International Indian Treaty Council

     CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE TRATADOS INDIOS

“WORKING FOR THE RIGHTS AND RECOGNITION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES"
   
Home About Us Contact Web Content Search
 

 
Home
Urgent / Urgente
IITC E-News
UN Declaration
Upcoming Events
IITC Training
OAS Declaration
Environment
Climate Change
Treaties / Tratados
The Right to Food
Prisoners
Permanent Forum
Racism
Treaty Conferences
Treaty Council News
Human Rights
International Decade
Global Trade
Cultural Rights
Youth Program
Women & Children
Health / Toxics
Affiliate Input
IITC Annual Reports
Contact information
Links
Make a Contribution
IITC Photos
 

 

 

May 19, 2004
Dear Friends,

With this letter we start the mobilization for the Fifth World Social Forum
(WSF), which will be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from January 26 to
January 31, 2005. This letter has been sent, in different languages, to
thousands of organisations that have participated in previous editions of
the WSF (in Porto Alegre from 2001 to 2003 and in Mumbai in 2004) and in the
Thematic and Regional Social Forums. Besides that, it can be duplicated and
sent through electronic mailing lists available with the National and Local
Social Forums Committees.

There is a special reason why we are contacting you now. We are planning
important changes in the format of the Fifth WSF. While maintaining the
diversity which is typical of the WSF, we would like to transform the WSF
into a space that is increasingly capable of facilitating interlinkages and
common actions among different participants who come together in the WSF. In
order to achieve that, it is necessary to improve the process of finalising
"large events" (Conferences, Panels, Testimonies and Round Tables of
Dialogue and Controversies) as well as the registration of hundreds of
Seminars and Workshops that can be proposed by any organisation registered
for the event.

As everything that happens in the WSF, this step forward can only be
possible with the participation of all - including yours. This new process
starts now. Through a questionnaire designed to initiate the consultation,
which will be available on the Internet, we will try to assess the central
themes which are seen as priority issues by organisations for the WSF in
2005, and around which organisations are interested in organising their
activities at the WSF. Based on this consultation we shall initiate the
process of building the programme for the WSF over the next eight months. We
are looking forward to your active participation in the process!

Warm regards from the WSF International Secretariat
Towards the WSF 2005


The new format for the WSF has been designed during an International Council
meeting, which took place between April 4 and 7, in Passignano sul
Trasimeno, Italy. Following are the principal elements in the new format:


Facilitate the aggregate of proposals for Workshops and Seminars

Consultation to formulate the basic thematic axes of the WSF 2005 programme

Working Groups to facilitate the aggregate of proposals

"Large events" finalised through the consultations

Autonomy and diversity guaranteed in the entire process

Programme finalised in November

Now it is up to us


Facilitate the aggregate of proposals for Workshops and Seminars


One of the key features of the World Social Forum is its non-centralised
format. At the WSF, any organisation can present its views, experiences and
activities through Workshops and Seminars that the organisation is free to
organise. Besides, as the WSF does not release a final statement, there is
no hierarchy among the diverse issues discussed at the WSF. This commitment
to plurality has allowed WSF to attract a diverse number of movements which
are united in their opposition to neo-liberalism. In 2001, 420
self-organised activities were held. By 2004, this figure increased to
around 1,200. This emphasis on the promotion of diversity will always be at
the core of the WSF and will be reinforced. Thus, in WSF 2005, the free and
autonomous organisation of Workshops and Seminars will continue to be a
right enjoyed by everybody who takes part in the Forum.

Equally important, however, is the necessity to allow organisations and
people who are interested in struggling towards similar goals to come
together in order to build links and plan common actions - during and
between World Social Forum events. In the process of preparing for WSF 2005,
we want to enhance the mechanisms capable of ensuring this as well.

The first mechanism we need to work on is information. This year, when an
event (workshop or seminar) is registered, each organisation will be
informed through the WSF website about other self-organised activities
already proposed on the same theme. The system will also provide contacts,
e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of the organisations that are
associated with these proposed activities.

The idea is to allow the initiation of a dialogue and building of linkages
among those who struggle for a new world before the World Social Forum
event. We hope that in many cases this would lead to the combining or
unifying of Workshops and Seminars proposed on similar topics, or
coordination between proposals on shared concerns. The outcome should be
activities that are richer, more diverse and more capable of generating
alternatives and actions. We would like to avoid repetition and redundancy.
Multiple events on similar concerns with little or no co-ordination is
counterproductive and frustrating for thousands of people who come to the
WSF.

