December 2005

Feria de Solidaridad
Several NIGD members participated in the organization of Feria de Solidaridad, held in Lima, Peru, on 11 December.

Coordination meeting of the polycentric World Social Forums
Johnattan Rupire represented NIGD at the coordination meeting of the polycentric World Social Forums, held in Caracas, Venezuela, on 10-11 December.

WSF Hemispheric Council meeting
Johnattan Rupire represented NIGD at the WSF Hemispheric Council meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, on 7-9 December.

WSF-info via Public Libraries
On 8 December, the Africa Commission of the WSF in Finland (ACWSF) organised a WSF info via Public Libraries event at Leppävaara library in Espoo, Finland. The event saw the inauguration of a first WSF information corner in a public library as part of the WSF-info via Public Libraries NIGD project.

The Church in Finland prepares for the 9th Assembly of the WCC in Porto Alegre in 2006
On 7 December, Heikki Patomäki presented his comments on the Alternative Globalization - Addressing Peoples and Earth (AGAPE) text (final draft). The seminar was held at the Finnish Council of Churches in Helsinki.

November 2005

Democracy Unbound : Learning from the World Social Forum
Under this heading Teivo Teivainen held a lecture on the WSF at a Studia Generalia session, at Helsinki University, on 15 November. Following the lecture, Finnish organisations and movements planning to participate in the polycentric WSF 2006 joined to discuss preparations and plans in the lead up to WSF 2006.

ACWSF
On 8 November, Antonhy Baah (Ghana) joined the Africa Commission of the WSF in Finland in a meeting at Trade Union Solidarity Centre (SASK) where he met with the commission and shared insigths on the Africa Social Forum process in Ghana and developed further the agenda and workings of the ACWSF.

A Second Dialogue on International Political Party Formations: Democratic Politics Globally
On 5-6 November, with the Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies, CSDS, and the Centre for Public Affairs and Committee for Cultural Choices and Global Futures in New Delhi, NIGD organised a seminar on global political parties. Marko Ulvila and Vijay Pratap represented NIGD at the meeting.

October 2005

Where's the Ethics in Politics? The WTO and Water in Focus
On 28 October, Mika Böök, Katarina Patomäki and Thomas Wallgren represented NIGD at a seminar on the WTO and water at an event organised as part of the Week of Responsibility by the Church in Finland. The event took place at Arcada in Helsinki.

Forum of Solidarity Culture
NIGD and the associated Program on Democracy and Global Transformation co-organized the II Foro de la Cultura Solidaria (Forum of Solidarity Culture) on 16-23 October in Villa El Salvador, Lima, Peru. Villa El Salvador is one of the poorest neigborhoods of Lima, with a long tradition of self-organizing and radical grass-roots politics. On behalf of NIGD and the Program, Teresa Cabrera, Ricardina Crisólogo, Roxana Crisólogo and Johnattan Rupire were involved in the organization of the Forum.

ACWSF III
The Africa Commission of the World Social Forum in Finland held its third meeting on the premises of Trade Union Solidarity Centre (SASK) on 12 October. The aim of the meeting was principly to develop the commission which sofar has held two public meetings on issues that are emerging from the WSF Africa process. (Click the above link in the title for minutes from this meeting and previous ones.)

World Social Forum (Africa) process
On 4 October, Ruby van der Wekken lectured on the World Social Forum process and its moving to Africa at the Kiljava College for Humanistic Studies in Finland.

September 2005

Politics of the alterglobalization movements
On 30 September, Teivo Teivainen gave a talk on politics of the alterglobalization movements at Saint Mary´s University, Halifax, Canada.

UN: International Peace Day
On 21 September, on the UN International Peace Day, Heikki Patomäki discussed how UN reform and global democratisation promote peace at an event organised by the Finnish Peace Committee in Library 10 in Helsinki.

African Commission of the World Social Forum process, ACWSF
On 14 September, the African Commission of the World Social Forum process hosted a second international meeting on the impacts of the WSF process on the African continent. This time, the meeting took place at the TSL (Worker's Educational Association in Finland) in Helsinki. In the discussions, NIGD was represented by Mika Rönkkö and Katarina Sehm Patomäki, who chaired the meeting. The organisers also issued a report on the discussions.

