<nettime> Last call to 2nd PGA Conference

[artactivism@gn.apc.org]

>To: rts@gn.apc.org
>From: PGA Secretariat <pga@agp.org> (by way of genetics <genetics@gn.apc.org>)
>Subject: -ALLSORTS-Last call to 2nd PGA Conference
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>UAA29739
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>   *** please spread widely this message ***
>
>            LAST CALL for the
>
>           SECOND CONFERENCE OF
>          PEOPLES' GLOBAL ACTION
>  AGAINST 'FREE' TRADE AND THE WTO (PGA)
>
>As mentioned in previous announcements, the second PGA conference will take
>place in Bangalore (India) from the 23rd to the 26th of August 1999. It
>will be preceded by roundtable discussions (from the 20th to the 22nd) and
>accompanied by two rounds of study trips to areas of struggle in Southern
>India (15th-19th and 27th-31st August).
>
>The main objective of the second conference of PGA will be to start an open
>debate between social movements and activists about:
>* what functions a tool for international communication and coordination
>like PGA should fulfil
>* how the network should operate
>
>In its fifteen months of existance, PGA has been functioning mainly by the
>initiative of relatively few movements and activists, although it enjoys
>the support of many more. Now it is time to
>* look back at the achievements and failures of this period,
>* analyse how things have been done (and not done) in the first phase of
>this process,
>* rethink what kind of international communication and coordination is
>wished/needed by those who identify themselves with the network, and
>* discuss how to improve the PGA process to get it closer to what we want
>it to be.
>
>Of course, this debate will take place on the basis of the four hallmarks
>of the PGA:
>* rejection of global capitalism and its regulating mechanisms, such as the
>WTO;
>* a confrontational attitude towards them - neither lobby nor reformism;
>* a call to non-violent direct action, civil disobedience and the
>construction of local alternatives by local communities;
>* an organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.
>
>Another important aim of the conference is to prepare the global resistance
>to the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),
>which will take place in Seattle (USA) from the 29th of November to the 3rd
>of December 99. This conference is expected to mark the starting point of a
>new round of negotiations (the so-called Millennium Round) aimed at
>expanding the powers of the WTO regime, strengthening the private property
>over life forms, accelerating the destruction of the peasantry due to the
>liberalisation of agricultural trade, and inserting a MAI-like agreement
>into the WTO regime. Diverse groups and organisations in the USA are now
>preparing a caravan of representatives of movements from different
>continents just before the WTO conference, to raise awareness about these
>issues (contact PGA_Seattle99-owner@listbot.com for more details).
>
>Finally, the conference will revise the PGA manifesto and elect a new
>convenors' committee.
>
>The roundtable discussions before the conference will serve different
>purposes: meeting movements and activists working in the same issues,
>elaborating proposals for changes in the manifesto, discussing the latest
>developments in the 'anti-globalisation networks' etc. The study trips
>before and after the conference will offer an opportunity to get to know
>the struggles of the Adivasi (indigenous peoples of India), to meet
>farmers' movements opposing the caste system, biotechnology, 'free' trade
>and environmental destruction, to visit the fight against big dams and
>multinational corporations, to support Adivasi women squatting a US bank,
>etc.
>
>There is the possibility to travel to the PGA conference for a reduced
>price if you make up your mind quickly. Some examples of the best rates
>that we have found until now are (for a return trip to Bombay, flying in
>August and with an open date of return):
>* from Frankfurt, Rome, Paris or London for DM 750 to 825 (US$ 400 to 445);
>from most other European capitals for around DM 920 to 1000 (US$ 500 to
>540);
>* from NY, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington etc for about US$ 990; from
>Toronto, Ottawa, LA, San Francisco etc for about US$ 1090.
>(the rates for other continents are unfortunately higher - excepting Asia
>and the Pacific, where the rates are quite variable).
>
>If you arrive just before the first session of study trips we will also
>arrange for you the transport from Bombay to Bangalore as well as visits to
>farmers' organisations on the way.
>
>To obtain more information please visit <http://www.agp.org/>www.agp.org or
>send
>an empty email
>to bangalore_en@artamis.org and you will get automatically a comprehensive
>set of information on the conference, the roundtable discussions, the study
>trips, the flights to India, the participation fees, etc. (If this does not
>work, please email pga@agp.org)
>
>*******************************************
>Peoples' Global Action pga@agp.org
>against 'Free' Trade <http://www.agp.org/>www.agp.org
>and the WTO (PGA)
>


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