The aggregate (combining of events or coordination between registered events
on similar themes) of events is, however, a voluntary and self-organised
process that will only be facilitated (but not directed) by the
International Council and the International Secretariat of the WSF. There is
no obligation for any organisation to be part of this process of aggregate.
Organisations will retain the option of continuing with their initial
proposal if they do not wish to associate with others or if efforts to
aggregate their events with those of others are not successful.



Consultation to formulate the basic thematic axes of the WSF 2005 programme


The efforts at facilitating dialogue and interlinkages begin with this
letter, sent to thousands of organisations that have participated in
previous editions of the WSF (in Porto Alegre from 2001 to 2003 and in
Mumbai in 2004) and in the Thematic and Regional Social Forums. Through a
questionnaire designed to initiate the consultation, which will be available
soon, we will try to assess the central themes which are seen as priority
issues by organisations for the WSF in 2005, and around which organisations
are interested in organising their activities at the WSF. Based on this
consultation we shall initiate the process of building the programme for the
WSF over the next eight months.

Let it be clear that this consultation is not designed to function as the
registration process for Seminars and Workshops - we understand that most
organisations are yet to finalise the structure and content of events they
wish to organise at WSF 2005. Thus participation in this consultation by
filling the questionnaire is not a necessary requirement for those who would
eventually want to register events for WSF 2005. But those who do
participate will be helping WSF 2005 to move forward.

Organisations can participate in the consultation by filling the
questionnaire on the WSF website -- this process will start from the
beginning of June. The information filled in by organisations will be
available on a database that everybody can access through the WSF website.
Organisation that do not have access to the internet can send their filled
questionnaires by regular mail, which will also be incorporated into the
database. The database will be user-friendly and allow people to retrieve
information regarding the kind of proposals that organisations have made,
their contact details and other relevant information.

A final output of the consultation will be the defining of the thematic axes
of the WSF 2005. These will emerge from the consultation, from your inputs,
and not based on any decision of the International Council or the
Secretariat. We see this as a major advance for the "open space" concept of
the WSF process.



Working Groups to facilitate the aggregate of proposals


Access to the database will allow organisations to initiate contacts with
others with similar proposals. This process would also be supported by
working groups, which we will call aggregate groups. They are expected to be
formed in July.

Aggregate groups will be created to facilitate specific thematic areas or
issues around which there are greater concentrations of expected activities
- and, therefore, the task of co-ordinating or unifying Workshops and
Seminars is more complex. The Content and Methodology Commission of the WSF
International Council will coordinate the process, but it will essentially
be a self-organised process.

For each issue, members of the aggregate group will be drawn from
representatives of organisations that are interested in organising Seminars
and Workshops on that particular issue. The groups will need to function
keeping in mind the inclusive spirit of the WSF process, respecting
diversity and plurality.

Let us see how we propose to start forming these aggregate groups.
Supposing, for example, there are a dozen of organisations which indicate
through the consultation that they are interested in promoting issues
related to Global Peace in the WSF 2005. In June, the Methodology and
Content and Thematic commissions of the IC will start to contact these
organisations and propose that they form a aggregate group. When the
proposal is accepted, the group can decide upon a common agenda over the
next few weeks. The group will then have the task of putting together a set
of workshops and seminars around the issue of Peace. By incorporating
different points of view, they will be richer, more diverse, and capable of
formulating alternatives that are attractive to people.



"Large events" finalised through the consultations


The work of the aggregate groups will not be limited, however, just to the
Workshops and Seminars. In 2005, the "large events" (Conferences, Panels,
Testimonies and Round Table of Dialogue and Controversy), which were
finalised, until 2003, by the International Council, will be constructed
from the consultations.

Let us go back to our example. To enrich further the agenda of Global Peace,
the aggregate group constituted to deal with this theme will be able to
plan, for example, Testimonies with people who are fighting against the war,
a Conference, a Panel and a Round Table of Dialogue and Controversy.

The new methodology incorporates, among other elements, the innovations
introduced during WSF 2004, in Mumbai, where part of the "large events" were
conceived and organised constructed by international networks - and not by
the Indian Organising Committee. The objective now is to work further on
this innovation. By this process the "large events" besides being organised
by multiple actors with a diversity of views and perceptions, would also be
organically connected to the Workshops and Seminars.



Autonomy and diversity guaranteed in the entire process


Formal registration of Workshops and Seminars will start from August on.
When registering an activity, each organisation will have access to the
proposed agendas prepared by different Aggregate Groups. They will be
available on the WSF website. Organisations will be provided with the
facility to add or make changes to these agendas that have been proposed.
The Aggregate Groups will continue to facilitate the process.

The events registered will be available on the WSF website and the
opportunity would be available to make contacts and link with organisers
proposing events on similar themes. When organisations, through the active
mediation of aggregate groups or through their own initiative decide to
combine or co-ordinate their events with those of others, they shall have
the facility to modify their initial proposals.

