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IV
Peoples's Summit
Trinidad
and Tobago, april, 2009
The V Summit of the Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas
will take place in Trinidad and Tobago in April, 2009. It will be
the first continental Summit after Mar del Plata in 2005 that has
been held since the failure of the FTAA became evident, and it will
be the first to be attended by Barack Obama as the new President
of the United States.
For the popular
movement this event marks an important moment to define a public
stance with regard to the fast moving events over the past year.
These include: regional integration problems; the global crisis;
our position in response to the new government in the US; taking
the opportunity to discuss the popular movement's agenda with an
eye to deepening the debate; confronting the neo-liberal model and
formulating alternatives. It will also be an opportunity to strengthen
ties with social movements from the Caribbean.
The thematic
areas for the presidential Summit of the Americas have been put
forward by their organizing committee, and their formulation points
to a growing adherence to neo-liberal ideas as the way out of the
current crisis, along with a heightened preoccupation with security
issues and the militarization of our countries. The thematic areas
in the 'official' Summit are: energy security; environmental sustainability;
public security; and democratic governance.
An important
thing to keep in mind in the process leading up to this Summit is
that on the initiative of the US under the Bush administration,
government representatives from Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile,
El Salvador, Guatemala; Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the Dominican
Republic, and the US met in New York on the 24th of September, 2008
to underline a "commitment to the liberalization of trade and
investment" and to claim that they had "taken measures
to sign and implement free trade agreements" that, according
to them, "have contributed significantly to a reduction in
poverty" and they reaffirmed their "commitment to the
securing of an ambitious agreement in the WTO Doha Round of negotiations,
based on free trade and the continued effort to promote economic
integration in the hemisphere".
As was made
clear at the People's Summit in Salvador de Bahia, "the Bush
government has sought to divide the region, resuscitate the failed
FTAA proposal, put obstacles in the way of, or avoid the alternative
regional integration processes while deepening the free trade blueprint
– opening up to foreign investments, indebtedness in various
countries, and militarization – and the European Union for
its part is pushing similar policies in the region". The jury
is still out on whether the government of Obama will continue with
these policies or it will be looking to make a fundamental shift
in its relations with the rest of the region.
On the other
hand, in Latin America integration initiatives are being developed
that point to greater regional autonomy, excluding the US (and Canada)
as could be seen from the results from the Presidential Summit (Lat.
Am. and Carib.) held at the end of 2008 in Salvador de Bahia. Nonetheless,
these processes and the distance-taking from the Bush policies are
not in themselves free from contradiction.
The role of
the social movements in recognizing where these contradictions exist
while generating alternative proposals for integration takes on
now, as we approach the IV Summit of the People, a much greater
importance. This gathering in Trinidad will be a time to renew our
opposition to the neo-liberal economic model and demand that our
governments support development policies based on: equality and
social justice; guarantee of food and energy sovereignty; concern
for the environment; Latin American (focus for) development ties;
gender equality; and ethnic and cultural diversity.
The IV Peoples'
Summit represents an important moment to have exchanges with the
social movements in the Caribbean with the purpose of continuing
to advance our work with respect to peoples' integration and to
strengthen our voices in opposition to the neo-liberal model.
We invite social
movements, campesinos, indigenous peoples, unions, women's organizations,
environmental organizations, human rights organizations, students,
as well as networks and other organizations to participate in the
IV Peoples' Summit that will take place in Trinidad and Tobago in
April 2009 as the V Summit of the Heads of State of the Americas
gets underway.
Addenda for upcoming discussions by H.S.A. members and other Summit
participants:
We still need
to be clearer on the exact dates for our Summit at around the time
that the official Summit will be taking place, putting those dates
in our calendars and looking for the necessary financial support.
We await your comments and suggestions to be able to collectively
build the agenda and a methodology for our Summit.
Report on Organization
The Official
Summit
The Summit of the Americas will be held from April 17th to 19th
in the Regency Hotel in the Port of Spain. The OAS and the Trinidad
Summit Organizing Committee are coordinating four conferences (from
April 14th to 16th) on the following themes: youth, business, civil
society and work. These meetings with civil society will be held
on cruise ships, where the participants in the conferences will
be lodged.
The Peoples’
Summit
Considering the dates of the official Summit, the official meetings
with civil society, and the transportation and housing services
available on the island, the Peoples’ Summit will be held
from April 16th to 18th, 2009 in Trinidad & Tobago.
The Assembly
of Caribbean People’s coordinating team, the Hemispheric Social
Alliance and a local organizing committee are coordinating the organization
of the Peoples’ Summit.
