Issue number 1 - 19 November 2003
There is an enhanced interest in the WSF process globally. This newsletter "Towards Mumbai" is an effort to reach out globally to the civil society groups, mass organisations, intelligentsia, political parties, and other organisations and individuals engaged in activities for making the world a better place. The Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (world as a family) newsletter "Towards Mumbai" hopes to generate discussions, debates and ideas at several levels local to global. VK seeks to interconnect people's movements and community based networks with other actors engaged in the WSF process.C o n t e n t s:
WSF UPDATES
REPORTS
European Social Forum
Finnish Mobilisation
INTRODUCTION OF ORGANISATIONS
The Idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
Democracy Forum Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
FORTHCOMING
Delhi Social Forum
NAPM Tour to Rural India
RESOURCES ON THE WSF
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Editors: Suresh Nautiyal
If you would like to contribute, comment, or do not wish to receive this
newsletter, send an e-mail to address: vasudhaivakutumbakam@vsnl.net
Preparations for the fourth World Social Forum, to be held in Mumbai, India
on 16-21 January 2004, are under way in all fronts. Mobilisation, programme
fine tuning and arrangements for the logistics are done by the organising
committee and various functional groups. Relevant information is posted
regularly on the web site http://www.wsfindia.org/
The registration of self-organised events closed on 30 October. Some 1.400
proposals by organisations across the world were made on a large variety of
themes. The programme committee of the India Organising Committee will go
through the proposal and divide the spaces for some 800 workshops (200 a
day) based on criteria that ensures broad spectrum of events.
The deadline for registration of individual participants is 30 November.
On-line registration serves both organisation and individuals at
http://www.wsfindia.org/register_here.php
Preparations with the WSF site in Mumbai are under way. An old industrial
estate, called NESCO, ground in Goregaon in North Mumbai has been converted
for exhibition grounds. Earlier, only smaller events have been held there
so the challenge is to make space for some 75.000 participants. Large
conferences will be held in the big industrial halls and self-organised
workshops will be held to a great extend in tents. This will facilitate
real grass-roots discussions!
From the ESF press release
On 12 15 November some 40,000 delegates coming from all over Europe and
the south have been taking part in debates in Paris, Saint-Denis, Bobigny
and Ivry-sur-Seine. In total 625 plenary sessions, seminars and workshops
took place. Citizens have spoken, to share their different viewpoints with
the 900 guest speakers, who represent associations, networks and syndicates
from Europe and all over the world. The original approach in Forums is
shown by the varied exchange of ideas; thus representing a uniform vision
of the world with such diverse issues including their alternatives and
resistances.
The programme had five main lines
In just a few lines it is impossible to convey the variety of the themes
dealt with, and so many opinions, proposals and demands that were
expressed. The beginning of another Europe is emerging, with citizens and
people who have the ways and means to build a democratic Europe.
The organisers would like to thank the thousands of volunteers who have
contributed to ensure the organisation of the ESF and the 1,200 volunteers
from the Babels network for their interpretation and translation. It is
also thanks to them that over 12,000 delegates from France and abroad have
found accommodation in collective and supportive places.
On Saturday 15th November, at 2 pm in Paris, a march took place between
République and Nation to demonstrate for our rights within Europe, a world
without war.
Following the Charter of Principles of the World Social Forum in Porto
Alegre, the organisation of the ESF 2003 is entirely independent from
political parties, public authority, social and civil society movements,
trade unions, as well as from associations, both at the national and the
European level.
More information: http//www.fse-esf.org
FINNISH MOBILISATION
by Marko Ulvila
On 3 September 2003, a number of people active with civil society
organisations in Finland met to exchange notes about the experiences and
plans on the World Social Forum. Present were representatives from seven
organisations. Some 30 people are expected to travel to Mumbai from Finland
including trade union leaders, movement activists, NGO workers and
politicians. Stronger linkages with the Finnish social forum process
(organised twice so far) were considered desirable. Plans of five
organisations are described below.
The Network Institute for Global Democratisation NIGD - a founding member
of the International Council of WSF - has organised events at all previous
social forums. In addition to the self-organised activities, NIGD's
representatives have also taken part in the official WSF programme as
panelists and facilitators. At WSF-III in January 2003 the seminar themes
were currency transactions tax and also on developing NIGD's strategy for
global democratisation. NIGD's activities in Mumbai will focus around four
themes: solutions to the debt problem, WSF itself, the strategy for global
democratisation and democratising information with a focus on libraries.
