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Rendez-vous with NIGD in 2003
Rendez-vous with NIGD in 2003
DecemberNIGD speaks at lecture series on refugees
On 4 December Katarina Sehm Patomäki will present a path towards global democratization at STOA in Helsinki. The lecture is the final part in a series on refugees.
November
The future of the World Social Forum?
On 27 November Teivo Teivainen speaks on the future of the World Social Forum at the University of Helsinki.
Global democracy?
On 25 November, Attac Sörkka in Helsinki invites Heikki Patomäki to discuss with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, Outi Hakkarainen and Hilkka Pietilä about global democracy at the University of Helsinki.
What World Social Forum?
On 21 November Teivo Teivainen spoke of the World Social Forum at the University of Stockholm.
Global democracy?
On 20 November, Teivo Teivainen gave a lecture on the first steps toward global democracy at the Södertörn University, Sweden.
WSF IC Content Commission meetings
On 20-21 Nov there was the joint meeting of the Indian Programme Committee and the Content and Thematic Commission of the WSF-IC. On 22 and 23 Marko Ulvila observed the joint meeting of the India Organising Committee (IOC) and the India General Council. Also Vijay Pratap took part in these meetings.
Global democracy?
On 20 November, Teivo Teivainen gave a lecture on the first steps toward global democracy at the Växjö University, Sweden.
Learning from Latin America - Cosmopolitan pedagogy and global power
Teivo Teivainen gives a lecture at the Ibero-American Institute of Gothenburg University on 19 November.
How should the world be governend?
On 18 November in Gothenburg, Sweden, Teivo Teivainen discusses with Hans Abrahamson of the Gothenburg University on what kind of global governance we would like to see. Organizers are Att Nå Ut, Attac and Färnebo Folkhögskola Filial.
European Social Forum
Together with Attac France, the Belgian 11.11.11., and the UK based War on Want, NIGD will organize a seminar on the currency transactions tax at the European Social Forum taking place in Paris and Saint-Denis on 12-15 November. The purpose of the seminar is to set up a revived campaign for a global transactions tax. Rosa Meriläinen and Teivo Teivainen represent NIGD at the ESF.
WSF IC Expansion Commission meets in Paris
On 14-15 November Teivo Teivainen takes part in the meetings of the expansion commission and strategy commission of the World Social Forum's International Council, to be held in Paris during the European Social Forum.
Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
Katarina Sehm Patomäki has been invited as guest lecturer to present alternative approaches to globalization at the School of Economics and Business Administration of Turku in Finland on 10 November.
San Marcos University
On 4 November 2003 Teivo Teivainen, together with Virginia Vargas, member of the advisory council of the Program on Democracy and Global Transformation at the San Marcos University, participated in a roundtable on the future of the World Social Forum in the Latin American Sociology Association´s conference in Arequipa, Peru.
October
Norwegian Social Forum
Heikki Patomäki speaks on the currency transactions tax and global democracy at the Norwegian Social Forum scheduled for 31 October-2 November in Oslo.
Global Governance 2005
The executive committee overseeing the policy of the second conference on global governance organized by FIM in Montreal in spring 2005 meets for the first time in London on 15-16 October. Katarina Sehm Patomaki is NIGD's representative in this four person committee chaired by Rajesh Tandon of PRIA.
World Social Forum workshop in Cusco
Teivo Teivainen has been invited to give a one-day workshop in Cusco on 1 October about the World Social Forum for the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of Geneva.
September
Green Party seminar: More Democracy
NIGD members Heikki Patomäki and Lasse Peltonen were invited to deliver presentations on (respectively) global and local perspectives of democracy. The seminar was organized by the Green Party in Finland (Turku branch) on 21 September at Ruissalo in Turku, Finland.
Peruvian Social Forum
On September 20, Roxana Crisólogo and Teivo Teivainen participated in the seminar on the Peruvian Social Forum in Lima.
