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Andres Bonifacio Day and the Workers Movement: Commemorating 30 November
UPDATED PROGRAM FOR 30 NOVEMBER
The organizing of the program on 30 November is led by NAGKAISA (United), the biggest and the broadest labor coalition formed in the Philippines in more than 2 decades. Spanning more 40 trade unions and labor organizations with varying ideological perspectives, NAGKAISA ushers a new era in the Philippine labor movement which has been generally regarded as historically fragmented.
NAGKAISA vows to work towards restoring the right to full protection and the chance to live a decent and dignified life for all Filipino working men and women — whether formal or informal, private or public, here or abroad. It aims to fight contractualization and all other forms of precarious work and to rollback neoliberal policies that led to massive unemployment and perpetual increases in oil prices and the costs of food, electricity and other utilities and basic services such as education and health.
Presentations of Resource Persons
Presentation of resource persons can now be downloaded. Please check the link below to download the file
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Keynote Speaker
Walden Bello
Walden Bello is one of the leading critics of the current model of economic globalization, combining the roles of intellectual and activist. As a human rights and peace campaigner, academic, environmentalist and journalist, he has made a major contribution to the international case against corporate-driven globalization.
Walden Bello was born in Manila in the Philippines in 1945. He became a political activist following the declaration of Martial Law by Ferdinand Marcos on 21 September 1972. Over the next two decades, he became a key figure in the international movement to restore democracy in the Philippines, co-ordinating the Anti-Martial Law Coalition and establishing the Philippines Human Rights Lobby in Washington, DC. He was arrested repeatedly and finally jailed by the US authorities in 1978 for leading the non-violent takeover of the Philippine consulate in San Francisco. He was released three weeks later after a hunger strike to publicize human rights abuses in his home country.
In 1995, he co-founded of Focus on the Global South, a policy research institute based in Bangkok, Thailand. Focus on the Global South was established in challenge neoliberalism, militarism and corporate-driven globalisation while strengthening just and equitable alternatives. Focus works in solidarity with the Global South - the great majority of humanity that is marginalized and dispossessed by globalisation – believing that progressive social change and Global South solidarity are imperative if the needs and aspirations of oppressed peoples, particularly in Asia, Latin America and Africa, are to be met.
He has also played a leading role as an environmentalist, and is former chairman of the board of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. Bello has campaigned for years for the withdrawal of US military bases in the Philippines, Okinawa and Korea, and has helped set up several regional coalitions dedicated to denuclearization and demilitarization.
He taught at the University of California, Berkeley from 1978–82 and was a Visiting Professor at UCLA in 2002 and UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara in 2006. He was Chancellor's Fellow at UC Irvine in 2004 and is a Fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam.
Walden Bello was awarded the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize) in 2003 for "... outstanding efforts in educating civil society about the effects of corporate globalisation, and how alternatives to it can be implemented." Bello has been described by the Economist as the man “who popularised a new term: deglobalisation.”
Walden Bello is currently a member of Parliament in the Philippines’ House of Representatives. He is also the chairperson of the committee on migrant workers affairs in the Philippine Parliament.
For more information on the Work of Walden Bello please visit: http://waldenbello.org/
Sources:
http://www.tni.org/users/walden-bello
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Bello
http://www.congress.gov.ph/members/search.php?congress=15&id=bello-w
http://focusweb.org/
http://www.worldwhoswho.com/public/views/entry.html?id=sl2174431
Plenary Resource Persons
PLENARY 1: Crisis, Critique, and Consequences of Global Migration + Resistance, Organization, Action
MODERATOR
Patricia Gainza
Espacio Sin Fronteras
Patricia is a migrant and returned. She is the founder of Space Without Borders, a South American network of organizations that work with immigrants and immigrants present throughout the continent.
She studied sociology in Mexico, has an MA in sociology from the University of the Republic in Uruguay and is a candidate for research in the National System of Researchers of Uruguay. Her publications include studies on international migration, displacement, agribusiness, public policy and human rights.
RESOURCE PERSONS
Liepollo Pheko
Trade Collective South Africa
Pheko serves as Executive Director at a progressive research and advocacy Think Tank called the Trade Collective. The organization explores the political economy, international trade, migration and broad constructs of citizenship. Their work is infused with race, gender and class analysis.
