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Relevance and Accountability of the AEPF |
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Friday, 22 February 2008 13:50 |
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by Tina Ebro [Commentary on Julie Gilson's paper “Structuring Accountability: Non-Governmental Participation in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)“ at the Workshop on Civil Society and Accountable Global Governance, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 13-15 June 2007. The workshop critiqued papers --- on civil society vis-a-vis the WB, IMF, WTO, Commonwealth, OECD, ICANN, IFAT, OIC and ASEM -- that would be incorporated into the book project of Jan Aart Scholte of Warwich University and the University of Gothenburg. ] I am not speaking here as an AEPF representative but I think the members of the AEPF network will welcome this initiative, and the paper of Julie and our discussions could provide more impetus to the AEPF to address its organizational challenges. The paper is thoughtful on the general issues of accountability. It is a good attempt of exploring a highly under-researched topic, namely civil society engagement of inter-regional mechanisms and a good start on laying out the concrete experiences of ASEM-civil society relations. It has also tackled well the lack of external accountability of the ASEM and the structural constraints of civil society in demanding democratic accountability from the ASEM. However, I would suggest changes of some perceptions and conclusions related to the AEPF and further interviews to update and address factual gaps. |
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Who are we and what are our objectives? |
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Monday, 04 February 2008 16:21 |
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Welcome to the Asia-Europe People’s Forum, an inter-regional network of civil society and social movements across Asia and Europe!
The Institute for Popular Democracy is the coordinating organization of the International Organizing Committee of the AEPF for Asia.
The Seventh AEPF will be held in Beijing, China on 13-17 October 2008.
Our Purpose The purpose of the AEPF is to contribute to the realisation of a world based on the principles of peace, participatory democracy, social justice, human rights, food sovereignty, sustainability and people’s rights to self-determination. The AEPF is a space to link visions of, and struggles for, alternative futures.
The formation of the interregional network opens a new chapter in people to people relations among civil society organizations in Asia and Europe. Social actors from both regions recognise the growing significance of inter-governmental relations between Asia and Europe and the necessity to develop new political and organizational responses.
The AEPF has positioned itself as a space for political mobilization at the interregional level. The network seeks to develop alternatives to neo-liberal policies in both regions—in particular, the market-driven policies that are inimical to the aspirations for peace, development, and well-being of the peoples of Asia and Europe. Moreover, the collective and coordinated actions of the AEPF enable the peoples of both regions to influence policies on Asia-Europe relations at the national, regional, and inter-regional levels.
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The AEPF-6, Helsinki, with a Filipino eye |
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Wednesday, 06 February 2008 17:42 |
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We reproduce below two articles from Ma. Ceres P. Doyo, published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, written in Helsinki (Finland) at the AEPF meeting. A third article can be found in the Philippines “Human Rights” section: Finnish exec raps Arroyo rights record
Human Face : Asian-European sounds in Helsinki
Editor’s Note: Published on Page A11 of the September 7, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer HELSINKI — Here in the land of revered Finnish composer Jan Sibelius (1865-1957), Asian and European peoples’ voices are being aired loudly. Here is a symphony of sounds, so to speak, rising, blowing with the cold Baltic wind that is getting colder by the day.
The event is the Asia-Europe Peoples’ Forum 6 (AEPF 6) for NGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs) that are non-state and non-corporate. The theme is “People’s Vision: Building Solidarity Across Asia and Europe.”
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