WTO Geneva: Diary entry for Monday 30th November

This is another official diary entry:

First day, first little getting-lost trip in the city, we pass by the famous broken chair monument, took the picture, saw the huge installations of the United Nations (Big enough to be the global headquarters of the UN) and keep moving towards the WTO Offices to do the registration process and pick up the badges.

Right after headed to the Norwegian delegation office, to meet with the Official Delegation (OD) and all the Norwegian NGO´s and Civil Society Institutions (CSI).

In this informational meeting the OD shared some of the ideas of their agenda and opened the table for questions from the people present.

It was a nice and interesting expression of transparency and cooperation. With people of deep knowledge in different issues, making the right and perhaps controversial inquiries, it all became a full exercise where the official and “normal” answers of the OD were demanded.

With that spirit we walk to the Centre International de Conferences Genève (CICG) where the Conference is being held. Strict badge checks, airport-style security procedures and then you are in the main building. But this infrastructure is just for the “real” Conference, the one were only the Official delegations can be inside the auditoriums doors, properly identified press and civil society representatives can get close and be in the halls, but not inside the auditoriums. For us there was a building right in front, where Seminars and Conferences were about to take place. These, and other venues around, are the places to exposes the ideas, policies, messages and debates that keep our institutions running on the pursue of Justice, Fairness, Development and Improvements goals in the Trade issues. I guess the main strategy is not to have seminars and conferences to justify our work and present our ideas among the same group of people, but to also and specially involve the official institutions, politicians and main actors in this play, in order to influence, create conscience, commitment, awareness and overall action.

This is one of the greatest challenges, and with the presence of the NGO´s and Civil Society Institutions, we are putting up a concrete fight for it: achieve a transparent and democratic functioning of the WTO.

In the meeting with the Norwegian delegation Aksel, the leader of The Development Fond, ask their opinion about NGO´s and CSI´s participation in the plenary sessions, it was pleasant to know that they did not see any reason for us not to be in any of the plenary sessions, but more than comforting, this confirmation from the Norwegian delegation became useful, it was during the first press conference between the WTO venue organizers and the NGO´s representatives, Aksel himself raised the comment and demand of participate in the plenary sessions supported by the Norwegian delegation. It was the only round of applause during the meeting. But it can also make us think of a proposal where each official delegation can agree on letting NGO´s and CSI´s participate, therefore the will of the plenary will allow an open, transparent and more democratic flow of the meetings.

From the program of activities we choose to attend to the Conference called “The Rights approach to trade rules”, in short there were presented different aspects on how to incorporate the Human Rights approach or perspective to Trade, with special attention to the right to food, which is an item ratified (made law) by more than 160 countries.

A briefing of the day from the O.D. to all the NGO´s and Civil Society Institutions was schedule for the end of the evening, but it was cancelled. We don´t know the reasons (yet), but as soon as we know it, we´ll let you know.

Also published on the Spire blog:

http://inspirerende.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/271/

Professional Profile

I made this profile of myself for apply to an internship, it was interesting because it had to be in third person and include aspects of my professional background.

Here it is:

He is a young adventurer, willing to experience the cultures of the world. Passionate Social Worker, who has now a Master in Social Welfare and Health Policy, with 4 years of experience on the Social/NGO sector he wants to devote himself to the Development work. With experience in community and projects evaluation, provision of social services, social programs manager and research.

To find and understand the reasoning behind every human action (and no-action) really fascinates him. He believes in the capacity to build your own future based on the present moment actions, the social empowerment of people and communities is visible in all his work. He has great commitment to his work, to manage projects and social programs, conduct research, be fund raiser, lead capacity building processes, make effective and human distribution of social services and get involve with people are the sparks that sets up his fire. He is social sensible professional that beliefs in the people and on collective changes for good.

to Geneve

Official diary entry:

Sunday 29th

The Spire-WTO journey began. A rush to get to the Central Station, take the Flytoget and depart in a nice and cheap flight to Geneva.

From the arrival Geneva is a city that welcomes you, first everyone receives from the airport a free all-public transport ticket valid for 80 minutes (enough to get anywhere), right there we find out that when you reserve in a hotel normally there is a transport card included in the price, those are great first steps to get around the city. I was lucky to find from the Swiss Christian solidarity roots a nice and cozy shared-room and my partner Mari tempted her luck by hunting a reasonable-price hotel in that very same night in the city center, and did it!

It is always a fabulous thing to live the concrete feeling of realizing the fact that I have a global family called: Focolare.

I try to find hotels, to get hosted by Couch Surfers, but I was almost forgetting the focolare. Since I tough there were no focolare in this city, just in the last minute I decided to find out if at least any Gen or volunteer family was present. For my luck there is a nice focolare and on top my dear friend Rainer is living here and Rafi as well. Martin, the leader was very welcoming from the beginning. That phrase of "it was like we knew each other since for ever" is again more true than the floor I am stepping.