Personal tools
You are here: Home
 

What's new

The Reflection Group at the Thematic Social Forum "Capitalist Crisis, Environmental and Social Justice" in Porto Alegre, 24-29 January 2012

 

Social Watch Report 2012 – Sustainable Development: The right to a futureFST 2012 Logo

Seminar + Panel Discussion (English/Portuguese)
26 January 2012, 9:00-12:00 a.m.
UFRGS / Faculdade de Engenharia (nova), Sala 600 - Avenida Osvaldo Aranha, 99 - Centro - Porto Alegre


The Social Watch network will launch its 2012 report on sustainable development, which includes citizen reports from 66 countries and the preliminary findings of the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development demanding a reaffirmation of the principles of sustainable development and a comprehensive redefinition of global governance and policies to make it possible.
From the “Arab Spring” to the “OWS”, citizens are on the streets around the world demanding alternative policies to the global crises –economic, financial, climate and food. In order to re-think our goals and strategies, the voices from Civil Society need to be heard. The Social Watch organizations from around the world have shaped this unique report from the grassroots, complemented with the contribution of leading civil society voices from five continents. Social Watch and its partners invite you to a lively debate with key authors of the Social Watch Report 2012. Copies of the report will be distributed.

Speakers:

Roberto Bissio, Social Watch
Alejandro Chanona, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico
Barbara Adams, Global Policy Forum, USA
Gigi Francisco, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (Dawn), Philippines
Wolfgang Obenland, GPF Europe/Social Watch, Germany

Rio+20 and beyond: Do we need sustainable development goals?

Seminar + Panel Discussion (English/Portuguese)
27 January 2012, 9:00-12:00 a.m.
UFRGS / Faculdade de Engenharia (nova), Sala 600 - Avenida Osvaldo Aranha, 99 - Centro - Porto Alegre


To move away from neoliberalism, we need an alternative development paradigm of well-being and social progress based on social, gender and environmental justice, human rights and the respect of nature. To guide and monitor policies in that sense there is a need for new metrics, i.e. new goals and indicators. One of the possible outcomes of Rio+20 will be a process towards the adoption of “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) as a new framework for development and international cooperation, replacing the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015.
You are invited to a critical debate around “SDGs” with members of the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development and other guests. Are SDGs a way forward, given the MDG-experience? Can they be of help to usher in a new development paradigm? Do we first need a new Charter on the Right to Sustainable Development as a normative basis for SDGs? Are SDGs for the rich or for the poor, or can they be applicable to both? How would a balanced approach to SDGs look like, that include development and human rights goals as well limits for the depletion of natural assets to stop the destruction of nature?

Speakers:

Alejandro Chanona, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico
Barbara Adams, Global Policy Forum, USA
Gigi Francisco, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (Dawn), Philippines
Hubert Schillinger, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Germany
Rodrigo Stumpf Gonzales, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil
Roberto Bissio, Social Watch

 

 

Social Watch Report 2012: The Right to a Future

sw2012report

 

Growing inequalities and unregulated finances are expropriating people everywhere from their fair share in the benefits of global prosperity. The Social Watch Report 2012 concentrates on the effects of present mismangements and false recepies on the rights and well-being of future generations. “The ‘right to a future’ is the most urgent task of the present,” writes Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, member of the Reflection Group and editor-in-chief of the study. “It is about nature, yes, but it is also about our grandchildren, and about our own dignity, the expectations of the 99% of the world’s 7 billion men and women, girls and boys that were promised sustainability two decades ago and have found instead their hopes and aspirations being melted into betting chips of a global financial casino beyond their control.”

The lengthy study, based on the contribution of citizens’ organizations in 66 countries from all over the world that produced their national reports, concludes that “growing inequalities and unregulated finances are expropiating people everywhere from their fair share in the benefits of global prosperity”. “Our children will inherit the burden of deforestation, desertification, erosion of biodiversity and climate change. To revert this trend, the promise of universal dignity brought by human rights has to be enforced and the rights of future generations need to be recognized and properly defended,” concludes this 16th edition of the Social Watch Report.

The book includes thematic chapters written by members of relevant social and academic organizations, such as the Reflection Group on Global Development, Third World Network, Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), Social Development Network (SODNET, Kenia), Eurostep, Feminist Alliance For International Action (FAFIA, Canadá), Global Policy Forum and terre des hommes.

