Osaka Social Forum 2010
Date:March 21-22, 2010
Venue:
March 21 (Sun): Kita Kumin Center (Osaka Municipal Kita Ward Center)
(http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/shimin/page/0000016598.html)
March 22 (Mon):
L-Osaka (Osaka Prefecture Labour Center)
(http://www.l-osaka.or.jp/pages/access.html)
Main Theme:
1. Peace and Abolition of Nuclear Weapons in Asia and the World
2. Financial Crisis, Debts, Poverty, Labor Rights and Our Life
3. Global Warming, Environment, Biological Diversity
4. A Challenge for Another World from Osaka Citizens Alternative to Neo-Liberalist Local Governance
Program:
Day 1 (March 21)
Plenary Session:
From: 13:00
To: 17:00
1) Relay Talk
In order to share the issues and experiences, activists representing a whole range of social movements are invited to speak. Topics include,
Local Autonomy; Global Financial Crisis; Climate Change and Biodiversity; Peace and Abolishon of Nuclear Weapons; Precarious Jobs and Non-Regular Employment; Citizen’s Media; Discrimination on Gender Basis and Plight of Single Mothers; Food and Agriculture; Poverty and Children; Livable Social Conditions for Disabled People.
2) Speech of International Guests
Ms. Delfa Mantilla (Jubelee Ecuador)
Mr. Joseph Purugganan (Focus On The Global South)
Ms. Lee, Ji hyun (South Korea, Nautilus Institute)
[Topics of the speeches are TBA]
3) Music Performance
[Details are TBA]
4) Free Talk
Any participants can speak on her/his concern in three minutes.
Day 2 (March 22)
Symposiums on four main theme/ Workshops and Seminars (planned and organized by participants)/ Movies/ Bazaar and Exhibition
Session 1 (10:00- 12:30)
Symposium:
1) The Crisis of Food, Climate and Financial System - The Strategy of Deglobalization
2) A World Without Nuclear Weapons Is Possible
Workshop and Seminar:
3) Privatization of Postal Services - It’s Time To Rethink
4) Women’s Human Rights - Learning From The Past Experiences
5) “One Shot One Kill” (DVD) and discussion on becoming a soldier
6) For A Nuclear-Free City (exhibition of photo, books, documents)
7) Young People with Academic Qualification Struggling in Working Poor’s Situation
8) Nuclear Power Plants in Asia
9) Ring Ring Night Project - Action On Nuclear Power Plants and U.S. Bases in Okinawa
10) Environment and Asbestos
Session 1 (10:00- 12:30)
Symposium:
11) Global Warming, Environment, Biological Diversity - A Perspective from the South and the Responsibility of the North
12) A Challenge for Another World from Osaka - Citizens’ Alternative to Neo-Liberalist Local Governance
Workshop and Seminar:
13) The Struggle Of U.S. Soldiers After Returning From Iraq (DVD)
14) Verification of the Iraq War - from the perspective of the Citizen
15) NAFTA and the Uprising of Zapatista
16) Tobin Tax, Debts Cancellation and Solidarity Economy
17) For A World Without War - Exchange of Ideas and Experiences
18) Our Water - Where It Comes From and How We Use It?
19) Iraq Update - the Latest Films from SANA TV
20) Transcend Wars, Create Peaceful World - A Workshop on Transforming Conflicts in a Non-violent Way
21) Youth and Work - organized by young trade union activists
Purpose of the Forum
The plan to organize a Social Forum in Kansai Area, which includes Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, was first discussed among the participants of the 2009 WSF Belem and then endorsed by Liaison Committee for WSF in Osaka, ATTAC Kansai Group and ATTAC Kyoto.
The Organizing Committee and the Secretariat were set up in July, 2009 joining trade unions, NGO activists, peace activists and local-community-based activists together.
Faced with a series of catastrophes caused by the Neo-Liberalist globalization of the world economy, we have been organizing ourselves to protect the rights and lives of ourselves and promoting alternatives to the market-oriented model. Now that the coalition government of the Liberal Democrats and Komei Party, which promoted the neo-liberalist policy for a decade, was refused by the overwheliming majority of the people and the new coalition of Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party and the People’s New Party formed a new government, it is important for us to demand the new government to thoroughly reorient the neo-liberalist policy introduced by past governments.
We can see some positive signs of a change in the manifesto of the new government, including the drastic reduction of the emission of CO2 and revision of the Labor Dispatch Law. On the other hand, the new government makes it clear that it intends to promote the WTO/FTA negotiation. The foreign policy and the vision for the world peace of the new government is still ambiguous. In any case, increasing the efforts to further develop the network of social movements is indispensable.
Together with the WSF 2010 in Tokyo, which was held in January, 2010, the OSF will promote debates on a series of critical issues and discussion on the strategy of social movements under the new government. It intends to be an open forum in which different issues and ideas can be posed and shared. It also intends to link local movements here with the aims of the World Social Forum and the network developped through WSF.
If you are interested in participating Osaka Social Forum or willing to contribute your idea or advice for the success of the Forum, use the following mailing address: osaka[at]socialforum.jp