She is active member of Pan Africa Forum for Migration and development and has attended various Global Forum on Migration and Development.
Angela Sambrano
National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities
Angela Sanbrano was elected President of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean (NALACC) in 2005, a position she currently holds. From 1995-2007 Ms. Sanbrano was Executive Director of the Central American Resource Center-Los Angeles (LACK). In 1986, Mexico became the highest-ranking American in the American peace movement through her appointment as co-director of Peace Action, the largest peace organization in the country. In 1985 Ms. Sanbrano was elected National Coordinator of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) position he held until the signing of the peace accords in 1992. Ms. Sanbrano is a member of the board of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Los Angeles Coalition for Human Rights of Immigrants (CHIRLA), and President of the Foundation Board of Hazen, NY.
Raul Delgado Wise
International Migration and Development Network
Dr. Raúl Delgado Wise received his doctorate in social sciences from the University of Pennsylvania. Through a 25year trajectory as researcher, he has published 8 books, edited 5, and written more than 80 essays, including book chapters and refereed articles. He has been guest lecturer in Canada, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain and various Latin American countries. He received the annual prize for economics research "Maestro Jesús Silva Herzog" in 1993. He is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, of the National System of researchers, and of several scholarly associations in Canada, the United States, Latin America and Europe.
He is the editor of the book series on "Latin America and the New World Order" for Miguel Angel Porrúa publishers. He is the Executive Secretary of the International Migration and Development Network, editor of Migración y Desarrollo, and director of the Doctoral Program in Development Studies at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas.
Rex Varona
Asia Migrant Center/Migrant Forum in Asia
Rex is an activist and former executive director of the Asian Migrant Centre (AMC), a regional organization based in Hong Kong that operates as an information, learning and knowledge centre on Asian Migration. AMC provides information, monitoring, research, publishing and knowledge-oriented services. These include training, organisaitonal development support and facilitation of joint analysis in order to strengthen the work and advocacies of CoP's/partners for the promotion of the human rights, empowerment and agendas of migrant workers and their families in Asia.
Rex Varona has also edited and written publications and articles on Asian labour migration among them the Asian Migrant Yearbook and the Mekong Migration Resource book. Rex Varona is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Migrant Forum in Asia.
John Bingham
International Catholic Migration Commission
John K. Bingham is the Head of Policy of the International Catholic Migration Commission, based in Geneva. A network of 130 members worldwide, ICMC has staff and operations in 40 countries, working with refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality, for rights-based policies and durable solutions.
PLENARY 2: Migrants Rights are Human Rights + Resistance, Organization, Action
MODERATOR
Oscar Chacon
National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities
Oscar A. Chacón is an immigrant from El Salvador, who has dedicated his life to the pursuit of social and economic justice across borders, primarily by organizing and empowering migrant communities in the U.S., while also dedicating time and energy to building collaborative networks at home and abroad, with civil society organizations and governments committed to finding humane and practical approaches to global migration in the 21st century, including ways in which to make the most of the relationship between migration and equitable and sustainable development processes.
Oscar has served since 2007 as executive director of the National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities (NALACC), an umbrella of immigrant-led organizations from around the country dedicated to improving the quality of life of Latino immigrant communities in the U.S., as well as of peoples throughout Latin America. Oscar is a frequent national and international spokesperson on migrant issues, migration policy, Latino community issues and international economic policy. On January 19, 2011, NALACC was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions by the o-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
RESOURCE PERSONS
Abdelhamid El Jamri
Committee on Migrant Workers
Abdelhamid El Jamri was appointed Chairperson of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families in 2008. He has extensive experience on issues related to employment policies, economic development and the integration of migrants. As an expert on international migration management, Mr. El Jamri has led the ANPAC project in Morocco—a project which regulates the movement of people between Morocco and the countries of the European Union—and contributed to the development of the Migration Information and Management Centre (CIGEM) in Mali. Mr. El Jamri is a member of the Council for the Moroccan Community Abroad.
Myrtle Witbooi
South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union
Myrtle Witbooi is the General Secretary of the South African Domestic Service & Allied Workers Union for the past 11 years and is also the President of the International Domestic Workers Network which represents 10 countries.