 

The thematic chapters

 

The report also contains the data of the most recent measurement of the Basic Capabilities Index (BCI), indicator that combines infant mortality rates, the number of births attended by trained personnel and enrolment rates in primary school. This year Japan is in the top position and Chad at the bottom. The global BCI shows progresses between 1990 and 2011, although in general the progress slowed down between the previous decade and the next one. Since 2000, the BCI moved up just 3 points (100 is the maximum value), while world CO2 emissions, that had fallen in the last decade of the 20th century, moved up from 4.1 tons per capita to 4.6 tons. World trade and per capita income also grew faster than the social indicators.

All chapters, including the statistical data, country reports etc. can be downloaded here.

This year's edition includes the Gender Equity Index (GEI) and the new Social and Economic Rights Fulfillment Index (SERF Index), that determines the extent to which countries are meeting their obligations to fulfill five human rights enumerated in the International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: the right to food, the right to adequate shelter, the right to healthcare, the right to education, and the right to decent work.

 

Input by the Reflection Group for the Compilation Document of the Rio 2012 Conference

Titelfoto_Riostatement

 

On 31 October 2011 the Reflection Group submitted a statement to the secretariat of the Rio+20 Conference to be held in June 2012. It was prepared during a drafting session in October in New Paltz, NY and highlights some of the issues and proposals that will come up in the final report of the Reflection Group again. The final report will come out in spring of 2012 after a final meeting of the Group.

The statement to the Rio+20 conference can be downloaded here.

Also, take a look at the statements by other stakeholders to the compilation document on the UNCSD website.

 

 

 

 

Fourth Meeting of the Reflection Groupdhf

For its fourth and - if things go as planned - final meeting, the Reflection Group is kindly hosted by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in Uppsala, Sweden. While there is a lot do for the group on the three days from the 16th-18th of September, the group will also listen to this year's "Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture" delivered by Jan Eliasson, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden and former President of the UN General Assembly.

 

Already on Thursday, September 15th, 19.15h, members of the group will join for public panel debate on "20 Years After Rio – Global Development Perspectives" at Uppsala University Building, Hall IX. Roberto Bissio (Uruguay), Yoke Ling Chee (Malaysia), Jorge Ishizawa (Peru), and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Philippines) will discuss under the moderation of Henning Melber.

 

 

Third Meeting of the Reflection Group in Manila

The Reflection Group met for the third time in direct succession to the Social Watch Global Assembly in Manila, Philippines. The discussions brought many new insights. With the meeting in Uppsala coming up shortly, the group started working on the final outcome, that was decided to be in the form of a report on the "development" and well-being.

meeting03

To get an idea of the meeting, visit our picture gallery.

 

Urgent Appeal to Change the Mindset

At their second meeting in New York City, 4-6 March 2011, the members of the Reflection Group formulated the following appeal. The appeal can be downloaded as a pdf-file here. A Spanish version is available for download as well.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio 2012, must change the dominant mindset by:

Restoring public rights over corporate privileges

after thirty years of strengthening the power of investors and big corporations through deregulation, trade and financial liberalization, tax cuts and exemptions, and weakening the role of the state; and after the market-driven financial meltdown.

The principles and values of the Rio Declaration and the UN Millennium Declaration, adopted by heads of states and governments, are threatened and urgently need to be re-established. They include Human Rights, Freedom, Equality, Solidarity, Diversity, Respect for Nature, and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities. Corporate interests do not uphold these principles and values.

Taking equity seriously

after thirty years of policies that further widened the gap between rich and poor and have exacerbated inequities and inequalities, not least regarding access to resources.

Unbridled market forces have favored the strong, thereby widening the economic divide. This requires the state to redress the imbalance, eliminate discrimination, and ensure sustainable livelihoods, decent work and social inclusion. Intergenerational justice requires restraint and responsibility of the present generation. It is urgent to establish more equitable per capita rights towards the global commons and to the emission of greenhouse gases, taking fully into account historical responsibility.

Rescuing nature

after more than sixty years of global warming, loss of biodiversity, desertification, depletion of marine life and of forests, a spiraling water crisis and many other ecological catastrophes.

The environmental crisis is hitting the poor much more than the affluent. Knowledge-intensive solutions including technologies are available to restore natural systems, and dramatically reduce pressures on climate and the environment while improving human well-being. A “green economy” is attainable but must be embedded in a holistic concept of sustainability. What we need is a change of lifestyles.

