[WSF-Discuss] EPA: Index of the minutes
CACIM
cacim at cacim.net
Thu Jul 2 06:59:31 UCT 2009
EPA: Index of the minutes <http://www.laemp.at/asf2008.at/?p=297>
*30.06.09 (Allgemein <http://www.laemp.at/asf2008.at/?cat=1>,
Organisation<http://www.laemp.at/asf2008.at/?cat=6>
)*
*@ http://www.laemp.at/asf2008.at/?p=297*
*Index of the minutes*
taken by Mariangela Casalucci
Contribution and corrections by Alessandra Mecozzi, Eyup Ozer, Alp Altinors
*EPA (Vienna 19**th** - 21**st** June 2009)*
-
*Decision taken in the EPA and information pag 2*
-
*List of proposals for changes in the ESF structure pag 3*
-
*Discussion about themes and axes pag 4*
-
*Minutes from the discussion on the June 20101 ESF in Istanbul** pag 5, 6
*
-
*Network meetings pag 7*
-
*General discussion on the global crisis pag 8*
-
*Messages approved by the people meeting in the EPA pag 9*
-
*Minutes from Enlargement pag 10*
-
*Minutes From Education network pag 11*
*D**ecision taken in the EPA (Vienna 19**th** -21**st** June 09)*
-
From Monday *28**th** September till to Thursday the 1**st** of October
in Diyarbakir*, Turkey is going to take place the *Mesopotamian Social
Forum*. The main aim is to raise a voice in this region bringing people
together. There are lots of spaces for seminars and workshops.
-
*Next EPA* (the 4th ) will be from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th of
September in Diyarbakir, Turkey just before the Mesopotamian Forum. In the
*next EPA a precise proposal about logistic for the June 2010 ESF in
Istanbul*, Turkey (venue and budget) will be presented by the ESF
Organize Committee of Turkey
-
The *5**th** EPA will be in Germany*. Organization are ready and the
basic agreement is that is going to take place in early February 2010
-
There will be an *Open one day Assembly on Education* on the Friday
before the 5th EPA in the same place of the EPA. The Education network is
going to plan this Assembly from a logistic point of view together with the
people organizing the EPA.
-
*Babel issue: *translation is a crucial matter for our process so *we are
going to start a fund raising campaign to support Babels*. First
objective is to collect the 8.000 Euro to pay out for the debt. The details
for Babel account will be sent to the list by them
*About t**he structural reform of the ESF - process (methodology,
establishment of an European working group, etc)*
-
*The EPA has decided to start an Open European “program and structure”
working group with a mailing list *in order to implement the EPA’s
decisions, to facilitate collecting proposals, to prepare concrete proposals
for the next EPA. There were ideas and proposals coming from the debate and
this working group is going to *prepare a structured proposal for the
next EPA about *structure and program. The group is going to meet on
Thursday the 24thof September in Istanbul if there is the visit to the
venues. If not they will meet in Diyarbakir. The ESF Organize Committee of
Turkey has to confirm the venue.
-
There will be also an* European Open group Preparing the EPA* with a
mailing list to prepare with the ESF Organize Committee of Turkey the next
EPA
-
*People from **Alis, *as suggested by the ESF Organize Committee of
Turkey as well,* *are going to test the translation system in Istanbul
before next EPA because if is possible to use it will be cheaper than any
other system
*Information (what’s next in Europe?)*
-
*WTO in Geneva *in December 09. Initiatives on economic alternative
actions will be organized
-
*Anti G8** initiative in Italy in July: As *everybody Know Berlusconi has
decided to held the G8 in Aquila. Of course there is a lot of criticism
because of the consequences of this choice and about the way he is using
such a terrible event in order to support his image.* In Italy there* will
be a big demo on the *4**th** July against the Dal Molin base* in
Vicenza. *A*t 3.32 of the 6th of july (anniversary 3 months since the
earthquake) candle light march in L’Aquila. The *7**th** July there will
be actions in Rome* when the G8 people arrive in Rome. The Forum “Social
reconstruction; reconstruction, work, democracy” will take place in L’Aquila
on the 7th of July*. *. Spread activities in different cities on the 8th.
Possible march in L’Aquila on the 10th. *There will be a G SOTTO forum in
Sardinia (3th, 4**th**5**th** July) *Information will be sent soon to the
list.