Attac Finland in-house strategy day
Katarina Sehm Patomäki was invited to present NIGD's strategy for global democratization to Attac Finland on 20 September at STOA in Helsinki.
Fifth Conference of the New or Restored Democracies
Katarina Sehm Patomäki was invited to moderate a session of the civil society forum of the fifth international conference on New or Restored Democracies. Katarina also presented NIGD's strategy towards global democratization and reported to the Conference on the Civil Society Forum. The conference took place in Ulaan Baator, Mongolia on 8-12 September. A report on the conference will be available shortly. The sixth conference will be held in Quatar in 2005.
Launch of World Social Forum 2004 process in Brazil
Teivo Teivainen participated as invited panelist in the launch of the World Social Forum 2004 process in São Paulo on 2 September, as well as in the Annual Meeting of the Brazilian NGO umbrella organization ABONG.
June
9th meeting of the WSF IC
The 9th meeting of the International Council of the World Social Forum takes place in Miami, Florida, on 23-26 June. NIGD board members Vijay Pratap and Teivo Teivainen represented NIGD at the meeting. A meeting report is available upon request.
LAUNCH OF PUBLICATION
On 17 June NIGD, together with VK Finland organized a press conference in Helsinki on the WSF, the forthcoming IC meeting and Katarina presented the new NIGD Discussion Paper (in Finnish) on the WSF. The publication caught some media attention, mainly in local Finnish newspapers.
Attac-party: Johan von Bonsdorff's birthday (in memoriam)
NIGD representatives took part in the panel leading up to the party in Kapylan tyovaentalo Helsinki on 4 June.
BOOK LAUNCH! Global Democracy(in Finnish)
Heikki Patomäki and Teivo Teivainen launch the Finnish updated and expanded version of NIGD Working Paper 2/2002 Global Democracy Initiatives: the Art of Possible. The book launch takes place on 4 June at 11.00 at the University of Helsinki in Helsinki.
May
Founding meeting of a new local Attac-organization
On 20 May Heikki Patomäki spoke on the Draft Treaty of a Currency Transactions Tax at the founding meeting of Attac in Porvoo, Finland.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, VK, Finland, is born
On 19 May Katarina Sehm-Patomäki was invited to speak at a session at Arbis in Helsinki on democracy leading to the founding meeting of the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, VK, (the Earth is a Family) in Finland.
The World Social Forum goes to India
On 14 May Vijay Pratap, NIGD's board member and member of the Indian WSF Organizing Committee, spoke with Katarina Sehm Patomäki at an evening event for Finnish NGOs organized by Kepa in Helsinki on the WSF process in general and the plans for WSF IV in particular.
Monthly meetings with the Finnish Minister for Development Cooperation
On 7 May, NIGD, together with representatives from Attac, Friends of the Earth and Kepa met with the new Minister for Development Cooperation and Trade and suggested regular monthly meetings regarding common issues of development cooperation and trade. The Minister Paula Lehtomäki said that she would be happy to convene these. NIGD along with the other organizations await her invitation.
April
Uppsala Social Forum
On 25-27 April, Swedish activists organized a social forum in Uppsala, Sweden. Katarina Sehm Patomäki was the invited international guest and spoke on the WSF process. Katarina and Leena Rikkilä represented NIGD at this regional forum, they also wrote a report on their perceptions of the event.
WSF related event at the San Marcos University
On 24-25 April, together with Raiz (Radical Activist Collective), Flora Tristan (feminist research center/NGO) and other groups, NIGD organized a social forum at the San Marcos University in Lima, Peru. San Marcos University is the oldest University of South America. The idea of the event was to make known and debate the idea(s) of the WSF process. NIGD was represented by Roxana Crisologo and Teivo Teivainen of NIGD's new offices in Lima. This event also served as a basis for the preparations for the larger event in October "New Theories for New Movements" (provisional title). Please see Teivo's and Roxana's report.