As would be clear, the autonomy and diversity that distinguishes the WSF
will be guaranteed throughout the process. The process of aggregate of
events will respect the principles of inclusive participation, continuing
dialogue and plurality of views.

We will facilitate this effort to build a WSF that is designed to promote
the construction of alternatives and the initiation of common actions. We
will work to promote different kinds of preparatory meetings to further this
effort. The principal goal would be to try to ensure that, in Porto Alegre,
participating groups are able to jump from "I" to "we". To repeat: no
aggregate of activities at the WSF 2005 will be imposed. Those who so wish
can organise their independent activities or co-ordinate with other
organisations without the mediation of aggregate groups.



Programme finalised in November


The new methodology for the WSF 2005 programme also seeks to solve one of
the biggest problems at World Social Forums: lack of previous announcement
of the activities to be held during the event.

The process starting from registration of events to the final phase of
aggregate of events will last three months: from August to October. In this
period, besides the Workshops and Seminars, "large events" proposed by
Aggregate Groups will be finalised. In November, the first draft of the
programme will be available on the WSF website - subject to minor
adjustments and corrections. This will help organisations decide in advance
the kind of activities which they would like to participate in or conduct
during the event. This will help them prepare better for Porto Alegre.



Now it is up to us


The innovation detailed above are a challenge for all of us. We feel that
after successfully organising four editions of the WSF, it is now possible
to organise a Forum that maintains the plural nature of the WSF, and at the
same is more capable of facilitating the formulation of alternatives and the
construction of common actions.

Nothing will be possible in a top-down manner. We propose that you get
involved with the World Social Forum 2005 from now! Print and spread this
letter and the questionnaire/ consultation form; send it by e-mail to other
members of the organisation you belong to; discuss the questions drifts with
them. If possible, try to send printed versions of this letter and of the
form to organisations that identify themselves with the Forum, but have not
Internet access.

>From June, participate in the consultation by filling in the questionnaire
on the WSF website, and encourage others whom you know to do likewise.
Follow the results of the consultation as they unfold on the WSF website.
Contact other organisations that are interested in debating issues in which
you have an interest. Consider the possibility of joining a Aggregate Group.


Beyond this, we will of course be willing to clarify any queries that you
may have.

A little more than eight months separate us from Porto Alegre 2005. Let us
strive to build a World Social Forum that stays alive in everybody's memory,
because it truly advances the struggle for a new world.



Warm regards from the
WSF International Secretariat


This email is sent as part of the work of the International Communications
Committee of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity. We hope
that you find this service useful.
If you wish to unsubscribe from this group, please send an email to:
IIFBCommunications-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
 

 

Latest IITC E-News

Treaty Council May 2010 E-News

Treaty Council February 2010 E-News

Past Issues

Action Alerts /

Acciones Urgentes:

THE UNITED STATES REVIEWING ITS POSITION ON THE UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES:  BACKGROUND UPDATES AND POINTS FOR INPUT FROM IITC, June 15th 2010 (PDF 107K)

Chickaloon Village in Alaska takes a stand against Usibelli Coal mine, press release June 6th 2010 (PDF 42K)

US State Department Review of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Consultation schedule

IITC UPR Submission for the United States of America Examination, April 12th , 2009 (PDF 35K)

UPR State Department “Listening session” with Indigenous Peoples Agenda, Albuquerque March 16th, 2010 (PDF 407K)

HUMAN RIGHTS “LISTENING SESSIONS” AROUND US FOR THE UPR REVIEW PROCESS: National Update from IITC, February 17th 2010 (PDF 95K)

New IITC Fact Sheet: US to be reviewed by the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process in 2010, submissions due April 19th , 2010 (PDF 94K)

IITC Submission to US Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, US Obligations under International Treaties” (submissions due by December 18th) (PDF 64K)

"Millions lack access to affordable and adequate housing in the U.S.", UN Press Release November 8th 2009

Preliminary findings by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing Raquel Rolnik on her recent US visit” November 7th 2009 (PDF 103K)

Comunicación y Accion Urgente de CITI al ONU sobre el asesinato de Miguel Angel Perez en Morelos Mexico, 10 noviembre de 2010 (PDF 37K)

IITC Urgent Action Communication to the UN on the assassination of Miguel Angel Perez in Morelos Mexico, November 19th 2009 (PDF 30K)

Asesinado Dirigente Indigena en México, 31 de octubre 2009 (PDF 71K)

Indigenous leader Assassinated in Morelos Mexico October 31st 2009 (PDF 88K)

UN Rapporteur on the Human Right to Adequate Housing to visit Pine Ridge Reservation as part of US investigation, IITC press release October 11th 2009 (PDF 173K)