The Finnish trade union movement facilitated by the Trade Union Solidarity
Centre SASK has annually increased their participation in the WSF. The
exact plans of the international trade union organisations for Mumbai are
not yet finalised, but for instance the metalworkers union and ICFTU have
confirmed their participation. Finnish delegations have taken part in
earlier editions of the WSF and the labour unions plan to continue this
tradition also in Mumbai. In January in Porto Alegre, the Finns took part
in organising seminars on welfare services and the monitoring of activities
by transnational corporations. A similar event is envisaged for Mumbai.
The Democracy Forum Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Finland has two main goals for
the WSF-IV: One is to strengthen the participation of under represented
movements in the WSF process, for instance those of the landless, the
indigenous peoples or dalits which operate in local languages. The second
goal is to bring up environmental issues, in particular problems related to
water. The VK network intends to organise several events at WSF-IV.
In May the Service Centre for Development Cooperation (Kepa) committed
itself to the WSF process and has allocated resources for this. Henri
Myrttinen, Kepa's contact worker in Indonesia, is in charge of Kepa's WSF
work. Kepa's contribution will most probably link with the theme of global
democracy which at the moment is emerging also in discussions with the
collaboration partners in Tanzania (TANGO) and in Indonesia (INSIST).
The Coalition for Environment and Development (Ymparisto ja kehitys) plans
to organise a number of workshops on democracy and the environment. It
works together with its sister organisation Friends of the Earth Finland
and other like-minded associations.
By Vijay Pratap
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is an idea aspiring to redefine democracy from a mode
of governance to a way of life. If democracy informs all levels and
dimensions of life, then this perspective of comprehensive democracy can be
called sampoorna swaraj (full realisation of self-rule).
The VK idea is to pursue the democratic dream. People in South Asia have
long cherished values, which, in modern times, are best expressed under the
rubric of 'universalism' and various dimensions of 'democracy'. Despite all
kinds of failings, the sense of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (a Sanskrit concept
meaning '"The World is a Family'") has been part of our cultural
sensibility since time immemorial. That is why our socio-cultural diversity
is a source of strength and in fact the primary defining force behind our
unbroken identity.
Conventionally, democracy is taken to be a political system based on the
separation of judiciary, executive and legislature, where the legitimacy of
governance is derived from the electoral process on the principles of adult
franchise. Such a narrow definition reduces 'democracy' merely into a
political instrument. However, there is a 'comprehensive' democratic
revolution in the making as humankind is striving to redefine all the basic
relationships of human life. No single ideology or region can be identified
as the vanguard in terms of striving for the above five dimensions of
democracy simultaneously. Issues of self-rule related to the nature-human
being dynamic have given rise to green parties, groups, movements and
intellectuals all over the world. These green movements are proliferating
even in those parts of the world where, according to the conventional
development indices, standards of material life are very high.
In the societies of material affluence there is an attempt to recover the
'green consciousness' and to address the challenges of ecological
degradation. In the majority countries movement groups are engaged in
defensive action of saving the livelihood support systems, along with
revitalizing of ecological and cultural sensibility. Since these energies
aim at greater participation of local communities in deciding the
nature-human dynamic, we could call it an age of striving for Ecological
Democracy.
Similarly, there is phenomenal human energy on this earth trying to
redefine the individual-community dynamic. Issues of dignity are on the
central agenda of many human rights, gender, anti-caste and anti-apartheid
groups. There is almost a global churning for redefining social
relationships, what we could term as Social Democracy. The response to the
Conference Against Racialism in Durban is an indicator of the revolutionary
energies I am talking about. The women's movement now has a gender
perspective on all issues, it is no longer just a women's rights movement.
From this standpoint this is an age of strivings for Social Democracy.
If we analyse the dynamic of 'self' with 'the other', the meaning systems
of an entire set of issues emerge under the broad rubric called
'Culture'. The human activity on this front the explosion of new ideas
and ideological confrontations, both violent and non-violent is also of an
unprecedented kind. Critiques of 'modernity' and the culture of
industrialised societies, attempts at revitalising indigenous knowledge
systems, emphasising importance of plurality of ideas and ways of life, and
the loosening of controls of orthodoxy are part of the varied strivings of
a Cultural Democracy.