*Here there is a list of proposals which are on the table for
discussion. **They
came from the discussion we had during the EPA in Vienna. There isn’t any
priority in listing the proposals and no decision about this has already
been taken. The aim is to offer to the people involved in the working group
on the program and structure ideas to work on. Everybody on the list can
intervene on this matters and send proposals to the list. They will be
collected for the next meeting.*
-
*There isn’t a lot of dynamism *in the ESF process, there is a lack
between movements and the ESF process. Meetings between different EPA can
help to involve more people in the process
-
The *ESF has to become useful* for people involved in the process, in
struggles and in movements
-
Taking in account what has been produced by the WSF
-
The ESF has to analyse all the crisis: axes have to be built around
the *global
crisis* we are facing (ideological, financial, education, democratic, ……)
and the aim will be to contribute through the work in the ESF to provide
*immediate concrete answers and proposals for a process to build
alternatives* for all these crisis
-
The axes, the themes cannot be only about crisis but also about a *general
discussion on the alternative to the system*
-
*Less* workshops and seminars orientated to give proposals and ideas *to
thematic assemblies*. During thematic assemblies on Saturday morning
there won’t be seminars or workshops
-
*Space* for European *movements networking*
-
It is important to give a specific *space for transversality…* overtaking
the isolation of the networks and the single themes
-
Assembly of the assemblies, assembly of social movements, *final assembly
*
-
*Demo *on Saturday afternoon
-
There is a proposal for an anti crisis program to be discussed in advance
and not only in the ESF, seminars for debates, seminar for actions
*Discussion about **ESF themes and axes*
*Starting from a general consensus on the fact that the axes are going to
change according with the idea of finding the alternatives to crisis, the
proposal from **ESF Organize Committee of Turkey **was discussed and several
comment were made. They are listed after the proposal and they are going to
be materials for the list and for the European working group to work on.*
*Proposal from Turkish committee for*
1.
Global economic crisis and resistance - against paying for “their”
crisis, for labour rights and right to organize, debating alternatives
2.
Social Europe, social cities - welfare, public services, resistance
against forced evictions, for housing rights
3.
A democratic and rights based Europe - against racist and “securitarian”
policies, anti- terror laws, torture, disappearances in custody and jail,
isolation, prisons, the rise of the far right. For migrant, refugee and
human rights
4.
Oppressed people - Kurdish, Armenian, Palestinian, Tamil, Basque….
questions. National and minority rights, the right of refugees to return
5.
Discrimination and equality - against male domination and homophobia, for
gender and equality
6.
A sustainable world - agriculture, water, food sovereignty, energy,
environmental and climate change
7.
War and peace - against war, militarism, occupation and Zionism
8.
Youth: right to education, work and future
9.
Culture arts, informatics and mass media - democratising knowledge,
creating alternatives. Against neoliberal “Capital of Culture” projects
10.
Social movements, the state and future of global justice movement
*Proposals on themes and axes coming from the discussion in Vienna*
1.
Starting also from the world social forum experience it would be
important to work in a different way to show new way of building
alternatives
2.
In this list it’s not readable the *transversality and links* between
different themes and the complexity of the actual situation
3.
Through the axes we have to be able to define what *a different Europe*
is
4.
Include positive ideas, showing *alternatives and strategies*
5.
Change the first axes deleting *economic* because it’s not only an
economic crisis
6.
Delete *“Zionism”* from point 7 because new nazi groups use this slogan
7.
*Education* cannot be only linked with youth, needs a specific axe
8.
*Not a list* of oppressed people ( axe 4) Proposal about a space “for the
rights of peoples without nation”
9.
There is the need of focus also on new authoritarism,, criminalization of
politics, women, poverty and exclusion, religion, fundamentalism and
politics, casualization in work, unemployment,
*ESF in Turkey in June 2010 Discussion in the Plenary on Saturday 20**th**
June*
*Presentation from the **ESF Organize Committee of Turkey*
1.
venues in Istanbul
2.
Translation (200.000 Euro all together)
3.
Money and solidarity fund
4.
Enlargement (6th of June meeting)
5.
Themes and axes
The main proposal is that the Istanbul Social Forum can be a spring point to
link with East countries, Middle east countries and African countries
*Debate and points of discussion*
-
People in the EPA is aware of the political situation in Turkey
(repression and oppression) and took also for this the decision of having
the ESF in Istanbul
-
There are worries that *venues* are away from each other and the *budget* it
seems to be very high and a bit insecure
-
The venues are different from it was said in the previous EPA, we don’t
have the contract with the University anymore. It’s important that all the
venues are close to each other. Also *the team involved in the* preparation
is different.
