October 5 & 6, 2000
The Ford Foundation
On October 5th and 6th, the Ford Foundation gathered a group of NGO activists and Ford staff to discuss facilitating international cooperation on economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). The conference covered four discrete topics: the challenges to creating a network on ESCR, the potential benefits of a network, the priorities of a network, and next steps in the planning process.
Despite numerous challenges (detailed in the longer report), participants agreed that a network could serve a valuable role in strengthening the global ESCR movement by providing a forum for information sharing, international/collaborative advocacy, and expertise and technical assistance. Participants proposed that the developing network should be guided by the following principles:
- The network should focus on ESCR.
- The network should be inclusive, reaching out beyond human rights groups to grassroots and social justice groups involved in ESCR issues.
- The network should be global and multilingual.
- The network should serve members and be accessible through members’ daily work.
- The network should facilitate collective ESCR action by members.
- The network should seek to develop a “collective voice” on key ESCR issues.
Participants agreed that further study and outreach was necessary before decisions could be reached on the network’s mandate, content and structure. It was therefore decided to schedule a follow-up meeting in February-March 2001, and in the interim period establish working groups to prepare recommendations for this meeting.
Sarah Zaidi coordinated the discussion of working groups in the following areas – outreach, structure/governance, subcommittees and the web – and served on the governance working group. Each Working Group was requested to solicit ideas from other non-profit organizations, networks, and experts and to prepare a draft report on their findings by January 2001. Each group included a chairperson with overall responsibility for the report and possibly also an outreach coordinator to identify potential new working group members and disseminate the conference report, questionnaire and other materials. Final reports were scheduled for the end of February, prior to the convening of the follow-up meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. CESR designate provided logistical support as necessary, including conference call arrangements and list-serves.
Working Group 1:
Outreach – The following participants at the meeting agreed to participate in this working group: Fateh Azzam, Alice Brown, Joy Butts, Daria Caliguire, Chris Jochnick, Aubrey McCutcheon, Felix Morka, D.J. Ravindran and Loretta Ross.
This group will recommend criteria for identifying potential members of the network and also begin the process of mapping out potential members. The group will also recommend ways of institutionalizing outreach once the network is running.
Working Group 2:
Structure/Governance – Larry Cox, Chris Jochnick, D.J. Ravindran, and Sarah Zaidi
This group will recommend how and where to staff the network, and how to structure governance through steering committees, advisory groups, or other mechanisms. It will also recommend how to compensate people serving on these working groups.
Working Group 3:
Subcommittees – Victor Abramovich, Geoff Budlender, Leilani Farha, Anuradha Mittal and Bruce Porter
This group will recommend focus areas or subgroups around which the network can play a proactive role, conduct outreach to assess the needs and interests of other groups working on ESCR, and propose ways for subgroups to operate within the network. Participants already committed to certain focus topics raised during the conference, such as AIDS, women and litigation strategies, are encouraged to request CESR coordination now to facilitate exchange of information and strategies.
Working Group 4:
Web – Daria Caliguire, Chris Caruso, Bruce Porter and Anthony Romero
This group will recommend a structure and relevant content areas for the network’s web-based information sharing system.