After the majority states were liberated from colonial rule, they acquired
greater control over their economies and standard of living started rising,
even though very slowly for some. However, natural resource based economies
of indigenous peoples, small and marginal farmers in the societies of the
majority states are now in search for dignified ways of earning their
livelihood, through a dual search and striving. One is to emulate (and even
blindly imitate) the rich and prosperous North. The other is to recover
their control over natural resources as well as knowledge systems in
agriculture, medicine, food, water management, and so on. Both represent
the pervasive desire for an Economic Democracy.
The anti-colonial struggles in the majority of nations have constructed new
political identities. A desire for self-rule is pervasive and people are
questioning the grafted colonial instrumentalities in their attempts to
re-examine and redefine them. Sometimes there is regression, as the
entrenched elite imposes some form of authoritarianism. Fortunately
participation of people in the political institutions has acquired a
tremendous legitimacy. This explains why many dictators have had to
undertake a legitimation exercise through some form of election, how so
ever partial or imperfect. This constitutes Political Democracy.
The imperative of democratic revolution requires that we recognize and
relate to the positive dimension of all these energies and contribute our
mite in their coalescing into a definable worldview and a dream for the
future. This is our vision of a universal humanistic globalisation.
Second, the crisis of democracy has been aggravated, in a very important
way, by the problem of corruption. According to a leading World Bank
official corruption has increased geometrically during the last decade, and
there has been at least a ten-fold rise in corruption during the 1990s. For
instance the privatization of public-owned companies and public services
and the entry of the transnational corporations to the national markets
have created ample opportunities for corruption and misuse of public
offices. For us in the South, if the Northern counterparts in civil society
insulate us from the North-driven corruption, we will be able to fight both
corruption and communalism domestically. Corruption was a major problem in
South Asia even before the present era of globalisation, but deterioration
of the moral and ethical basis of political and been life has proceeded
very fast after it.
How can all these problems be addressed? How can the positive energies be
synergised to forge a humanist-universalistic globalisation for an
effective democratisation of human society at all levels? All epochal
transformative moments in history are pregnant with both the possibilities
a new dawn or an era of darkness. What are the forces of darkness at this
juncture? VK tries to find solutions to these issues within the
comprehensive democracy framework believing that in a phase of phenomenal
upsurge of democratic aspirations, new norms have to be agreed upon at
various levels of human collectivities through a process of participatory
dialogues even with the adversary.
Till date Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam has been more a framework for connecting
various levels and dimensions of political work into a manner that new
forms of North-South solidarity and partnership could be worked out. It is
not an organisation competing with other organisations in terms of
visibility and constituency. It owns and considers itself part of the
radical democratic movement. The more we dialogue and rub shoulders with
each other the nearer we arrive at a more comprehensive and shared
understanding of our times and the possible modes of intervention. The
organisational form that VK takes depends upon the local context in which
people come together. Several organisations in India have adopted a
programme on dialogues for comprehensive democracy, calling it 'the VK
programme'. VK in India is not a registered organisation but a forum to
develop the international dimension of radical democratic politics of the
country to become part of the worldwide movement for deepening
democracy.
Link: An article on the VK concept by Vijay Pratap.
DEMORACY FORUM VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM, FINLAND
By Thomas Wallgren
On 19 May 2003, a new association was formed in Finland by the name
Democracy Forum Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. VK-Finland has roots in the
cooperation between some South Asian and some Nordic NGOs, research
organisations and individuals in the democracy and solidarity movements
that began towards the end of the 1980s and has continued ever since.
Active partners have worked with the Delhi-based network node Lokayan and a
research institution, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS),
the Finnish umbrella organisation for Development NGOs Service Centre for
Development Cooperation (Kepa), the Finnish activist group Coalition for
Environment and Development (CED) and other organisations such as Friends
of the Earth-Sweden and the Network Institute for Global Democratisation,
NIGD.
The cooperation has focussed on practical experiments and theoretical
reflections on new forms of solidarity, with a special emphasis on the
democratisation of North-South relations. During the last years cooperation
with trade union activists and with green, left and centrist party
organisations has been a more important and integral part of the activities
than before. We are proud also that the network born through these 15 years
of activity also contributed in 2001 to 2003 to establishing the political
contact between Latin American, African, Nordic and Asian groups that find
expression in the decision to shift the venue of the World Social Forum in
2004 from Porto Alegre, Brazil to Mumbai, India.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, A Coalition for Comprehensive Democracy, has been
active in South Asia since 2001 as an informal network of individual
activists and independent working groups. In South Asia, VK has organised a
number of workshops and dialogues on economic democracy, the future of
socialism, health, politics and other issues. The main contact and
coordination unit is in Delhi, with senior activist Vijay Pratap as the
convener.
