|
|
|
| |
| |
News Archive |
LAST UPDATE
July 11, 2005
|
|
|
| May 8, 2004 |
Another World is Possible - World Social Forum Japan Event |
|
| |
 |
| Prof. Isao Yoshiwara, Meiji Gakuin, Int'l Peace Research Institute |
A crowd of more than 220 people crowded into Meiji Gakuin University's Art Hall to watch a two-hour documentary film about terrorism. Given the war and occupation in Iraq, Madrid train bombings, the 9-11 airplane hijackings and the generally heightened fear of terrorism worldwide, this would not be out of the ordinary – except it was a history of U.S. state terrorism. |
|
|
 |
| Participant Workshop |
The documentary, "What I've Learned About US Foreign Policy : The War Against the Third World", produced by US filmmaker, Frank Dorrel, kicked off a full day of activism and collective brainstorming – an eight hour peace think tank called Another World is Possible. |
| |
 |
| Prof. Isao Yoshiwara, Meiji Gakuin, Int'l Peace Research Institute |
After the lights came on again the air hummed with conversation and debate. Event facilitator, Nami Yamamoto, believes the film sparked a lot of insights into why certain people actively dislike the US, as well as shed light on where modern conflicts originate. "I think [watching this documentary is] the first time in Japanese for [the audience] to be able to learn about US state terrorism, especially while the United States is accusing other countries of terrorism," said Yamamoto. |
| |
 |
| Katori Tsuyoshi, The Big Issue Magazine |
Sponsored by a coalition of diverse NGOs representing civil society, the May 8 Another World is Possible event is actually a Japanese ripple of the larger World Social Forum (WSF) process, the fourth of which took place in Mumbai, India in January 2004 (www.wsfindia.org).
The organizers of the WSF have established a potent and compelling alternative to the traditionally closed door bureaucracy and elitist, national politics that can tend to fuel conflicts and perpetuate exclusion and injustice. By contrast, the WSF is about creating an "open meeting place for reflective thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals free exchange of experiences and inter-linking for effective action, by groups and movements of civil society that…are committed to building a society centered on the human person" (from the WSF Charter of Principles). In light of this philosophy, the Tokyo event brought together a free-ranging group of experts and activists and mixed them with interested members of the public to do some serious brainstorming. |
| |
 |
| Yoko Kitazawa, International Affairs Analyst |
Participants were challenged at every step to not only envision a world without war or terrorism, but to propose concrete ideas on how to make that happen. Audience members enthusiastically pitched in and drew from their own varied experiences and skills to imagine different paths to try and resolve the world's problems and conflicts.
The WSF event, hosted by Meiji Gakuin University's International Peace Research Institute, attracted people throughout the day, highlighting the growing concern among Japanese over the future of their country - one that some believe is losing its proud reputation as the "Peace Constitution" nation. Although a healthy vein of older Japanese ran through the room, roughly 80 percent were young people between 18 – 35 years. Organized by relatively young and versatile non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the event showcased a facet of the world response to the escalating conflicts of the past decade, including the Iraq war and the Korean Peninsula crisis. Reflecting the complexities of these conflicts, panelists specializing in issues ranging from the environment and immigration to alternative media and education engaged with participants, following a short film screening about Japanese civil society at the WSF 2004 in India, produced by alternative media NGO By Our Planet. |
| |
 |
| Toshiaki Kanda, Kanda News Network (KNN) |
The differences in age, experience, career fields and even between participant and speaker blurred as panelists mingled with the audience. Yamamoto said that this type of diverse involvement and issue-based interaction is critical to bringing conflict prevention activities beyond the protest rally to a more widespread movement. "[Holding today's event] is the first step to creating such a space. We want keep up this kind of positive momentum" |
| |
 |
| Panel Discussion |
Riding in on a Seqway personal transportation device, Toshiaki Kanda certainly had his own ideas about how to achieve that momentum. In his five minute opinion statement he focused on the power the individual has to affect the rest of society through modern media technology. A dedicated, working example of his belief, Kanda runs his own one-man independent media outlet – called Kanda News Network or KNN (www.knn.com). Essentially a solo videographer, interviewer, editor and content producer, Kanda aims not only draw attention to civil society's activities, but to increase the variety of available perspectives and thus solutions. To help prove his point Kanda made a short film about the brainstorming session that followed. |
| |
 |
| Fair Trade Fashion Show |
The 200 or so participants broke up into small groups – each group with a guest panelist and a different theme:
Economics, Immigration, North-South Issues (Regional Differences): Who's benefiting?
