ACORD CONTRIBUTES TO THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

Posted by: WEBMaster on January 20, 2007 7:00:39 AM

Film Festival:

ACORD has sponsored free film screening of the movies Bamako, Black Gold and Darwin's Nightmare with vivid illustrations of the link between food sovereignty and people's livelihood. Films will be showing everyday with the following activities at WSF Kasarani.

21 January: A Multi-stakeholder dialogue on EPAs and Food Sovereignty.

22 January: Public Meeting on Gender and EPAs highlighting the likely impact of EPAs on women and gender relations in Africa.

23 January: Workshop on linkages of HIV/AIDS, globalization, EPAs, trade, and food sovereignty in Africa.

24 January: A joint march to the European Commission in Kenya under "Stop EPAs Campaign" .

The march is a campaign strategy to call the European Union to revise the principle of reciprocity in trade agreements with the poorest nations. ACORD in partnership with OXFAM International, PELUM and ECONEWS will officially launch a Stop, Think, Resist EPAs Campaign. This is a continuous campaign to take place in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and the Sahel region where ACORD works.

For more information about the STOP-THINK-RESIST-EPAs campaign and to sign a petition against EPAs, visit www.stopthinkresist.org

 

ACORD's contribution to the WSF with the three conferences wiill present detailed linkages of the need for Food Sovereignty and the "Stop-Think-Resist-EPAs Campaign." The multi-stakeholder dialogue on EPAs and Food Sovereignty brings together researchers, farmers, politicians and civil society organisations to discuss the impacts of EPAs on Africa and the Pacific, Caribbean countries, UNECA and GRET, a French research body, will present findings on the evaluation, impacts and challenges of EPAs and discuss the way forward.

The public meeting on Gender and EPAs will highlight the likely impact of EPAS on women and gender relations in Africa. The platform is set up to enable the direct participation of those traditionally marginailsed, share experience of trade liberalisation vis-a-vis the day to day livelihood. There will be farmers, pastoralists and NGOs working on women's rights and policy issues. The meeting intends to apply a women's rights lens to the negotiations surrounding economic policies and treaties. The reflection is just a stepping stone into proposing a way forward on gender balance and EPAs.

ACORD is also organising a workshop on HIV/AIDS and Food Sovereignty in Africa. This is an invitation to various organisations involved in fair trade campaigns to mainstream HIV/AIDS perspective in their basis of action. The plight of people living with HIV/AIDS is a major challenge to food sovereignty and sustainable development.

The above activities will prepare participants to understand the relevance of food sovereignty in Africa and the urgence to stop EPAs. More activities will take place around Nairobi with film screening in Nu Metro and 20th Century cinema halls as well as in 9 neighbourhoods of Nairobi including the two slums of Kibera and Mathare. Ian Mauro, a Canadian movie maker will show two documentaries on the impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on Canadian agriculture and more films showing at Alliance Francaise and Moi International Sports Centre. The films touch on Great lakes conflicts, Immigration and Conflicts in West Africa and on great leaders such as Thomas Sankara and Mahatma Gandhi.