Plans to found Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as a registered entity in Finland had
been discussed since 2001. By the Spring 2003, clarity was reached on both
issues with VK defining itself as an independent forum involving both party
and non-party activists from the centre-left that will contribute to the
WSF-work and also keep up independent domestic activities as well as close
cooperation with VK South Asia.
The founding meeting of VK-Finland was held on 19 May 2003 in Helsinki with
some 40 people present. Statutes were accepted and a 17-member board was
unanimously elected. The first chairperson is Ms. Satu Hassi, MP,
chairperson of the Finnish Green Party and former cabinet minister for
environment and development cooperation. There are four co-chairs: Ms.
Elena Gorschkow, co-chair of the youth NGO umbrella Allianssi and
parliamentary assistant for foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, Ms. Mirja
Ryynanen a former MEP from the centre party, Mr. Esko Seppanen, MEP for the
Left League and Thomas Wallgren, a philosopher from the University of
Helsinki and long-time activist in the alternative movement sector. The
twelve board members, active in a wide range of movement groups, academia
and parties are Yrjo Hakanen, Outi Hakkarainen, Ville-Veikko Hirvela, Risto
Isomaki, Liisa Jaaskelainen, Anastasia Laitila, Iivi Masso, Pertti
Multanen, Rosa Merilainen, J.P.Roos, Olli Tammilehto and Kai
Vaara.
The activity plan for the first year outlines work by independent
committees on, initially at least, World Social Forum activities and the
future of the European Union plus founding activities such as setting up a
minimal secretariat and web-pages.
By Suresh Nautiyal
Like other social forums, the Delhi Social Forum is a civil society
initiative in search for alternatives. A small group of members of the
Delhi civil society met on 15th of October 2003 to explore the
possibilities of organising Delhi Social Forum. The meeting identified
several areas where initiatives would be taken like expanding the base of
the WSF by involving those who were interested in the proceedings of the
WSF but did not have a platform for the purpose. It was also decided to
bring in new faces into the civil society forums, continue the process
initiated at the ASF Hyderabad and work towards the meaningful
participation in the WSF Mumbai next year in January. Besides, it was
agreed to provide a platform for highlighting many of the issues that would
be discussed in the WSF Mumbai and to provide open space for some of the
debates that have been going on about the WSF.
On 23rd of October 2003, a broader planning meeting for the DSF was held.
Many individuals and members representing different civil society
organisations were present for the meeting. The meeting decided to hold the
DSF on Monday 8th of December 2003 at the Constitution Club New Delhi.
Members present also discussed about the financial aspect of the DSF. It
was decided that Registration fee for Delegates to DSF would be Rs. 25/-
for the unorganised sector workers and less-income members and Rs. 50/ for
others. Contribution from organisation was fixed as minimum Rs. 500/-.
Different committees were also set up for the organisation of Delhi Social
Forum. They include Event Organising Committee (Anil Mishra, Prakash Louis,
Prabir Purkayastha, Mukul Sharma, Subodh Verma, Kamal Mitra Chenoy, John
Dayal, Aditya Nigam and Rajendra Ravi), Committee for Mobilising NGOs and
School Teachers (Joseph Gathia), Committee for Mobilisation of Unorganised
Workers (Subhash Bhatnagar and Thaneshwar Singh), Committee for
Mobilisation in Universities: (Aditya Nigam, Kamal Mitra Chenoy) Media
Committee (Suresh Nautiyal, Gurvinder Kaur, Mukul Sharma, Anil Misra),
Committee for Mobilising Womens Organisations (Amarjeet Kaur), and
Committee for Mobilising Dalit Organisations (Rajani Tilak).
First meeting of the Event Organising Committee was held on 29 October
2003. The participants were requested to prepare the brief note as well as
identify the speakers for those workshops and come for the meeting so that
these could be finalised.
The Planning Meeting on 8th November 2003 decided to go ahead with the DSF
meet as scheduled for 8th December 2003. It has also identified certain
speakers for the different events at the meet. It was agreed that the
WSF-IOC members and the international partners would also be present at the
press conference ahead of the DSF one-day meet at the Constitution Club,
New Delhi. The Media Committee has been assigned the duty to prepare the
Press Kit and organise journalists to write on the WSF related issues, etc.