Myrtle's personal struggle started back in 1966 when she was barred from further education. She had problems with her identity papers, so she resorted to becoming a domestic worker. She served one family for twelve years, raising their child with love, working without even one paid holiday. In 1969, when a newspaper article disparaged domestic workers for bad behavior, she couldn't resist. She took up a pen and made her voice heard in a letter to the editor, addressing the plight of domestic workers.
Zaynah Hindi
International Palestinian Youth
Zaynah is an academic/activist. She is currently a Palestinian who migrated to the United States, and works on the relationships between Zionist Colonialism and patterns of settlement and refuge in and around Palestine.
Ellene Sana
Center for Migrant Advocacy
Ellene Sana is currently the Executive Director of the Centre for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) in Manila. Ellene has over 20 years experience of working to advance respect for human rights in the Philippines and internationally. she is a regular resource person in Congressional meetings and public hearings on migration-related policies and issues in the Philippines; she is also the main spokesperson of CMA regarding migration-related issues. The Centre for Migrant Advocacy engages with policies at various levels - locally, with local government officials and community-based groups; nationally, with policy makers and executive agencies; and regionally, with organisation like ASEAN, ILO, ILC and UNHCR.
Edda Pando
ARCI Italy
Edda Pando is a member of ARCI, an Italian organization promoting the Global Day of Action Against Racism and for the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Displaced Persons, held on December 18, 2011.
PLENARY 3: Re-imagining migration, proposing alternatives, exploring models + Resistance, Organization, Action
MODERATOR
Catherine Tactaquin
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Executive Director and a co-founder of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. The daughter of an immigrant farm worker from the Philippines, she was involved for many years in grassroots organizing and advocacy in the Filipino community on issues of discrimination and foreign policy. She is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from global migration and human rights, to race and gender perspectives, and immigration reform.
In 1994, Catherine helped to found Migrants Rights International (MRI), a global alliance of migrant associations and other non-governmental organizations. She sits on the Steering Committee of MRI and also on the Board of Poverty, Race and Research Action Council in Washington, D.C. She is a past recipient of the Bannerman Fellowship, an award recognizing outstanding activists of color, and was recently honored with a Community Activist award from the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.
RESOURCE PERSONS
Azfar Khan
International Labour Organization Regional Office in Beirut, Lebanon
Azfar Khan is the Senior Migration Policy Specialist for the Arab States based at the ILO Regional Office in Beirut, Lebanon. He has undertaken many assignments with the ILO, since joining the organisation in 1995. He has served as: a Technical Advisor on Population and Poverty with the ILO’s Development Policy Department (1995-1999); as Development Economist with the In Focus Programme on Socio-Economic Security (2000-2006); and as Senior Migration Policy Advisor in the International Migration Programme (2006-2009).
Prior to joining the ILO, he was a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, the Netherlands, where he also served as the Convenor of the UNFPA Global Programme of Training in Population and Development (1989-1995). He has written and published widely in the area of social policy, employment and poverty issues, labour migration and on the general interface of demographic and macroeconomic issues. He holds a B.A (Honours in Economics) and a M.A. (Economics) from McGill University, Montreal, Canada and a Doctor of Philosophy from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.
Henry Saragih
La Via Campesina
Henry Saragih (born in Petumbukan, North Sumatera in April 11, 1964) is the Chairman of Indonesian Peasants Union (2007-2012). Henry is also the General Coordinator of La Via Campesina, international peasants movement. Henry dedicated his time in building the peasants movement with a national scope. This series of struggles, the most renown are from Cikupa, Kedungombo, and Asahan, brought to the establishment of Federation of Indonesian Peasants Union (FSPI) in 1998—later on changed to the organisation of Indonesian Peasants Union (SPI) in 2007.
Henry also has a history of working in the spaces of the United Nations, in particular a long history in the Committee on World Food Security under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He has also spearheaded the work towards achieving a Declaration on Peasants’ Rights under the United Nations. The most recent success in this work has been the adoption of a Resolution in the UN Human Rights Council to create an intergovernmental open ended group to negotiate the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other people working in rural areas. (A/HRC/21/L23) This is a victory for peasants and a direct result of the hard work and dedication by Henry and the La Via Campesina team to fight for the voice of small farmers.
