PUBLICATIONS

Budapest Community Building Meeting
October 17, 2001 - Budapest, Hungary

The third Community Building Meeting was convened at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary on October 17, 2001. This one-day symposium entitled, "Sept 11: Its Impact on the Effectiveness of Civil Society's Engagement in Global Issues," coincided with a larger conference, "Reshaping Globalization: Multilateral Dialogues and New Policy Initiatives" convened on Oct 17th - Oct 19th by the Central European University and the Warwick University. This opportunity was chosen to expand the Commission's reach in Central and Eastern Europe and to work more closely with Commission Co-Chair George Soros.

The Community-Building meeting debate was fresh, rich and surprisingly cordial. While there was general agreement that the September 11th events had fundamentally changed part of the world's psyche, the discussion highlighted the differences in regional perceptions of the same events. The lively debate spilled over into the larger conference and invigorated the more formal discussions over the following two days. Click here to view the Final Meeting Agenda.

I. COMMUNITY BUILDING MEETING PROGRAM

The workshop was initially meant to address the rise of civil society following the fall of Communism in the region but, by necessity, was changed to directly address the tragic events of September 11. Entitled "September 11: Its Impact on the Effectiveness of Civil Society's Engagement in Issues of Global Concern" the Commission brought together Walden Bello, Director of Focus on the Global South; Commissioner Hans-Peter Duerr, Emeritus Director of the Max-Planck Institut für Physik; Susan George, Vice President of ATTAC; Cho Khong, Chief Political Analyst of Shell International; Commissioner Marcello Palazzi, Founder and President of the Progressio Foundation; Commissioner Tom Spencer, Executive Director of the European Centre for Public Affairs; and GM Tamas, a former member of the Hungarian Parliament.

In two panel discussions, the participants explored how civil society can continue to play an active, if sometimes highly critical, role in shaping the globalisation debate. <More>

Another theme of the workshop was that the world was, somehow, a different place following the terrorist attack. While a substantial number of people agreed with this idea, dissenting voices pointed out that the only thing that was new was that people in the United States were more aware of terrorism. <More>

Using the Commission's meeting as an introduction, the "Reshaping Globalisation" conference began one hour after the meeting ended.

To see the larger conference agenda, please click here.

II. "RESHAPING GLOBALISATION" CONFERENCE

The conference's goal was, "to bring together a range of scholars, international policy makers (from both the public and private domains) and significant players from within civil society to look at how a constructive dialogue between globalisation and its opponents might be developed." This was ably done: from the opening remarks by Ernesto Zedillo, a former President of Mexico to the closing comments by Gareth Evans, Chairman and President of the International Crisis Group and Former Foreign Minister of Australia. The conference was a first rate gathering.

Of special interest for the Commission was George Soros' panel discussion of his Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) proposal and a white paper on "Eliminating World Poverty" developed by Minister Clare Short, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Development. <More>

III. RESULTS OF COMMUNITY-BUIDLING MEETING

As a result of the Commission's workshop and its participation in the "Reshaping Globalization" conference, we were able to further develop a number of important relationships. The involvement of Walden Bello of Focus on the Global South and Susan George of ATTAC - the Association for the Taxation of financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens strengthened the Commission's ties to key members of the civil society protest movement. ATTAC and Focus on the Global South will continue to provide important input to the Commission's work.

The Commission was also able to develop relationships with a number of the presenters at the larger conference. Being a mostly academic gathering, this provides important ties to academia. Shalini Randeria, a Professor at the University of Munich, has agreed to serve as a Commissioner and an initial meeting with Andrew Mack, who previously worked with Kofi Annan and now is Director of the Centre for Human Security at the University of British Columbia, could lead to further collaboration with him and his center.

Uwe Morawetz also agreed to serve as a Commissioner as a result of this meeting. His addition is not only important for the Commission but his work in Thailand and with the International Peace Foundation will also be valuable to the work of the Whole Child Initiative of the State of the World Forum.

Finally, as with previous gatherings, the Commission learned more about how to bring people holding different perspectives together for constructive dialogue. The "Reshaping Globalization" conference was, as mentioned earlier, primarily an academic affairs. The few members of the business community and protest movement added an important perspective to the gathering but, due to their minor representation, a limited perspective was heard. Cho Khong of Shell International was frustrated by some of the discussions and thought that the entire business community was being unfairly lumped together as a negative part of globalisation when, in fact, there are a number of very conscientious members of business who are working to make globalisation more equitable. Dr. Khong's frustration is important for the Commission to keep in mind as we convene diverse groups of people to talk about important issues. No particular group, whether academics, protestors, government officials or businessmen can fit neatly into one basic generality. Click here to see a report by Tom Spencer.

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