Where is Power? Can it Be Shaped?
On 12 September, Heikki Patomäki spoke in Finnish about power and whether it can be shaped at the Annual Conference of the Deacons and Priests, in the Finlandia Hall, Helsinki.

End the Charade: Solving the Third World Debt Crisis
On 10 September, Attac Finland organised an international seminar on models for solving the debt problem of developing countries. The event took place at the University of Helsinki where Katarina Sehm Patomäki had been invited to chair the session.

Today's situation of the debt crisis in developing countries
On 9 September, Attac Finland launched their latest publication on the debt issue at an event in Helsinki. The publication includes important contributions from NIGD: Mika Rönkkö and Katarina Sehm Patomäki contributed with articles and the publication was edited by Teppo Eskelinen.

Global Justice: A Democratic Perspective
Among other roles in the conference, Heikki Patomäki gave the opening Keynote Global Justice: A Democratic Perspective at the conference Globalization, Critical Horizons organised by the Globalisation Studies Association held on 7 - 9 September at the Bedson Teaching Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

The WSF goes to Africa: Time for a Cultural and Ecological Renewal?
A number of organisations, including NIGD, have a agreed to launch an African Commission of the World Social Forum process, ACWSF. The launching event took place on 7 September at the Old Students' House in Helsinki, Finland. At the event, the discussions evolved around the significance of the WSF process in Africa in the years to come. Vijay Pratap, Ruby van der Wekken and Matti Kohonen represented NIGD in this ten-person panel chaired by Teivo Teivainen. Attac Finland has issued a report on the emerging discussion points from the event.

A First International Dialogue on the Party System, Democracy and Globalization
On 7 September in Helsinki, NIGD organised a first dialogue on the party system, democracy and globalization. Thomas Wallgren and Marko Ulvila chaired the session, and Vijay Pratap and Teivo Teivainen introduced the topic. Katarina Sehm Patomäki contributed to the discussions. Further dialogues and publications on this issue are planned in the next months.

Towards Another Financial System: Relaunching the CTT Draft Treaty
Coinciding with the release of multilingual translations of the Draft Treaty on Currency Transactions Tax, on 6 September, together with Attac Finland, University of Helsinki group of Friends of the Earth, and VK Finland, and NIGD organised a seminar on the relaunch of the Draft Treaty for a CTT. Matti Kohonen spoke about financial flows, Heikki Patomäki introduced the CTT Draft Treaty and Katarina Sehm Patomäki chaired the session.

Towards Another Europe
Also on 6 September, at the Old Student House in Helsinki, NIGD co-organised together with Attac Finland, University of Helsinki group of Friends of the Earth, and VK Finland a discussion on the future role of the EU. Mika Böök and Thomas Wallgren represented NIGD at the event in their respective roles of chair and discussant.

Democratising Globally
On 2-12 September, in Helsinki, Finland, and together with Attac, VK Finland, and numerous other civil society organisations, NIGD co-organised multiple events on the theme of global democracy.

Seminar on the Millennium Development Goals
On 2-3 September, Teivo Teivainen participated in the CONGAD (Le Conseil des Organisations Non-Gouvernementales d'Appui au Developpement) seminar on the Millennium Development Goals in Dakar, Senegal.

Globalisation and the Future of the Welfare State
Heikki Patomäki gave a talk in Finnish at a seminar organised by the Globalisation and Welfare Services think-thank of the Green Party, on 1 Sept 2005, 2-5 pm, at the Restaurant Lasipalatsi, Mannerheiminitie, in Helsinki.


August 2005


Globalisation Studies Network, GSN
The Second Annual Conference of the Globalization Studies Network (GSN) takes place on 29-31 August in Dakar, Senegal. Teivo Teivainen represented NIGD at the conference.

