Organised by: CE Bankwatch network, A SEED Europe, Friends of the Earth International _______________________________________________
Dear friends,
On December 11-12 1999, a small group of people gathered in Prague at the office of Hnuti Duha (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic), for a first meeting on how to approach the upcoming Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in September 2000 in Prague (P2000).
What follows is a short report on this meeting, written for those who could not be present but who wish to get/stay involved in the activities that are currently planned.
As there were relatively few representatives from non Czech organizations present, we intend to organize a second international planning meeting, tentatively scheduled around end of April/May in Prague. We hope that we can welcome there everyone who intends to focus on P2000 in their IMF/WB work in the coming year.
Over the coming months we will keep you informed about developments but if you need to know something specific please contact us directly -see below- Please also let us know as soon as possible if you have plans yourself for P2000.
Petr Hlobil, CE Bankwatch Network <petr.hlobil at ecn.cz> Vanja Bucan, A SEED Europe <vanja at aseed.antenna.nl> Johan Frijns, Friends of the Earth International <ifi at foeint.antenna.nl>
__________________ GENERAL REMARKS
There were around twenty people present at the meeting, the majority from Czech Republic. These represented a variety of organisations; church groups, student groups, direct activists, International networks as FoEI, A SEED Europe and CE Bankwatch and one advocacy group (the Bretton Woods Reform project).
Due to the limited involvement from the international NGO community 'traditionally' working on IMF and World Bank, it was not really the 'international coordination meeting▓ which the organizers originally had in mind. Rather, it was a meeting of local organisations from the region, with some input from international organizations.
The limited number of people present also meant that it was not possible to put into motion a large number of activities. Instead, the group focused on getting a few snowballs rolling, hoping to create the much desired avalanche of activities in the coming months leading to the meeting. Whether this strategy will succeed depends to a large extent on whether other organizations not present at the meeting will join the preparations from now on.
___________________ ONE FOCUS FOR P2000?
Considerable time was spent to see if the activities planned by organisations in Prague at P2000 could have one specific focus, perhaps even one united message -like the ▒Fifty Years is Enough▓ campaign at the time of the IMF/WB Annual Meetings in Madrid in 1994.
However, it was felt that the current situation with regards to the IMF and the World Bank is fundamentally different from then. It therefore seems better to now focus on several issues related to these institutions at the same time. None of them is really new but the occasion of an Annual Meeting outside of Washington always gives ample opportunity to present them for a much wider audience, thereby stepping up public pressure on Bank and Fund.
Five areas of interest were identified that organizations wanting to get involved in P2000 could start working on. These were:
1) The role of IMF and World Bank in Central and Eastern Europe;
Bank and Fund have been involved for over ten years in shaping and financing the spectacular transition process in the region. P2000 could be a good occasion to evaluate this role of IMF/WB in this process. This should be based on a country by country analysis and take many factors into account.
2) Poverty eradication?
At the last Annual meetings, the World Bank once again stressed its commitment to ▒fight poverty▓. Somewhat surprisingly, the IMF also declared that its essential role from now on would also be to reduce poverty in the world. Several new policies and programmes were launched to back up this claim. P2000 could be a good occasion to evaluate whether thios new claim has any substance and what effective changes took place at IMF/WB this year that merit confidence in the institutions.
3) Good Governance;
The World Bank gives itself a prominent role in the promotion of ▒good governance▓, defined as accountable public institutions, transparent public policy making, fairness in the rule of law, absence of corruption and openness to participation of citizens. However, when this is applied to the IMF and World Bank itself serious flaws come to attention. P2000 could be a good occasion to raise the debate whether the World Bank, and certainly the IMF, need a major structural adjustment of their operating practices.
4) Environment;
While lots of lip service is paid by IMF/WB about taking care for the environment, reality is that the pace of ecological destruction in the world has only stepped up. With the memory of Rio92 (UNCED) slowly fading away, both institutions tend to pay less attention to the environmental effects of their lending. P2000 could once more open the debate on the environmental effects of IMF/WB lending practices, for example by evaluating the environmental effects of the ongoing debt crisis and related adjustment lending. P2000 could also put public attention on the World Banks' energy lending, - with an eye to the climate negotiations at COP6 in the Hague, two months after P2000-.