-
Financial aspect: it looks like that there is a lot to spend especially
for translation. What about funding from local governments? What about
testing Alis again?
-
It’s important to guarantee the *“open spaces”* for exchanges between
different movements and organizations to have exhibitions, meeting places
-
It would be important to know if there are *problems between the groups
organizing* inside the committee. There was a conflict but it is not
clear the matter. It is important that all people in the committee are not
from trade union. It would be important to know the position of Trade Unions
in Turkey
-
*D**eclaration of Global Peace and Justice Coalition which has withdraw
from the ESF Organize Committee of Turkey*
The previous situation was showing that the one in Istanbul could be a very
good ESF but the situation has changed. Now there is a big division between
movements and organizations in Turkey and we don’t think that in this
situation the ESF could be a success. There are questions about logistic as
well. There is an absence of Trade Unions. So what we have seen in the last
meetings is that the ESF could be a marginal event and that’s why our
organization is now out of the committee.
After this declaration the debate about the role and the function of the
committee started again and it was stated one more time that the lines of
the ESF are decided in the EPA and the local committee have the big
responsibility of implementing the decisions making the ESF possible . The
EPA is responsible but transparency in the process are fundamental as well
as the involvement of all the
Also there were worries about how to guarantee to Kurdish people living in
Europe the possibility to go to Istanbul for the Forum.
-
*Answers from people participating in the** ESF Organize Committee of
Turkey*
1.
-
In the committee now there are 70 organizations (movements, TUs, women
organizations….). It’s an *open process* and people *can join and
rejoin* the process. Nobody has been excluded. The *moderation
committee* hasn’t got power to get decision and only implement the
decisions taken. The process has to be transparent
1.
-
The Kurdish committee hasn’t withdrawn from the process and is part of
it
1.
-
Alis is going to go to Istanbul to have a new* test* because, if is
possible, it would be important to use Alis system
1.
-
All the venues mentioned are all in the same street. The fairest one
is 10 minutes far away.
1.
-
There isn’t a contract signed yet but the space has been promised by
the University authorities
1.
-
For the budget as well we have guarantees about funding
1.
-
For stand and exhibitions there will be spaces a part from the meeting
organized and included in the program
1.
-
The committee is ready to discuss and decide together in the EPA what
we are going to do in the next ESF
1.
-
In Turkey there isn’t a complete democratic situation so it will be
very important the presence of SF there. The problems of the country in
relation with Kurdish situation has to be known by the other countries
involved in this process.
*Friday** 19**th** June h. 10- 13*
*Network meetings*
*This is only a brief synthesis of the networks report . The minutes will be
sent to the list directly by the people of different networks*
*Education:*
The network is proposing a day for an Open Assembly on Education for
the 5th EPA
which is going to take place in early February. The aim is to connect
different movements (students, teachers, parents) for the right of Education
in Europe. For the ESF in Istanbul the proposal is to have an axe for the
right of free education
*Enlargement:*
Please refer to the document sent to the list by the network (pag 10)
*Labour and globalization:*
A conference has been decided. It has been organized by some TUs and some
organizations. It will be held in Bruxelles but it isn’t completely open.
There will be invitations for that.
*Charter for an other Europe:*
In the network economic issues have been discussed. The global crisis has
consequences in Europe and there is a very big impact in East-Europe. This
has to be clear in the charter. The other point is the issue of democracy.
It will be important that people in Europe have a say in what’s happening.
This will be also the contribution of the network in Istanbul
*Mobilization in Copenhagen: Klimaforum (from 7**th** to 20**th** December
2009)*
It was a meeting of information and contributions by the people involved in
the process. In Copenhagen there will be a lot of different meetings and
actions (demos, forum, lobbying …). Proposals for people in the EPA: support
the initiative approving a statement in the plenary session.
There will be a meeting to organize the Klimaforum in October
There is a website to get information www.climateforum09.org
There is also a mailing list for people, organizations and groups who want
to participate in the process of building for this forum.
*WTO event and mobilization:*
The WSF has decided some initiative around the WTO. It would be important to
participate as people involved in the ESF process.
*Malmö ESF and economic debts and Babel payments:*
Paying the debts is not only an economic but also a political task.
There is still no economic report but it looks like there are around 170.000
Euro of debts.