Pablo Solon
Focus on the Global South
Pablo Solón is an activist, writer, and policy analyst in the areas of trade, finance, development, climate and the environment. He was most recently the Ambassador of Bolivia to the United Nations from 2009 to 2011 and the Extraordinary Ambassador of Bolivia for Integration and Trade (2006-2008). He is most well known for championing the rights of nature and the fight for climate justice in the international climate negotiations when he was Chief Negotiator of Bolivia.
He is also known for his work on securing the approval of the UN Resolution sponsored by Bolivia on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. He was also the Co-organizer of the People’s World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights in Cochabamba, Bolivia, which gathered 35,000 delegates and produced the Cochabamba People’s Agreement, a key document that contains the demands and proposals of the people for real solutions to climate change. He has written several publications, articles and directed several videos on various issues.
Ambet Yuson
Building WoodWorkers International
In the past three decades, Albert Emilio Sabando Yuson, or Ambet as he is more popularly known, has been actively involved in several national and international social movements.
His activism started in the early 1980s at a time when the people’s movement against the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines was at its peak. As a student activist, Ambet participated in the struggle for democracy working with Filipino trade unions. This participation allowed him to experience trade union struggle in the face of severe political repression. Moreover, Ambet participated in the “People Power/ EDSA Revolution of 1986” that ended the Marcos dictatorship and this further galvanized his belief in the power of solidarity and collective action. These experiences has since served as a very important foundation for his subsequent and continuing work with trade unions within and beyond national borders.
After the ouster of Marcos, Ambet worked for the restoration of democratic institutions in his country. Fresh out of university, he worked fulltime for the Workers’ College, a non-governmental organization committed to organizing free and genuine trade unions. He started as a trade union organizer and educator and later became program director for the Workers’ College from 1990 to 1993.
Following his post at the Workers’ College, roughly for a decade, Yuson worked in supporting the struggles of various marginalized communities starting with his position as Executive Director of the People’s Alternative Centre for Research and Education for Social Development (PASCRES), a network of local NGOs focused on public policy formulation and advocacy. In 1994, he became the Project Director of the Informal Sector Organizing Project of the Institute of Social Order (ISO) which required him to develop and implement social enterprise and cooperative programs for some two thousand informal workers in one province and undertake technical research on the conditions of informal workers in Metro Manila.
In 1995 Ambet became the National Coordinator of the National Peace Conference (NPC), a multi-sectoral civil society movement composed of non-governmental organizations and people’s organizations. His main responsibility was to convene and facilitate consultations and consensus building workshops to forge agreements that the NPC would advocate for in its engagements with the Filipino government. His work with the NPC led him being the National Coordinator and Technical Consultant of the Social Reform Council PO-NGO Counterpart Council which was a legally mandated tri-sectoral body composed of government, non-government organizations and people’s organizations designed to formulate social reform mechanisms and solutions through social dialogue.
In 1997 Ambet’s work came to full circle as he once again began to work directly with trade unions. Until 2000, he was the National Project Coordinator of the IFBWW Philippine Project Office. One of his major achievements was the formation of the first the first industry construction union was formed in the Philippines. In 2001, became the Regional Coordinator for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) projects of the IFBWW Asia Pacific Regional Office. In this capacity he coordinated the implementation of IFBWW OHS projects and activities such as internal regional conferences, social dialogue with employers, and liaison work with the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The following year and for four years thereafter, Ambet worked as Education Secretary at the Geneva headquarters of IFBWW, one of the predecessor organizations of BWI. As Education Secretary, he was in charge of project development and strategic planning as well as the supervision of BWI’s education program. In 2007, Yuson was appointed Regional Representative of the BWI-Asia Pacific Regional Office based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This move was short-lived, however, as Ambet was elected General Secretary of BWI at the 2nd BWI World Congress held in Lille, France in 2009.
At the time of his election, he outlined many challenges of his new post: There is much work to be done. We need to get going. We need to go global like never before, we need to go green in a way that protects workers, we need to go develop the next generation of trade unionists. To make any of this happen, to have any chance of success -- we must go organize.
Today, as General Secretary, Ambet’s main task is to ensure that the day-to-day operations of BWI as a global union are aligned with BWI’s strategic plans and internal rules. His post also entails heading the secretariat based in Geneva and other BWI offices in several regions.