Calls to participate
in the Summit have been made through Internet list-serves, as well
as meetings held during the Americas Social Forum and the World
Social Forum. Various social organizations participated in these
meetings, manifesting their interest in participating in the Summit.
In the Caribbean
region, meetings have been held with the following organizations:
Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), Windward Islands Farmers’
Association (WINFA), Inter-Agency Group of Development Organizations
(Grenada), and the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL). The support
of the following networks has also been confirmed: Caribbean Association
of Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA), Association of Development
Agencies (Jamaica) and Oxfam’s Caribbean office.
Thematic Areas
of the Peoples’ Summit
Panels on important issues in the regional and world context will
be organized. As such, meetings between organizations attending
the event and social movements from the Caribbean and the continent
will be held.
On the first
and third day of the Summit, a space for holding self-organized
events is being planned. Organizers are counting on the participation
of trade unions, farmers’ organizations, youth and students,
women, environmentalists, indigenous peoples and movements that
have developed actions on debt, militarization, housing, water,
climate justice, food and energy sovereignty.
Proposed Agenda
of the Peoples’ Summit and Council Meeting
Thursday 16
Work Sessions Self-organized workshops
Lunch and cultural event
Work Sessions
Self-organized workshops
Plenary and Cultural event
Friday 17
Plenary-discussions and sign ons to declaration
Lunch and March
March and final act
Saturday 18
Gathering of networks
Gathering of social organizations of the Caribbean with those of
the Continent
Lunch
Optional visits:
- Sectors and organizations
- Communities
- Tourism
Sunday 19
Departure
Agenda of the
HSA
The Hemispheric
Social Alliance will hold a Hemispheric Council meeting during the
two days preceding the Peoples’ Summit, April 14th and 15th.
Tuesday, April 14th
Participants arrive
Lunch
Hemispheric Council meeting begins
Hemispheric Council meeting
Wednesday, April 15th
Hemispheric Council meeting
Other participants arrive
Venue
Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies has been confirmed
as the venue for the IV Peoples’ Summit. The college is located
12 km from Port of Spain and has an auditorium that can hold 420
people and has audiovisual equipment, 6 rooms holding up to 100
people each, and 13 smaller rooms for 50 to 60 people. All the rooms
are equipped with air conditioning and wireless Internet services.
Housing
The University of the West Indies has three housing units available
in April. Their use during the summit is being negotiated:
• One building (all rooms have air conditioning):
o 35 rooms with a single bed, bathroom and small kitchen
o 4 studio-apartments with a double bed, living room, bathroom and
small kitchen
• Two buildings:
o 120 rooms with two single beds, shared bathrooms
• Two recreational areas that could be used as a dining area
for breakfast.
Rooms for 40
participants have been reserved in the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship,
15 minutes from the site of the Summit.
Mobilizations
A march has been planned on April 17th, prior to the opening of
the Official Summit. Organizers have met with the Chief of Police
and the Trinidad Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have obtained the
necessary authorizations to hold the march.
Communication
The website - www.cumbredelospueblos.org
- will be used to publish information on the event. Other organizations
are welcome to create a link to this page to share information on
the Summit. The call for participation in the Summit will be made
on organizations websites and mailing lists, in order to facilitate
registration through the website’s page.
In the United
States, events and information pages on the Summit have been set
up at:
* Facebook: Peoples' Summit 2009 Trinidad and Tobago
* Our first webpage and blog, SmallWorld at http://sctheodore.wordpress.com/
* YouTube: IVPeoplesSummitTnT, http://www.youtube.com/IVPeoplesSummitTnT
* Google Group: Peoples Summit IV T&T
-Group home page: http://groups.google.com/group/peoples-summit-iv-tt
-Group email address peoples-summit-iv-tt@googlegroups.com
* Delicious: http://delicious.com/PeoplesSummitTT
* flickr (for pictures): PeoplesSummitTT
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/PeoplesSummitTT
Logistics
a) Visa
The Migrations Office confirmed that it will support the arrival
of Summit participants. Only three countries require visas: Bolivia,
Haiti and Paraguay. People from these countries should inform the
Local Committee (they should provide the following information:
name, passport number and expiry date), so that the committee may
send invitation letters and help with the visa process from Trinidad.
b) Transportation
• By plane
To travel from the continent to Port of Spain, there are three possible
stopovers: through Panama, Maimi or Caracas.
• By boat
Organizers are consulting authorities from Trinidad and Venezuela
on the possibility of organizing a boat service.
c) Registration
People can register through the Summit’s website: www.cumbredelospueblos.org
or by sending an e-mail to the HAS Secretariat: secretaria@asc-hsa.net.
However, housing and venues in Trinidad will be confirmed on March
2nd.
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