- Terrorism and War: Is it really possible to get rid of?
- Discrimination: Is sameness good? Is difference bad?
- Health, Welfare, Education: Determining degrees of "personal responsibility"
- Natural Environment: Exploring water and food sovereignty*?
- Society and Individual: hikikomori**
- Independency of food production
Given a blank poster sheet and post-its notes, each group was encouraged to respond to three areas relating to their respective themes:
- imagine what kind of society you would like to have in near future.
- imagine in what ways you could create such a society.
- make a historical story from now until 2030, including the process necessary to reach those goals
|
| |
 |
| Model Rika Watanabe |
Yamamoto pointed to the impressive thought and sophistication participants put into considering worldwide problems such as global warming, noting such exercises as being a useful and alternative lens by which to assess governmental policies and practices. Yamamoto asserts that the domination of our future by think tank analysts, government scientists and politicians breeds inefficiency due to the exclusion of ordinary people's ideas. "That's why the role of Al-Jazeera (Arab worldwide media network) is so important. In the first Gulf War, they didn't exist. All of our information came largely from CNN, so it was being filtered." |
| |
 |
 |
 |
| Fair Trade Fashion Show Model (Ms Kawamura) |
Fair Trade Fashion Show Model |
Model Yumi Kudo |
Another World is Possible ended with an artful bang as volunteer staff and activists, most of them from Peace Boat, modeled clothes for a Fair Trade Fashion Show. Showcasing products from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Peru and Ecuador supplied by Global Village's People Tree (www.globalvillage.or.jp and www.peopletree.co.jp), a NGO that retails fair trade clothing and accessories, amongst other items, much of it being made by hand or in traditional factories, and made from organic natural fibers. |
| |
* "Food sovereignty" is a term originally coined by Via Campesina in a flyer at the World Food Summit +5 (Rome, 2002) to refer to "the right of people to define their own food and agriculture; to protect and regulate domestic agricultural production and trade in order to achieve sustainable development objectives; to determine the extent to which they want to be self reliant; to restrict the dumping of products in their markets, and; to provide local fisheries-based communities the priority in managing the use of and the rights to aquatic resources. Food sovereignty does not negate trade, but rather, it promotes the formulation of trade policies and practices that serve the rights of peoples to safe, healthy and ecologically sustainable production." Statement of People's Food Sovereignty by Via Campesina (www.viacampesina.org)
** "Hikikomori" is a Japanese word that describes a condition that includes withdrawing from society. |
| |
For further information contact:
Mari Kushibushi at pbglobal[a]peaceboat.gr.jp
Participating Organizations:
CHANCE! pono2 – www.give-peace-a-chance.jp/2002fall/
Global Village – www.globalvillage.or.jp/
ATTAC Kyoto – www.kattac.talktank.net/
Sloth Club – www.sloth.gr.jp/
KEY-Organisation of United Korean Youth in Japan – tyarangporam.soc.or.jp/index.shtml
Association of Human Rights Activists – www.kawada.com/
SAGE (Solid Action on Globalisation and Environment) – www.sage-japan.org/
Osaka Alternative School "Bochi Bochi" – www.d7.dion.ne.jp/%7Ebotiboti/
PEACE NOW KOREA JAPAN – www.peacenowkoreajapan.net/
Body and Soul – www.body-and-soul.org/wiki.cgi
BeGood Cafe – www.begoodcafe.com/
Permculture Network Kyushu – www.pcnq.net/
Peace Boat – www.peaceboat.org/english/index.html
|
| |
|
|
|
