From 24 to 28 March 2015, the UCLG Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights will participate in the World Social Forum in Tunis, through several activities.
The World Social Forum is a space for democratic debate and the exchange of experiences, as well as to develop alternative proposals and connect social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organizations in order to build a fair, peaceful and sustainable world. The decision of the Forum’s Organizing Council to hold the 2015 edition in Tunis had the aim of developing reflections on reinforcing the country’s changing dynamics, resulting from the Tunisian revolution and democratic movements in the region.
Participation in the WSF will also strengthen alliances with civil society in relation to the Right to the City, as well as their inclusion in the next Global Urban Agenda (Habitat III Summit, Quito 2016). It is also an opportunity to promote the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City and the political document“For a World of Inclusive Cities”, recently translated into Arabic and in Turkish, thanks to the collaboration of UCLG’s Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLGMEWA).
The UCLG Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights will be present in the events organized by the Global Platform on the Right to the City, as a co‑founder of this platform.
The Committee is also a partner of events relating to citizen participation, in collaboration with Tunisian local governments, such as those of the city of Tunis and La Marsa (a suburb of Tunis), in particular. Indeed, the New Tunisian Constitution (January 2014) presents citizen participation and decentralization as major issues for the development of the country.
The Committee will participate in the following activities:
- Round table: “What role can civil society organizations and other territorial actors play in strengthening social cohesion?” 25 March, 8.30 a.m. to 12 p.m. This round table is organized in the framework of the reflection day on “the contribution of local actors to the promotion of social cohesion and sustainable development at local, national and global level”. It is coordinated by the National Council for Freedom in Tunisia (CNLT) and the Fund of Local Entities for Decentralized Cooperation and Sustainable Human Development from the region of Umbria in Italy (FELCOS, Umbria), with the collaboration of UNDP and Tunisian authorities.
- Debate on Civil society’s expectations and needs from the Habitat III process organized by the Habitat International Coalition (HIC) on 25 March, 3 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
- Workshop on “The key role of local authorities in the construction of alternative migration policies: how to build alliance strategies between civil society and local authorities” 25 March, 3 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
- Open Conference of the Right to the City Platform on 26 March, 8.30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Working visit to La Marsa City Hall (Tunis North) in the framework of the seminar: “Participatory democracy: a vector of social and political change in Africa and elsewhere?” Organized by Enda Ecopop and Afroleadership, in partnership with the Committee, on 26 March, 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.
- Training workshop on the Right to the City organized by the Polis Institute (Brazil) and the National Forum on Urban Reform (FNRU) (Brazil) on 27 March, from 8 a.m.
- Seminar on “Participatory democracy: a vector of social and political change in Africa and elsewhere?” Organized by Afroleadership (Cameroon), Enda Ecopop (Senegal), in partnership with Tunis City Hall, the UCLG Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights, and the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy, among others. 27 March, 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Tunis City Hall.
You can register for the World Social Forum through the following link: http://registration.fsm2015.