Society
- Wed Nov 24 2004
Source:
ANND
The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) will be participating in the upcoming WSF in Porto Alegre and proposes three workshops on reform and democracy in the Arab region, the future of the Arab social movement and issues of gender, media, and youth.
Porto Alegre, 26-31st. January 2005
The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) is a regional organization present in 12 Arab countries, and working on issues of democratic change, globalization and trade, and development. ANND works on strengthening and shaping the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Arab countries and on increasing coordination within Arab civil societies, and between Arab civil society groups and international organizations and networks.
ANND have taken of the World Social Forum (WSF) an opportunity to enhance the debate on issues of the Arab social movement. During the third and fourth WSF, ANND organized workshops on the future of the Arab Social Movement, under which issues of development, human rights, democracy, and the social movement and civil society were discussed. Accordingly, ANND has worked to increase the Arab participation in the annual forums, thus enhancing the contact and debate between Arab civil society participants and other groups from the international social movement.
In this regards, ANND will be participating in the upcoming WSF in Porto Alegre, taking place at the end of January 2005. ANND proposes three workshops on: - I. Reform and Democracy in the Arab Region
- II. The Future of the Arab Social Movement; Issues of Gender, Media, and Youth
- III. The Role of Youth in the Social Movement
Workshop I: Reform and Democracy in the Arab Region
There is an increase of the debates and dynamics in the context of governance and democratization in the Arab Region. Given the mounting tensions and problematic areas in the Arab countries and the effects of the global events and dynamics on the Region, the international interest in the regional processes is continuously increasing. Attention and debate on democratization in the Arab countries has been the subject of several initiatives introduced by the European Union, the United States, and several Arab countries.
Arab civil society was not involved and has not been consulted in this regards. However, the role of civil society organizations is core to the processes of reforms in the region, and there is a high importance of emerging civil society initiatives in relation to the understandings and processes of global and regional democracy. Thus, there is a need to enhance and promote civil society participation on democracy initiatives in the Arab Region, on why reforms are needed, and on how reforms are going to be implemented. Accordingly, ANND proposes organizing a meeting on democracy initiatives in the Arab Region.
The workshop would include three main presentations: - (1) Summary of the Initiatives proposed till day –American, European, and Arabic
- (2) Overview on democracy in the Arab countries
- (3) The position of ANND regarding the initiatives and democratic reforms in the Region.
The seminar will be part of the debate on democracy in the Arab region, which ANND will be working on through a project which aims at examining the relevancy of the proposed reform initiatives to the needs and priorities of the Region and the potential dynamics of an internal reform process.
Workshop II: The Future of the Arab Social Movement; Issues of Gender, Media, and Youth
ANND has been involved with promoting the debate around the future of the Arab social movement; ANND had organized two seminars on the issue during the third and fourth WSF.
It followed on the debate with a seminar on the future of the Arab social movement, where discussions on the relationship of political parties and CSOs, as well as issues of partnership within civil society and the links between the global, regional, and local agendas were discussed. In addition, ANND will be organizing, in coordination with the Heinrich Boell Foundation, a workshop on the conceptual approach to civil society in the Arab region, with a special focus on Iraqi civil society.
In this regards, ANND proposes a workshop that continues the discussions regarding the future of the Arab social movement. A summary of the discussions held till date will be introduced at the beginning of the seminar. Three main presentations will be given: - (1) The impact of gender issues on the development of the social movement
- (2) The role of media in the development of the social movement
- (3) The role of youth in the development of the social movement
In addition, the seminar will serve as an opportunity to introduce ANND’s project on civil society debate on democratic processes in the Region, which is proposed for the years 2005/2006.
Workshop III: The Role of Youth in the Social Movement
Starting 2004, ANND have adopted an overall approach that aims at mobilizing and strengthening youths’ participation and involvement in various campaigns and processes of civil society in the Arab region, such as the processes of the social forums, that of the World Summit on Information Society, the Euro-Med platforms, and the International Conference on Population and Development.
As a first concrete activity, ANND organized a regional meeting for a group of youth from 11 Arab countries, including Palestine, Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Sudan, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, and Jordan. The meeting took place during the second Moroccan Social Forum that was organized in Rabat, at the end of July 2004. The workshop tackled issues related to the role of youths in the Millennium Development Goals campaign. It also served as chance to highlight the importance of mobilizing youths on various development issues in the Region, such as within the context of the Arab Social forum. As a result of this initiative, a yahoo group for youth activists from the region was established.
ANND aims at organizing a follow-up youth activity during the WSF V. ANND proposes a workshop that focuses on the role of youth movements in social movements, focusing on the situation of youths in the Arab region and the opportunities they have for enhancing their role and networking at a regional level. ANND will support the participation of around 12 young activists from several Arab countries. The participants will take part in the organization of a workshop, as part of the World Youth Social Forum. The workshop will start with an introduction of ANND’s work and proposed activities with youth. It will also include three main presentations tackling: - (1) The means and impact of youth mobilization in social movements
- (2) The situation of youths in the Arab region
- (3) Networking and opportunities for enhancing youth mobilization.
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News and reports from Porto Alegre 2005
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