany (consumer association) and the local Chamber of Commerce.

The conference was hosted by the University of Florence and speakers were from the academic world, from institutions, from NGOs. The event was also attended by several journalists and had a large coverage by the mass-media. Over 110 participants took part in the conference.

It was an event with national dimension, but strongly oriented to discuss on the experiences and best practices at EU level, focusing on those countries that developed a good extra-judicial experience and have a relevant ADR structure.

The enlargement and consolidation of the Internal Market represents a challenge also for consumer protection: the number of cross-border complaints is high and increases everyday.

A qualified representation of companies (Telecom, Wind, Poste Italiane, BNL and others) and business associations (ANIA for the insurance sector and ABI for the banking one) participated, but also several conciliators and arbiters, ADR bodies like the Ombudsman Bancario (member of FIN-NET, the network for ADR in financial claims), lawyers, local institutions, consumer associations, all contributing to the events’ success in terms of awareness raising, dialogue among stakeholders, better knowledge, exchange of experiences.

A huge commitment on ADR development is becoming more and more evident, on several sides of the society, namely from the economic operators, the institutions and the consumer associations.

The Italian Ministry of Economic Development presented the new project for Information Desks devoted to consumers, whose main objective is to turn to ADR most national disputes.