American Indian activist Peltier denied parole

IITC Urgent Action letter to Peruvian government, June 9th 2009 (PDF 90K)

Final “Anchorage Declaration” from the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change, April 24th 2009

 

Important Updates

Noticias al Dia:

UN Environment Programme (UNEP), First session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on mercury (INC 1) June 7 – 11, 2010, Stockholm Sweden- Indigenous Peoples Statement, June 7, 2010, presented by Jackie Warledo, IITC

New! Web site for the UN Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya

Declaración final de la Conferencia de las Organizaciones Sociales, Movimientos Sociales y ONG previo a la Consulta Regional de la FAO sobre Directrices Voluntarias de Tenencia de la Tierra y Recursos Naturales, realizada los días 17,18 y 19 de mayo de 2010, Brasilia, Brasil

UNPFII 9th session, Joint Interventions and reports submitted or endorsed by IITC

Minister of Maori affairs Dr. Pita Sharples announced to the UNPFII 9th session April 19th, 2010: “Today New Zealand changes its position: We are pleased to express our support for the Declaration"

US Permanent Representative to the UN announces at UNPFII9, April 20th 2010: “The United States has decided to review our position regarding the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”

A Brief Overview: Key United States' International Human Rights Obligations relevant to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Process" IITC handout (PDF 83K)

International Expert Group Meeting: Indigenous Children and Youth in Detention, Custody, Foster-Care and Adoption

Lima Declaration, II Latin American Indigenous Summit on Climate Change January 25 – 26, 2010 (PDF 163K)

UN Expert Mechanism on Indigenous Peoples calls for submissions for Study on Right to Participate in Decision Making” by February 26th (PDF 17K)

Declaración de Lima Por la Vida de la Madre Naturaleza y Humana”, II Cumbre Latinoamericana sobre Cambio Climático e Impacto en los Pueblos Indígenas: Post Copenhague, Lima, Perú el 25 y 26 de Enero del 2010 (PDF 162K)

NEW BOOK - Making the Declaration Work

International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change Final High Level Statement to COP4 in Copenhagen, December 18, 2009

Certificate of Honor presented to the IITC by the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors, November 23rd 2009 (PDF 284K)

International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) Statement on Shared Vision, COP 15, Copenhagen, 7 December 2009

United Nations Permanent Forum 9th session, April 19th - 30th 2010

Alcatraz Thanksgiving and 40th Anniversary Sunrise Gathering November 26th 2009 (PDF 696K)

IITC Brochure 10-09 (PDF 132K)

IITC Brochure, En Espanol 10-09 (PDF 132K)

IITC 2009 Annual Conference Resolutions/Resoluciones de la Conferencia Anual de CITI de 2009 en Ustupu Panama

New IITC Handout: “Food Sovereignty and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (PDF 254K)

Oja informativa actualizada de CITI: “La Soberanía Alimentaria y los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas” (PDF 266K)

New/Nuevo: Necessary Information for Complaints to Human Rights Bodies/ Información Necesaria para las Comunicaciones a instancias de Derechos Humanos (PDF 71K)

New brochure: IITC Human Rights Training Program (PDF 371K)

Nuevo folleto: Programa de Capacitación y Formación sobre Derechos Humanos de CITI (PDF 168K)

OHCHR Study on climate change and human rights

Indigenous Peoples and the Right to Free Prior Informed Consent”, new IITC educational factsheet (PDF 115K)

Los Pueblos Indigenas y el Derecho al Consentamiento Libre, Previa e Informada”, nueva hoja informative de CITI (PDF 111K)

IITC Submission to the OHCHR for Study on Human Rights and Climate Change- December 26th, 2008 (PDF 272K)

NEW Indigenous Portal for up to the minute news on Indigenous Peoples’ work at the UN and around the world

Human Rights Training Materials

New: Updated IITC fact sheet: Pesticides, Tribal Health and Human Rights, North and South (PDF 111K)

Nuevo: Hoja informativa actualizada de CITI: “LOS PLAGUICIDAS, LA SALUD DE LAS TRIBUS Y LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS EN EL NORTE Y EL SUR” (PDF 111K)

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as adopted by the UN General Assembly September 13th 2007 (PDF 56k)

Declaracion de las Naciones Unidas sobre los derechos de los Pueblos Indigenas, adoptada por la Asemblea General el 13 de septiembre de 2007 (PDF 60K) 

Link for the COMMITTEE FOR THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Pesticides are Poison” booklet now available online

Los Plaguicidas son Venenos” manual ahora disponible en internet

UN Web page, Indigenous Peoples and Treaties, the UN Treaty Study Expert Seminars