Proposal for Social Forum

Dear Chairperson,

The proposal for creating a Social Forum by Mr. Bengoa is quite a commendable one.

In our reflection, some invisible actors take decisions in the world while their impact spread to whole population who have no choice. These decisions cover economic, social, political and cultural facets of life. The situation of powerful policy makers and poor victims of the policy is what we are experiencing. This, to us, would be the basis for the Social Forum.

In creating the Social Forum, clear objectives are needed. We propose a few:

• gathering people of various background and promote dialogue on issues of common interest emphasizing a human rights perspective
• enhancing the transparent operation of multilateral and multinational organisations and the UN mechanisms
• promoting education of people on human rights.

The Social Forum should not be a mere talk shop but it has to contribute to a concrete approach to issues. The forum should not engage in abstract intellectualism. This was well expressed in the preliminary discussion on Monday 13th August on the Social Forum.

We propose the following for the 1st Session of the Social Forum in 2002:

• the participants be drawn from policy makers, governments, NGOs, business organisations, UN agencies, multilateral and intergovernmental bodies and the press. The press is very important in ensuring wide and timely dissemination of the proposals and results of the forum and in public education. Prominent persons should also be invited depending on the issue under discussion.
• the subject of discussion should be on limited items, which would be communicated ahead of time to the participants and the general public for better preparation. This would ensure an exhaustive coverage of the issue and involvement of the participants.

On method, the social forum should be interactive. Different perspectives would be accommodated including an opportunity for questions and debates.

With regard to participation, the people represented would have an equal chance/opportunity in presenting their views. It should not be a ground to promote social stratification. Each person would be regarded as equal and treated so.

We call upon the governments, NGOs and other institutions to organise similar forums at their national, regional. The UN agencies in the different countries would need to be more involved and informed in order to facilitate the dissemination and exchange of information particularly information related to human rights.

NGOs are encouraged to recruit members from the grassroot groups to attend the Social

Forums for a more authentic presentation of the situation they face. For instance, a representative from the forum of the poor in Bangkok is more intimate with the predicament of the poor compared with a senior urban NGO leader.

Thank you.