5) The ongoing debt crisis of developing countries;
P2000 will be the first Annual Meetings in the new millennium. Many organizations, united in the Jubilee2000 campaign, have pushed for years for a debt free start of this era for all indebted countries. The effect of all these tremendous efforts seems so far no more than a very meager beginning of this process, for a few countries only, and with lots of strings attached. P2000 could evaluate how much progress is really made and what still needs to be done. P2000 could also be the start of a drastic reorientation of the ongoing debt debate and the debt campaigns, taking into account issues like the ecological debt of the North towards the South, the notion of illegitimacy of the debt and the leading role Southern organizations should play in defining the way forward in the struggle for a debt free world.
_________________ ACTIVIES PLANNED
A large part of the meeting was devoted to discuss existing plans for P2000. Most of these plans are still in a very early stage of implementation. At the moment the following events/activities are planned:
Publication / Information material
Compilation of case studies of World Bank projects in the region (CE Bankwatch) Information pack on IMF/WB (FoEI) Toolkit for organisers, including video tapes (FoEI) Citizen guide to the World Bank in Russian √ English (CE Bankwatch) background material in Slovak language (FoE Slovakia). case study on IMF role in Slovakia (FoE Slovakia) brochure on debt based on Jubilee exhibition (Evangelicka Diakonie) Monthly newsletter in Brno (Anarchist Federation) brochures on globalisation (Anarchist Federation) www pages several ideas, like alternative Worldbank page (contact Bretton Woods Reform) Involvement of local radio stations, as well as network in Spain (Radio Aragon) Information insert in local newspaper during P2000 (CE Bankwatch) video report of the prague meeting (A SEED Europe) publications on good governance (Bretton Woods Reform) poster series on IMF/WB (Evangelicka Diakonie)
Activities during P2000
Skillshare /training for NGOs on how to campaign on IFIs18-22 of September. Around 150 participants. CE Bankwatch in cooperation with Friends of the Earth (FoEI). Jubilee2000 Seminar, with possible participation of Woyle solinka and Rigoberta Menchu. Org; Evangelicka Diakonie Seminar on Ecological Debt; organised by FoEI, possibly together with JubileeSouth. Speakerstour of Speakers from southern organisations, focused on the effects of Structural Adjustment in the South, drawing lessons for the East, org; FoEI Video Festival, featuring documents on IMF/WB policies/projects and resistance against them (org; FoEI) Large Demonstration, possibly simultanuously in more cities. (Org; anarchist Federation) Counter Summit (not agreed yet) (org; A SEED, Anarchist Federation) Public activities in Brno during IMF/WB annual meeting. Org: Nesehnuti, anarchist federation
_____________________ PRACTICAL FOLLOW UP
To ensure follow up of the plans a few arrangements were made:
Czech organisations will set up an informal working platform to keep each other informed. The platform will not be a political platform, and there is no common logo or slogan to present the different activities. The platform will meet every first Wednesday of the month, starting on February 2nd. Issues to be discussed there should be presented to Petr Hlobil at petr.hlobil at ecn.cz.
A second International Coordination Meeting is tentatively scheduled end of April / Beginning of May, probably again in Prague. This should be the entry point of international organisations in the campaign.
Communication between all groups will be mainly over email. The main discussion lists used are:
<bwnprague2000 at ecn.cz> for all people interested in P2000. To geto n this list contact Petr Hlobil √see address above-
<Antimmf at egroups.com> for Czech groups, operated by Anarchist Federation <antiimf2000 at egroups.com> for international activists, operated by Anarchist Federation
to be included in this list get in touch with Hubert at zemepredevsim at ecn.cz
Most information will also be posted at www.bankwatch.org { HYPERLINK "http://www.bankwatch.org" } and soon on www.mmf2000.webjump.com
Timeline; overview of events already on the calendar before P2000 (not complete)
January 15-16, Prague; Anarchist Federation planning meeting for P2000 January, Bratislava; meeting of World Commission on Dams February 2, Prague; first P2000 platform meeting March 16-21, Prague; meeting of Inter-Continental Caravan people March 27-31 Lithuania; NGO training, WB NGO liaison meeting, CEE Benkwatch End of March, Poland; training on Trade and Finance for activists, A SEED Europe April, Washington; IMF/WB Spring meetings End of April, Prague; Second international planning meeting P2000 May 27th, Brno; street Party September 22-26, Prague; IMF/WB program of Seminars September 27-28, Prague; IMF/WB annual meetings ________________________________________________________ Johan Frijns Coordinator International Financial Institutions Program
IMPORTANT Please Cc urgent matters also to: jfrijns at antenna.nl
Friends of the Earth International PO Box 19199, 1000 GD Amsterdam, The Netherlands tel. 31 20 6221369 fax 31 20 6392181 www: www.xs4all.nl/~foeint ifi at foeint.antenna.nl