The Rio 1992 Summit adopted legally-binding instruments and embraced Civil Society. The Johannesburg Summit 2002 celebrated partnerships relying on a self-regulated Private Sector. The Rio 2012 Summit must re-affirm the State as the indispensable actor setting the legal frame, enforcing standards of equity and human rights, and fostering long-term ecological thinking, based on democratic legitimacy.

This appeal was formulated by the following members of the Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives:
Albert Recknagel, terre des hommes Germany; Alejandro Chanona, National Autonomous University of México; Barbara Adams, Global Policy Forum; Beryl d'Almeida, Abandoned Babies Committee Zimbabwe; Chee Yoke Ling, Third World Network; Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, International Resource Panel; Filomeno Sta. Ana III, Action for Economic Reform; George Chira, terre des hommes India; Gigi Francisco, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era; Henning Melber, Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation; Hubert Schillinger, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung; Jens Martens, Global Policy Forum Europe; Jorge Ishizawa, Proyecto Andino de Tecnologias Campesinas; Karma Ura, Centre for Bhutan Studies; Roberto Bissio, Social Watch; Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba Foundation; Yao Graham, Third World Network Africa

Endorsements can be added online at www.choike.org

A Spanish version of the appeal is available for download as a pdf-file.

 

Workshop at the WSF 2011: "Thinking Ahead: Towards a New Development Paradigm"

 

First Meeting of the Reflection Group

The first meeting of the Reflection Group took place January 12-14 in Berlin. The meeting was a great start for the work of the group with a shared sense of urgency and commitment by the members. A report on the meeting will be available soon. Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III has already written an essay on the meeting that was published in the January 17, 2011 edition of BusinessWorld. Also, to get an impression of the meeting, please have a glimpse at some photographs.

 

Thinking Ahead - Development Models and Indicators of Well-Being Beyond the MDGs

As a first small input to the debate within the Reflection Group, the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation and Global Policy Forum published a paper titled "Thinking Ahead -Development Models and Indicators of Well-being Beyond the MDGs", written by Jens Martens.

After identifying a number of deficits and weaknesses in the MDG approach and discussing three options for the future of the MDGs, the paper looks at different projects of alternative models and measures of well-being and development.

It finally provides an outlook on a way forward towards the definition of a new set of global development goals.

The paper is available for download from this website. Just follow the link below.

 

Rethinking Development and Progress

Alliance of Civil Society Groups, Networks and Foundations launches Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives


Beijing/Berlin/Montevideo/New York/Uppsala, November 15, 2010 – Today, an alliance of civil society groups, networks and foundations, including Third World Network, Social Watch, DAWN, the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, Global Policy Forum, terre des hommes, and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, launched the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives.

The group consists of about 15 leading civil society activists, experts and academics from around the globe. The group will assess conventional and alternative models of development and well-being, reconsider development goals and indicators, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), draw conclusions for future development strategies and provide specific policy recommendations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012.

We find ourselves at a crucial point in time – fast approaching the 2015 deadline for the MDGs, while preparing for the 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development. Today’s unprecedented coincidence of global crises – economic, financial, food and climate – reveals the dead end to which the dominating models of development have led us. It is now time to break old ground, to draw lessons from these crises and to fundamentally rethink our goals and measures of development and social progress – in North and South.

The time between the Summits 2010 and 2012 provides a unique window of opportunity to reconsider the current development paradigm and to develop strategies towards a holistic, rights-based approach of global development and well-being.

Four meetings of the Reflection Group are scheduled to take place throughout 2011. The expected outcome will be presented in a report to be published prior to the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.

Group Members

Barbara Adams (Global Policy Forum, US), Beryl d’Almeida (Abandoned Babies Committee, Zimbabwe), Alejandro Chanona Burguete (National Autonomous University of México), Chee Yoke Ling (Third World Network, China), Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (Germany), Filomeno Santa Ana III (Action for Economic Reforms, Philippines), George Chira (terre des hommes India), Gigi Francisco (Development Alternatives with Women for the New Era, Philippines), Henning Melber (Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Sweden), Jorge Ishizawa (Proyecto Andino de Tecnologias Campesinas, Peru), Karma Ura (Centre for Bhutan Studies, Bhutan), Roberto Bissio (Third World Institute/Social Watch, Uruguay) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines), Yao Graham (Third World Network-Africa, Ghana), Jens Martens (Global Policy Forum Europe, Germany), Hubert Schillinger (Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, Germany), Danuta Sacher (terre des hommes Germany).