A special association to collect money was put on and priorities have been
decided
First of all a debt of 30.000 Euro for people involved in cultural
activities who are waiting to be paid. Babel debt is 16.000 Euro. At least
8.000 Euro will be found by the Association
*Babel*
Babel interpreters are frustrated after what has been happening but there is
still some enthusiasm about the ESF in Istanbul. A lot of volunteers have
been waiting for months for this money and they surely have the right to get
it as soon as possible.
*General discussion Friday 19**th** 2009 Vienna 4.30 pm*
*The global crisis of capitalism and alternatives:*
*mobiliz**ation of the social movements and the role of the social forums*
This isn’t a report of single interventions but a synthesis of the main
points and proposals. The aim is collecting without any priority all the
inputs coming from the meeting from different people participating in the
EPA in order to share them with people who could not come and participate.
The discussion on this theme is obviously going to carry on. The time for
the discussion wasn’t enough so there is a proposal for having at least *half
of the first day of next EPA devoted to this.*
-
There was a general consensus on the fact that it is important to discuss
about the crisis and the links with movements and social forum and that we
have to focus on how we can *make EPA and ESF an useful space* in order
to exchange and work on concrete proposals. Not all the movements are
involved in ESF and it would be important to enlarge the actors of this
process
*On the crisis, on the general situation** it was said that:*
-
The crisis is very big, unemployment and so on. This is the crisis of the
capitalist system. It’s not possible to change the capitalist system. There
is not one crisis, there are a lot. There is the democracy crisis, the
ideological one, the economic one, a political one and so on. We have to
think about all these crisis at the same time. Also capitalism is using the
crisis
-
This crisis is big but the political result of the crisis is not a left
movements to struggle against capitalism but the workers going to right. In
Italy with Lega, against migrants. Right wings parties are growing in East
and West Europe taking on left slogan as “nationalizing and control from the
state”. Why?
-
The 60% of young people who started for the first time to vote voted for
right wings parties in Austria. Is it only an Austrian problem as in Austria
we vote starting from 16 years old?
-
Capitalist crisis moves fundamentalism, nationalism, authoritarian
answers and sometimes left wing slogans are used to justify a complete
different policy.
-
Why do movements start very strongly but also disappear very quickly?
*On the issue of alternatives to the crisis*
-
We need common answers on an European level in order to fight together.
and. There is the need to fight against the crisis on an international
level. It’s not enough to have a picture of the situation, the important
thing is to understand what kind of crisis we are in and build a common
approach to the problems. There is a big problem of democracy. We need to
find solution together. Is there a need of linking movements together in
Europe and how could it be possible to happen?
-
It will be interesting to follow and exchange projects and experiences of
alternative in Europe. There is the need to start talking about different
proposals about changes, new challenges for us. ESF could be an useful space
where constantly build common actions and find or exchange experience of
alternatives (alternative currencies, ethical projects, food and
alimentation, ethical solidarity actions, migrants rights). In the SF space
we need to define the alternatives to this crisis. It is important to find
the answers but also to mobilize. In the EPA we need concrete matters to
discuss. The SF isn’t outside or on top of different movements but has to
try to offer a space to exchange different views about struggle and build
common actions
-
It’s crucial to rise the knowledge of people about ecology and link
social and environmental issues
*People meeting in the EPA of Vienna **(19**th **- 21**st** June 09)*
*have approved the following messages*
*Text adopted by the participants of the EPA in Vienna (20th-21st of June
09):*
Besides the financial and economic crises, the climate crisis, including the
energy crisis, is the other dimension of the global crisis we face. We
participants of the EPA in Vienna, recognize the importance and the
challenge of social movements, trade unions and NGOs to build the links
between the ecological and the social crises as they are intrinsically
linked with each other. We commit ourselves and call upon all social
movements and social organisations in Europe to engage in building joint
agendas of mobilization towards the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen
and beyond. At the core of these efforts shall be the building of an
integrated answer and alternative addressing the social and ecological
question at the same time, supporting the ecological conversion of our
economies. We propose a collective meeting in the early autumn to build
convergences towards Copenhagen.
*
Text from the network meeting on Copenhagen at the EPA:*
We call upon interested organisations to contribute to building a
constructive program promoting public transport, conversion of car and other
fossil-based industries, ecological reconstruction of housing, agricultural
reform and supporting public solutions. A program that needs to be financed
by a redistribution of wealth from the rich to the majority and promote
public and political solutions rather than market based solutions.
*In the assembly** two more documents were proposed and it was decided *to
put them together but I received only this one and not the complete version.
I hope that somebody can explain what happened to the list and send the
document.