Mpilo Shange Butbane
Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa
Sicel’mpilo Shange-Buthane is Executive Director of the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA). She has worked in the human rights field for over a decade and has extensive knowledge and experience of working in the migration sector particularly highlighting the plight of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in South Africa. Ms Shange-Buthane has an interest in the intersection between foreign and domestic policy and has done research on the interplay between these two policy streams. Ms. Shange-Buthane is a fellow of the Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration (TFMI) coordinated by the German Marshall Fund of the US and the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Salah Salah
Palestinian National Council
Salah had been involved with political activities through the Arab Palestinian Youth, defending the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland, and who struggle against many projects that deny their rights to be resettles in countries where they are. Salah is also one of the founders and board member in the Palestinian Trade Union Active Cadre in the Arab National movement. Currently, he is the Chairman of the refugees standing committee in the Palestinian National Council. Salah’s works include a book about the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and one about the PLO and peace process.
Pampanga Field Visit: Inter-Agency Initiatives for Migrants' Concerns
The Province of Pampanga is located at the central plains of Luzon in the Philippines. The means of transportation going to Pampanga is by land with travel time of approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour from Manila. The people of Pampanga are known for their cooking abilities and very nice food delicacies.
Read more...WSFM WORKSHOP CLUSTERS
We would like to thank all organizations who have submitted workshop proposals for the 5th WSFM. The program committee is communicating with the different organizations who have submitted workshop proposals on the clustering of their workshops as well as the date of the workshop. For those who have not received any communication from the secretariat and program committee with regards to their workshop kindly send an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Read more...Manila Field Visit: Government Agencies Working on Migrant Workers Concerns
The field visit aims to provide information on the various programs of the Philippine government on migration. The field visit will bring participants to national government agencies dealing with migrant workers concerns. Participants will be provided with an overview of the programs and services offered by the Philippine government to Filipino migrant workers and members of their families.
The Following government agencies will be visited:
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) - provides advice on matters relating to the formulation and execution of Philippine foreign policy relating to the protection of the dignity, fundamental rights and freedoms of Filipino citizens abroad, while giving particular attention to the protection and promotion of the welfare and dignity of overseas Filipinos.
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) - tasked to promote and develop the Philippine Overseas Employment Program and Protect the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The POEA is also in charge of regulating private sector participation in the recruitment and placement of OFWS.
Read more...Batangas Field Visit: Dialogue with Civil Society Organizations, Migrant Families and the Local Government of Batangas
The field visit will provide the participants with the opportunity to learn about the cooperation among civil society organizations, migrant families, returnee migrant workers and the local government of Batangas. The Province of Batangas is located in the Southwestern part of Luzon, 111 Kilometers from Metro Manila. The participants will be able dialogue with local government officials of Batangas and learn about the support services and programs available for migrant workers and families of migrants. Participants will also have the opportunity to meet with the communities of migrant families, returnee migrants and civil society organizations providing assistance for migrant workers.
Mabini Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Migration Center – The first migration center in the province of Batangas. It is the government and civil society’s response to help the OFWs and their families, including the children left behind, to ensure safe migration, address its social cost and at the same time tap the role of OFWs and their family circles in harnessing the development potentials of migration which will benefit them and their communities.
Batang Atikha Savers Club – An organization of youth savers who understand the value of money. To date, there are almost 1000 members with more than 2M accumulated savings.
Read more...Call for Poster Session Proposals Extended to 15 July 2012
The poster session is a discussion group that will focus on new, emerging and innovative ideas / concepts in relation to protecting and promoting migrants’ rights. The session time is shorter than the workshops (1 hour and 30 minutes) and is meant to disseminate initiatives and good practices and to broaden understanding and knowledge on new and emerging concepts. A Poster Session can be used to advertise your organization’s initiatives, research findings, an emerging campaign, present good practices or explore an emerging concept or idea in relation to migrants rights. The topics for discussion will need to be in line with the theme for the day of the WSFM.
Read more...Call for Workshop Proposals Extended to 15 July 2012
The International Committee and the Philippine Working Group of the World Social Forum cordially invite you to submit proposals for workshops for the 5th WSFM. All Workshops need to be structured in two (2 )parts with the first part focused on discussion of issues and the second part on recommendations to address the issues. Each workshop mus come up with 3 priority recommendations to be included in the overall statement of the WSFM.
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