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| Global University Unit 3-ReportCivil Society Connecting
the World: Joining the World Social Forum |
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| Lecture by Susan George at the World Social
Forum, Porto Alegre |
Unit 3 of Peace Boat's Global University (GU) programme
got underway as the ship departed Namibia, bound for South America.
Twenty-one students enrolled in the two-week course focusing on Globalisation,
the World Social Forum
(WSF) and the role of civil society in making 'Another World Possible'.
As GU Coordinator, Shige Goda noted, 'This is the first time GU has
attempted to address the heady issue of globalisation and so we've
divided the course into three parts: 1) economic globalisation 2)
alternative models of globalisation through attending the WSF and
3) economic crisis in Argentina and its social impact.' While two-thirds
of participants in the GU course have been to university or are still
studying, over 80 per cent of them claimed to have no prior knowledge
of economic globalisation and related issues including the WSF. GU
students come from a range of backgrounds, including nursing, retail,
and the arts, so being exposed to topics such as the World Trade Organization
(WTO), trade liberalisation and development, not to mention being
able to attend the four day multilingual experience of the WSF, proved
to be new and challenging opportunities. |
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| Koshin Fukushima and GU students at the World
Social Forum |
The first six GU seminars were led by Mr Koshin
Fukushima of ATTAC (Association for
the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens )
Japan and AIDC (Alternative Information
and Development Centre) South Africa. Mr Fukushima has been working
in Cape Town for six years on the foreign debt cancellation campaign
and has also become a specialist on the implications of neo-liberalism
and global free trade on developing countries. The opening discussion
focused on the level of satisfaction each person felt about their
life in Japan. Students named the high cost of living, dense population,
pressure to succeed economically and conform socially, as factors
leading to personal discontent and unease. Links were then made back
to how the effects of neo-liberal globalisation may be associated
with the stated dissatisfactions, for example, being part of a company
whose dominant motivation is to make profit at the expense of the
mental and physical health of its workers. From this point, students
divided into four groups in order to focus on 1) global free trade,
including WTO principles and regional trade systems; 2) privatisation,
especially water management in South Africa; 3) East Asian currency
crisis of 1997 and its aftermath; and 4) Tobin Tax - a proposal whereby
international financial transactions are taxed. Small group discussion
and research followed, and presentations helped others better understand
the diverse issues. In his open lectures, Mr Fukushima addressed poverty
and economic development in ostensibly 'post-apartheid' South Africa.
He highlighted the constraints of external and illegitimate debts,
and entry into the New Partnership for Africans' Development (NEPAD),
as well as economic apartheid, as central factors to deal with in
pursuing real development. Students gained a new perspective into
a range of concepts that armed them well for the dynamic discussion
sessions at the WSF. |
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| GU students Akemi Okuyama (left) and Matsudaira
Shintaro tells other participants about their experiences at
WSF |
Although Brazilian guest, Jos・Araujo attended the
WSF in 2002, and was able to brief GU students on what the WSF was
about and what to expect, most GU students experienced some feelings
akin to culture shock upon arrival. Besides being exposed to a rainbow
of cultural flavours and experiences for the first time, the discussion-based
events impressed upon all GU students the importance of effective
communication at an international forum. Tamura Kazumi, 24, felt not
being able to understand English or Spanish was an impediment to grasping
the contents of lectures, as well as being able to share ideas and
concepts with other Forum participants. Attending the WSF was still
a very positive experience for her, but Kazumi feels especially inspired
to improve her English ability. Alternatively, Matsudaira Shintaro,
20, commented that the fact he had studied articles by international
economist Susan George during the GU unit meant that listening to
her speak live at WSF was an incredibly powerful experience. Not only
did Shintaro believe he grasped the WTO-related issues, he felt stirred
by the atmosphere of genuine zeal and interest, and felt connected
to the 4000-person audience through their common experience. GU students
hopped from workshop to forum, from rally to lecture during the three-day
excursion. Being able to attend an HIV/AIDS workshop organised by
TAC (Treatment Action Campaign),
one of Peace Boat's partner NGOs in South Africa, demonstrated to
some students the growing interconnection of international civil society.