Nordic Symposium on Global Democracy
On 19-21 August, Heikki Patomäki and Katarina Sehm Patomäki attended the Nordic Symposium on Global Democracy at the Brinkhall cultural centre in Turku, Finland. The symposium was organised by the Peace Association in Finland.

World Social Forum Hemispheric Council of the Americas
Johnattan Rupire attended the World Social Forum Hemispheric Council of the Americas meeting in Caracas on 15-16 August. The agenda of the meeting was to further the preparations of the Venezuela WSF in January 2006.


July 2005


Conversations on internationalisms
The Democracy and Global Tranformation Chair of San Marcos organized a series of conversations on internationalisms in Lima on 18-21 July. Peter Waterman was the main speaker in these events which connected the tradition of José Carlos Mariátegui (Peruvian socialist from the 1920s) with the current global justice movements.

Cultural festival in Lima
On 11-13 July, the new Democracy and Global Transformation Chair of San Marcos co-organised a cultural event in Lima with a focus on the 1990s in Peru. Roxana Crisologo participated in the "Memorias in santas" event co-organised by the new Chair which is a part of the NIGD network.


June 2005


World Social Forum International Council (WSF IC)
On 20-22 June, WSF IC meetings took place in Barcelona, Spain. The WSF IC Commissions met on 18-19 June and Teivo Teivainen and Mikko Sauli attended the meetings as well as participated in different side events held in conjunction with the Mediterranean Social Forum in Barcelona on 16-19 June.

Hearing on globalization in the Parliament of Finland
On 7 June, Marko Ulvila was heard by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament. The hearing focussed on the recent report 'Managing Globalisation and Finland' by the Finnish Foreign Ministry.

Civil Society Visions and Strategies
On 29 May - 1 June, the Forum International de Montréal, FIM organised a large scale conference at the McGill University in Montréal, Canada. At the conference, Thomas Ponniah led a discussion on the role of the WSF in world politics, Matti Kohonen talked about the Global Tax Justice Network and Katarina Sehm Patomäki asked if global partnerships promote global governance or global democratization? Katarina Sehm Patomäki represented NIGD at the executive policy planning committee of the GO5-conference.


May 2005


EU referendum in France
On 29 May at 20.00 in conncetion to the referendum in France NIGD and Attac Finland organised a discussion event in Helsinki. The event took place in the Urho Pub.

World Village Festival
At the World Village Festival 28 -29 May in Helsinki, Finland, bringing together a few hundred of Finnish organisations working around development and global issues, Ruby van der Wekken did live interviews with invited international guests.

Meeting of the follow-up mechanism of the Civil Society Forum of the New or Restored Democracies
On 28 May, Rights & Democracy in Montréal hosted a full-day planning meeting of the follow-up mechanism of the civil society forum of the New or Restored Democracies. The meetings focussed on the Civil Society Forum of the Sixth Conference on New or Restored Democracies in Doha, Qatar, in fall 2006. Katarina Sehm Patomäki attended the meeting.

What about the G-8?
The G-8 meets in Gleneagles in Scotland on 6-8 July. A couple of years ago we've see that within the frames of the WTO a new grouping, the G-20, has emerged. We've also seen initiatives for other formations such as the L-20. But what are the ideas behind these formations and what do they promise for the future? On 25 May, Katarina Sehm Patomäki discussed various political formations and their relationship to democracy at a seminar organised by Attac Finland. The seminar formed the first event in Attac's new discussion series on transformation of global power relations.

The EU and Democracy?
On 24-25 April, Thomas Wallgren discussed the EU and democracy at a seminar organised by the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam.

The Post neoliberal Agenda
On 20-22 May, Teivo Teivainen took part in a workshop on the "Post neoliberal Agenda", organized in Rio de Janeiro by Ibase, the Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Analysis.

Meeting of the GAP Independent Advisory Panel
On 13 May, Katarina Sehm Patomäki attended a brainstorming meeting of the Independent Advisory Panel of the Global Accountability Project of the One World Trust in London. The meeting focussed on the launch of the GAP project and Index.


April 2005


The debt of developing countries and reform proposals
On 26 April, at the Åbo Akademi in Turku, Finland, Katarina Sehm Patomäki lectured about proposals to solve the debt problem of developing countries.