Finnish Social Forum
Activists in Finland organized a Finnish Social Forum in Helsinki. NIGD was not part of the organizing committee but participated in the program; Katarina Sehm Patomäki was interviewed in the opening session under the headline of Greetings from Porto Alegre! and Heikki Patomäki spoke on democratizing the WTO in a workshop organized by Friends of the Earth and VK Finland. In his capacity as MEP, Matti Wuori of NIGD's Board commented on Susan George's speech. (12-14 April)
Hemispheric Council of the Social Forum of the Americas (SFA)
After a week (21-25 April) of virtual discussion among the members of the Hemispheric Council of the Social Forum of the Americas (SFA), it was decided that the event will take place in Quito, Ecuador, from March 8 to 13, 2004. This first hemispheric Forum forms part of the regional events promoted by the WSF for the purpose of examining in greater depth the specific nature of neo-liberal globalization in the region, at the same time as seeking to give greater breadth to the critical thinking, to the diversity of experiences of opposition and of construction of alternatives that are rooted in the history of the various regions of the world. Teivo Teivainen represented NIGD at the meeting and wrote a short report.
Friends of the Earth/University of Helsinki
As part of their four part lecture series on globalization of Friends of the Earth/University of Helsinki, Katarina Sehm Patomäki spoke on the World Social Forum process (7 April).
March
Institute for European Studies/Free University of Brussels
Heikki Patomäki gave a lecture Democratizing Globalization - a Draft Treaty on Currency Transactions Tax at the Institute for European Studies in Brussels. The lecture was held within the series Lectures on Globalization (25 March).
Transnational Institute begins new interesting project
Teivo Teivanen of NIGD's Board took part in the meeting at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam where a new project entitled New Politics was initiated. Teivo remains involved in the third theme of the project, namely Political Engagement and Collective Action of Social Movements (23-25 March).
The Future of Global Governance/London School of Economics
Heikki Patomäki spoke on the Draft Treaty and the NIGD Strategy for Global Democratization at the London School of Economics. Organizers were Attac LSE, Positive News, and Earth Emergency among others (19 March).
Finnish Parliamentary Elections 2003
In Helsinki and under the headline of Networking for Democratization Katarina Sehm-Patomäki presented the NIGD Strategy for Global Democratization to the 40 election observers invited to Finland by the Finnish government (15 March).
Vijay Pratap promotes the Draft Treaty to Germany
In New Delhi, NIGD's Board member Vijay Pratap met with the German Minister for Development Cooperation Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeur and promoted the Draft Treaty on Currency Transactions Tax (3 March).
February
NIGD Annual Meeting
Mika Rönkkö was appointed Chair 2003 and the new Board was appointed.
January
World Social Forum III
At the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre on 23-28 January NIGD organized several events. We held seminar on NIGD's strategy for global democratization. Speakers included Samir Amin, Vijay Pratap, Heikki Patomäki and Teivo Teivainen. The seminar report will soon be available here.
Together with Attac France NIGD organized another seminar on the Draft Treaty for a Currency Transactions Tax.
Furthermore, Katarina Sehm-Patomäki and Teivo Teivainen participated in the panels (axis 4 and 5).
Katarina Sehm-Patomäki, Teivo Teivainen and Laura Nisula represented NIGD at the International Council meeting in Porto Alegre on 20-21 January.
As member of the International Council of the WSF, NIGD was invited to a closed meeting with the Brasilian President Lula. Teivo Teivainen represented NIGD and presented NIGD's strategy to Lula.
All in all eleven NIGD members took active part in the Forum and its events.
Katarina Sehm-Patomäki has also written a report on some of our activities at the WSF.
Parliament of Finland
On 16 January 2003, Thomas Wallgren and Katarina Sehm-Patomäki briefed Members of the Finnish Parliament at a session at the Parliament about the World Social Forum-process and the forthcoming WSF III.