Witnessing the diversity of community based organizations and social
movements present at the WSF helped shift some GU students' perceptions
of what volunteerism or activism is actually about. Interestingly,
some students remarked that through participating in the WSF as a
member of civil society from Japan, they realised the importance of
ordinary people voicing their opinions and being part of any decision-making
process, and no longer felt persuaded that being part of a grassroots
movement need be 'radical' or 'uncool' or 'just for old, retired people.
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| Ubiquitous graffiti on the doors of banks in
Buenos Aires |
The final day of the five-day Latin-America overland
trip involved studying the implications of the economic, social and
political crisis in Argentina. Students went on a walking tour of
the financial district in Buenos Aires and learned about the events
of December 2001 when the middle classes, angered at the Government's
decision to limit bank withdrawals, joined the unemployed and impoverished
sectors in mass rallies throughout the country. The protests resulted
in violence against marchers by the federal police in the central
square, the Plaza de Mayo, including twenty-seven civilian fatalities.
In 2002 the economy shrank by more than 11 per cent, the prices of
basic goods soared by 75 per cent and more than a quarter of Argentina's
work force was unemployed. GU students met with members of a local
'assemblia', one of many informally organised neighbourhood committees
that are assuming responsibility for many of the social services,
including health care, non-cash trading and micro-credit projects,
which the dysfunctional government is unable to provide. In addition
to hearing first hand of the ongoing struggle to escape the crisis
and be productive in spite of the widespread unemployment and pervasive
disillusionment in society, we learned that the period of depression
has also produced a remarkable spirit of cooperation and generosity.
Visiting several 'comedors', or micro-enterprises such as soup kitchens
and bakeries to feed the poor (namely, 'Movimiento Teresa Rodriguez'),
made clear the way ordinary people are mobilising to help themselves
in the face of political instability and economic paralysis. Similarly,
we met people from the 'piqueteros' movement in the outskirts of Buenos
Aires, who are struggling to make ends meet by pooling their meagre
resources together to survive, and protesting by road blocks to draw
attention to their dire situation and demand their basic rights. GU
students also received a lecture by World Bank officer, Yanina Budkin,
entitled, 'Argentina's crisis and its impact on household welfare'.
Besides providing valuable detailed information on the economic background
to the crisis, GU students had the chance to ask questions about the
World Bank's role in providing an emergency response. |
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| Carina Balladares, Argentinian sociologist lectures
on the growing power of the social movement in Argentina |
University sociology lecturer and key organiser
of the Argentine Social Forum, Ms Carina Balladares, presented three
seminars back onboard the ship as Peace Boat sailed to Ushuaia, the
southernmost city of Argentina. Carina helped students understand
better the situation in Argentina, following the intensive one-day
exposure tour in Buenos Aires. She explained how factors such as the
pegging of the peso to the US dollar since 1991 and Argentina's default
on its $132 million foreign debt, contributed to the financial meltdown.
As well as clarifying the historical, economic and political issues,
Carina focused on the social implications of the crisis, especially
the fact that almost half the population now lives below the official
poverty line. By pointing out that the neo-liberal model of economic
development and continued political incompetence have led to the current
strife, Carina stressed the importance of social movements and civilian
power in improving the situation. For example, with no help from the
government with social security, health and education, community groups
have asserted responsibility in providing basic health care and job-training
programmes. In Buenos Aires, community leaders have come together
to force the city council into blocking the handover of publicly owned
land to private property developers. |
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| GU students with members of a Buenos Aires neighbourhood
committee or 'assemble' |
For GU students, the Unit 3 study programme addressing
globalisation and international civil society offered the rare opportunity
of being able to combine traditional seminar-based discussion and
reading with on-site visits to meet the people both effecting change,
and being affected, by the relevant issues. Bringing the study content
to life by actually interacting with, for example, local activists
who are seeking to develop alternatives that will benefit the neediest
people in society rather than the most powerful, seems to have a strong
impact on students. As one participant remarked, 'Although I still
don't know for sure exactly what kind of changes I can make when I
return to Japan, or which organization I would like to get involved
with, I do know that I want to be well-informed about international
issues, especially relating to the countries that I've visited. I've
come to realise that it's critical to learn a variety of perspectives,
other than what the main newspapers or TV news tell us. I can now
appreciate how the actions we take and the choices we make, even at
home in Japan, can have some form of impact on people in another part
of the world.' |
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| Peace Boat's
40th Voyage index |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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