-
*FR **Message de soutien aux syndicalistes turcs arrêtés*
Les organisations syndicales, associations et réseaux présents à l’AEP de
Vienne le 21 juin 2009, expriment leur indignation devant l’arrestation par
les forces de l’ordre de 30 syndicalistes de KESK et d’EGITIM-SEN, et
exigent leur libération immédiate au nom du respect des droits syndicaux,
d’expression et d’association.
-
*EN **Message supporting Turkish unionists arrested*
The trade unions, networks and organizations, gathered in Vienna for ESF-EPA
on June 21st 2009, want to protest against arrest of 30 unionists from
KESK-confederation and Egitim-Sen, and demand their immediate liberation, on
behalf of Trade unions’ rights and the right of expression and of
association.
*Minutes from the meeting of the working group Enlargement*
1.
*Crises in Central and Eastern Europe*
Working groups should be set up in individual CEE countries with the task to
write down (before the next EPA):
-
Portrait of the crises structures
-
Comparative analysis of our anti-crises programme, including culture
-
Concrete proposals based on the analysis
The EPA participants from Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Russia made such a
commitment. It is an open initiative and anybody can join.
1.
*Enlargement of the ESF 2010*
-
There are about 70 organisations working together in the Istanbul
organizing committee (IOC), including the main trade unions (TU) and
professional federations. Only one of them has left the process. IOC
established the Solidarity Fond and a database of solidarity accommodation.
-
There is a problem among Eastern European movements: they understand
neither Western European languages nor the procedure and standards how to
apply for seminars for the ESF.
-
The main problem of the societies and movements is an overall lack of
political culture, thus a weak demand for social movements.
*3. Political discussion and conclusions*
-
The participants *thank the Austrian organizers* for their warranty given
*before this EPA* to cover the travel and subsistence costs of the CEE
participants from *additional funds* raised well in advance.
-
The participants reiterated *the conclusions and demands from the ESF in
Malmö*.
-
For ESF 2010, we have to *set up a Support Group now* the tasks of which
would be to contact and involve groups and initiatives, to gather and
redistribute information including a new forum on the ESF webpage and to
start fundraising for the Solidarity fund to support the participation of
CEE initiatives and movements. It is necessary to allocate funds to pay for
the travel of *2 pax of each CEE country for the All-European Assembly at
the ESF 2010.*.
-
The *deadline* for the merged programme of the ESF has to be set at the *end
of January 2010* so that people can plan their vacations/holidays and
register for participation by March 2010. It is necessary *to invite
people from CEE to every programme meeting* and to treat proposals
(seminars, etc.) and participants from CEE countries with a priority.
-
*At least one EPA* *has to take place in CEE every year*. Just a little
preparatory group for each EPA (EPA host org., last ESF host org., next ESF
host org,) should be established.
-
Participants and movements from CEE countries are asked *to write down
proposals* for their Western European counterparts (*not asking money*) *how
to help the enlargement*.
*Education network meeting*
We focused our discussion about the role of European Education Network in
the movements growing in Europe against the processes of co modification in
education .
We decided to organize, for the 5th EPA in Berlin in early February , one
day. Friday, dedicated to education* called:*
“*Open meeting of education movements in Europe: connecting european actions
and struggles .”*
Our aim is to have an open meeting of education movements in Europe ,a
meeting intended to be a step forward in connecting European struggles and
actions in matter of education.
We are going to start collecting information about the situation in each
European country and we are preparing a base document a scheme, in order to
be able to compare the neoliberal reforms for each school level and,
generally, to compare the education policies in each European country and
the opposition to them.
In the next months before the assembly we are going to contact all the
organizations and unions since now involved in the network and, besides, we
are going to contact the organizations involved in the struggles in the
various countries, organizations that are not participating to ESF ,students
and parents organizations for instance ,in order to involve them in the
process of the “Open meeting of education movements”, and, obviously, in the
education network and in ESF itself.
We don’t know if we are going to be successful but we are sure that the only
way to strengthen ESF is to involve those new forces that during these years
participated in the movements against neoliberal reforms from pre-primary to
University in Europe.
The attacks to free and public education and the protests against it are
involving many European countries and wide movements are opposing the
neoliberal policies in education.
That’s why we suggest to dedicate a specific axis to education in next
European Social Forum in Istanbul.
--
Sah Bittu,
Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics,
BMCC Road, Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune - 411004
Maharashtra.
+91 9975 608 660 / +91 9708 741 197 (M)
Email - sahbittu at gmail.com
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