"Día de la Lectura en Jesús María"
On 23 April, Roxana Crisólogo discussed the importance of reading and libraries in an event "Día de la Lectura en Jesús María", organized by the Municipality of Jesús María, in the district of Lima, Peru.

Hearing on the CTT in the Parliament of Italy
On 21 April, the Finance Committee of the Italian Parliament heard Heikki Patomäki on the CTT (Currency Transactions Tax) in Rome, Italy. For Heikki's report on the meeting, please click here.

Conference on Trade, Agriculture and IP: Issues in the Lead-up to Hong Kong
On 19 April, Marko Ulvila discussed Intellectual Property and Innovation in the Global Economy at a full day conference organised by the Finnish Parliament Grand Committee - Sub-Committee on the WTO, the Finnish Service Centre for Development Cooperation (KEPA) and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). The conference took place in the Parliament Building in Helsinki.

World-Systemic Crisis and Contending Political Scenarios
On 14-17 April, Heikki Patomäki and Teivo Teivainen attended the 29th Conference of the Political Economy of the World System (PEWS), the Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA), at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Heikki Patomäki spoke about Global Economic Decline: Future Crises, and Changes in Global Governance and Teivo Teivainen gave a talk about how Transnational Activism Confronts Economism: New Politics of the World-System. The conference was organized by NIGD member Agustin Laó-Montes

Finnish Social Forum IV
On 9-10 April, the fourth Finnish Social Forum took place in Helsinki. Together with Attac Finland, NIGD co-ordinated a seminar on taxation called More taxes! where Mika Böök and Heikki Patomäki spoke about global taxation. NIGD also launched four discussion papers on the WTO and its democracy deficit, see below.

Launch of four NIGD Dicussion Papers on the WTO
What are the main issues on the trade policy agenda? And what is the pro-active agenda emerging from civil society? On 9 April, NIGD launched four Discussion Papers on the WTO. The launch took place at the Finnish Social Forum in Helsinki. Click here for English summaries of the papers. Thomas Wallgren chaired the panel where the papers were presented by their authors; Ville-Veikko Hirvelä has written about the WTO and Constitutional Rights, Anastasia Laitila about Trade War over GM Food: the WTO as the Trojan Horse, Katarina Sehm Patomäki about Undercurrents in World Trade and Marko Ulvila on Toward a Democratic Intellectual Property Regime.

March 2005

Meeting of the International Council of the WSF
On 30 March - 2 April the WSF IC met in the Netherlands, near the Hague. Teivo Teivainen and Ruby van der Wekken represented NIGD at the meeting. Peter Waterman attended the meeting as an observer.

Debate: Accountability of the World Bank?
On 30 March Teivo Teivainen debated (via videolink) with World Bank Executive Director Ad Melkert and others in the Politiek Café "Door De Bank Genomen", organized in The Hague.

World Social Forums in development from the global to the local
The Transnational Institute (TNI), ATTAC Netherlands and X-Y Solidaritiy Fund organised a public debate in "de Balie" in Amsterdam on March 29th, on the (World) Social Forums and their importance for the international global justice movement worldwide, in Europe and in the Netherlands. Teivo Teivainen spoke on The WSF process and international developments : what lessons can movements learn from experiences in the WSF? and Peter Waterman on Social Forums in the North: What is their role and relevance? what lessons can we learn from the WSF process?

Seminar on the Content, Methodology and Expansion Commissions of the WSF IC
On March 28 and 29 there was a seminar on the Content, Methodology and Expansion Commissions of the International Council of the World Social Forum. Teivo Teivainen, Peter Waterman and Ruby van der Wekken represented NIGD in the seminar. The seminar took place in the Netherlands in connection to the IC meeting.

Freedom and sharing in the global network society.
On 14-15 March, Marko Ulvila organized an international seminar on Policy options and models for bridging digital divides at the University of Tampere (Finland). The title of Marko Ulvila's own contribution was "A framework for a democratic regime for innovation and intellectual property". During the final plenary session of the seminar, which aims at answering the question: Why would IT contribute to development at all?, Mikael Böök spoke about "Aspects of the Political Library".