The themes for the parallel sessions will be:
PRE-WSF RURAL TRIP - JANUARY 2004
Extracted from a letter by Medha Patkar
A network of the people's movements in various states within India,
National Alliance of People's Movements, is planning a visit for interested
participants of WSF to those areas and centres where people's struggles are
on. While WSF is to be held in Mumbai, the real and rural face of India,
still agrarian economy, can be seen only through an opportunity to reach
out to the rural places and poor communities in urban and rural areas, to
understand their social rubric, economy and lifestyle, the disparity,
deprivation as also self-reliance.
The tour will cover different places, interacting, exchanging views with
the locals leadership and strengthening the movements who are working in
diverse areas such as displacement due to dams and other projects, tribal
(indigenous) rights, farmers unions, fight against MNCs etc. The team of
foreign activists and other participants will also see and enjoy the
diverse culture and heritage of the country, as also people's initiative in
reconstruction, with an alternative technology. We extend you a cordial
invitation and an appeal to participate and express solidarity with the
movements in India.
Since only a limited number of participants can take part in this (due to
logistical problems), we would encourage you to kindly register at the
earliest. Two tours will be organised, one to Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra
and another one to Gujarat. The cost of the tour is around 100 euros.
For more information please contact Mukta Srivastava, Tour Co-coordinator,
National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM),
The Democracy Forum Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam has set up an web site on WSF
related information: http://www.demokratiafoorumi.fi/wsf.html It includes
information about planned self-organised events and background documents
for them as well as links to home pages of organisations.
Heinrich Boll Foundation (HBF) is publishing bi-weekly reports under the
heading WSF Diary about the WSF related activities. You may send your
queries to india@hbfasia.org to get the WSF Diary through email.
The WSF India brings out a Newsletter, Another World Newsletter, and the
first edition is already out. Its Hindi version is also available. The
Newsletter has the main purpose of informing the people about the process
and efforts towards the WSF-2004, taking place in Mumbai from 16 to 21
January next year. The first WSF was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001
as a counter meeting to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The
incredible success of this event indicated the need to provide a platform
for alternative worldwide public opinion by creating annual WSFs. Now,
India is hosting the next WSF in Mumbai. The Newsletter gives other WSF
related information in brief. You can send your questions to
wsfindia@wsfindia.org
Action Programme for People's Economics and Allied Literacy (APPEAL) is
bringing out a booklet, Lok Samvad, devoted to the issues of WTO,
globalisation, WSF, etc. The editorial of the September 2003 issue reminds
us in Walden Bellos words that the WTO was an organisation threatening to
collapse under its own weight. It also carries brief articles like World
Trade Deadline looks Dead, George Monbiot's opinion piece on the Cancun
meet, N Bhattacharyya's article on the imperialist offensive and Indian
agriculture, and other articles on Indian agriculture. To get your copy
please write to: peaceact@vsnl.com or give a call: +91-11-26968121.
The Popular Education and Action Centre has also devoted its journal
Naamabars August 2003 issue to the WSF related issues. It has published
the WSF Charter of principles in Hindi and in its lead article has
suggested that the best alternative to the economic globalisation is
another better world. It also has a write up detailing the activities of
the WSF process in Brazil and India and provides an overview of the whole
process. Also, it gives an idea about the WSF Mumbai. Translations of some
important articles on the WTO etc are also in the newsletter. Please
contact: +91-11-26858940.
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By Marko UlvilaR E P O R T S
EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM 12-15 NOVEMBER 2003
The debates have dealt with:, among others, deregulation policies, the
European constitution, the protection of society, sustainable methods of
production and consumption, the place of art and its practice, public world
assets, a new distribution of wealth, the struggle for peace against
war, the relationship between work and globalisation and the fight against
the extreme rightwing views and all forms of racism.I N T R O D U C T I O N O F O R G A N I S A T I O N S
THE IDEA OF VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAMF O R T H C O M I N G
DELHI SOCIAL FORUM - 8 DECEMBER 2003
For more information contact Anil Mishra +91-11-23236554, +91-9818220556
R E S O U R C E S O N W S F
The Mumbai WSF web site is http://www.wsfindia.org/. The basic information
on the programme and plans can be found there. Registration can be done in
the site (dead-line end of November) and accommodation booked.