The ecologic footprints of Finland in the world
On 11 March, Thomas Wallgren debated the role of Finland in the globalisation process from an environmental perspective at the Klockriketeatern in Helsinki.

International Studies Association
Teivo Teivainen organized various activities related to scholar activism and transnational movements at the International Studies Association meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, on 1-6 March.

Trading in knowledge? The World Trade Organisation and Libraries
Ruth Rikowski, member of NIGD and author of 'Globalisation, information and libraries' (Chandos 2005) spoke about the implications of the TRIPS agreement at the EBLIDA/SCONUL conference on trade agreements and libraries, on 2-3 March in Cambridge, UK.

February 2005

A Forum on the Dialogue between civil society and the state of Mexico and the EU
On 28 February - 1 March, Petri Minkkinen represented NIGD at the Dialogue Forum between the Civil Societies and Government Institutions of Mexico and the European Union in Mexico City. Petri took part in the first Mexican phase of this process in November 2001 which was an evaluation process of the Free Trade and Global Agreement between the European Union and Mexico. During the first forum in Mexico in 2001 Petri also took part in the preparation of the declaration of the EU-European and Mexican civil society organisations and scholars Declaración a la sociedad, gobiernos, parlamentos, congresos y medios de comunicación . The declaration was then presented at the end of the first forum at the Senate of Mexico. During the 2005 forum, Petri participated in the working group on the institutionalization of the Dialogue Forum process.

"The Global Workshop" (Globalverkstan)
On 24-25 February, Katarina Sehm Patomäki held a two day course about institutional reform of international organisations at a workshop on globalisation in Gothenburg, Sweden.

"The Pub of the Future" (Framtidsbaren)
On 23 February, in Malmö, Sweden, at a seminar organised by ABF, Fronesis and Arena, Katarina Sehm Patomäki spoke about global democracy and the WSF.

Does the world need global democracy?
On 22 February, Katarina Sehm Patomäki spoke about global democratization at a seminar at the London School of Economics in London.

Meeting of the executive committee of the GO5 conference
On 10-11 February, Katarina Sehm Patomäki represented NIGD at a meeting in Montréal, Canada, of the executive policy planning & programme committees of the forthcoming conference "Civil Society Visions and Strategies" that will take place on 30 May - 1 June 2005 at the McGill University in Montréal.


January 2005

World Social Forum V
On 26-31 January, the WSF V took place once again in Porto Alegre, Brazil. NIGD representatives spoke on numerous panels and seminars.

Teivo Teivainen and Thomas Ponniah held an event at the Youth Camp on the Future of the WSF. Amongst the participants were youth camp organizers and activists, Meena Menon, Moema Miranda (IBASE), Virginia Vargas (Flora Tristan) and Immanuel Wallerstein.

Marc Becker, Petri Minkkinen and Thomas Ponniah co-organised an event on North American Social Forums which included speakers from the New York City Social Forum and from the United States Social Forum.

A global CTT campaign was lauched at a co-organised event of NIGD (Mikael Böök and Ruby van der Wekken), ATTAC Italy and ATTAC Japan. Participants included Antonio Martins (ATTAC Brasil), Jacques Cossart (Scientific Council ATTAC France), and Paolo Prieri (ATTAC Italy). This event took place in the context of a larger agglutinated group of events called otro sistema financeiro, of which Mika Rönkkö chaired one of the conferences on the current financial architecture.

NIGD (Katarina Sehm Patomäki and Ruby van der Wekken) also organised a discussion on debt, which saw the participation of Iolanda Fresnillo (ODG, Barcelona), Eric Toussaint (CADTM), MP Giyose (Jubilee South).

Meeting of the International Council of the WSF
On 24-25 January the WSF IC meets in Porto Alegre. Teivo Teivainen and Ruby van der Wekken represented NIGD at the meeting.

Rendez-vous with NIGD in 2004

Rendez-vous with NIGD in 2003