This conference was attended by close to 500 people from all sectors of society; business, educators, scientists, bureaucracy, researchers, and was opened by the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark.

Ms Clark, as many others, including a rather cynical |media, expressed the fear that this meeting could become yet another expensive talk-fest. She promised, however, that the NZ Government would listen attentively to any positive suggestions coming out of the discussions and hoped that other New Zealand participants would do the same, because "action and commitment must come not only from Government, but from all sectors of the community represented here as well".

The conference was organised as an attempt to find some answers and solutions to the concern of many groups that New Zealand's national performance was continuing to decline. Five discussion groups were set up, each to discuss one of the conference’s themes: innovation and creativity, people and capability, sustainable economic strategies, entrepreneurship, and social cohesion and the knowledge divide.

Overseas speakers from countries such as Ireland, Finland, USA, UK, and Taiwan, had been invited to speak and to contribute to the discussions.

There was general agreement that while countries could learn much from one another it would not be advantageous simply to copy each other's success stories. Each country had its own character, human and other resources and potential on which to build.

New Zealand participants shared some of their thoughts on what needed to change in the way New Zealanders in general look at themselves and their lives: there is a tendency to concentrate on the negative, to tear down people considered to be "tall poppies", our "national conversation" is cynical and negative, there is a feeling of being "isolated" and out of touch, the concept of egalitarianism has been distorted and is "bringing the country down". It was acknowledged that New Zealanders tend to concentrate too much on what is wrong: creating something everyone can be involved in and work towards is a much stronger force for change.

While the meeting generally speaking agreed that in order to catch the knowledge wave more emphasis should be given to all aspects of education, there was much soul-searching as to what these "aspects" might imply.

Dr Yuan Lee, Taiwan, felt that in his country there was too much emphasis on competition: when competing for the highest possible exam results, much knowledge was acquired: overdeveloped consumption may ruin the environment.

Dr Lee has been influential in advocating an educational system in Taiwan which fosters more innovative thinking and the willingness to tolerate failure. Students should be encouraged to be "more creative, entrepreneurial and adventurous in the new economic era", said Dr Lee.

Craig Norgate, the Chair of GlobalCo, NZ, expanded on this sentiment by saying that, in his view, it was not a failure if a business failed honestly – much could be learnt from this; it was the way people tended to treat such a business that was the real failure. Another business executive stated that in a transformed New Zealand big businesses should exist alongside a whole range of small businesses in dynamic partnerships.

The head of Creative New Zealand (a Trust supporting the Arts), Peter Biggs, suggested that collecting knowledge is in itself not enough. It is what you do with it that matters, he insisted, and this requires imagination and insight. He spoke of the creation of a "creative imagination society" which needed a transformation of the consciousness of society that would enable us to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate innovative, insightful and imaginative entrepreneurship, whether within the field of science, business, education, government, the arts or simply the way we all approach life and relationships.

Peter Biggs’ comments were heartily endorsed by other participants saying that society must stop polarising art, business and science; these are all products of the creative mind; humanity is creative. As one participant in the TV transmitted discussion put it: "Let us celebrate the power of the mind to advance New Zealand".

Some of the recommendations coming out of the conference were: invest more in education (teachers are at present "scandalously underpaid") and in scientific research within specific areas; business, industry and community organisations to take more responsibility, alongside government, for "changing the nation"; establish expatriate databases for creating networks of New Zealanders overseas from which talent can be tapped"; state-owned enterprises to invest 10 per cent of their assets in relevant venture capital industry funds, and making broadband Internet universally accessible and cheap.

The conference ended on a cautiously optimistic note clearly emphasising that transformation of society is the responsibility of everyone. As NZ Race Relations Conciliator, Gregory Fortuin, commented: "We must have these get-togethers, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating."

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With the year 2003 proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as the International Year of Freshwater it is none too soon to take stock of the world water crisis that is well and truly upon us.

According to the United Nations more than 1 billion of the world's population lack access to fresh drinking water and governments around the world, under pressure from corporations, are considering, even advocating, radical solutions. Some governments are under pressure to sign away their control over domestic water supplies, while the principle of the ownership of water and whether it is to be regarded as a corporate commodity or be protected as a human and planetary right is still in the balance. But even now the scales are weighted heavily to the detriment of the world's poor and thirsty, with agreements being entered into that are little short of frightening in their implications.

The Global Water Corporation, a Canadian water company, has signed an agreement with Sitka, Alaska, to export 18 billion gallons a year of glacier water to China, which will be bottled in one of that country’s "free trade" zones to save on labour costs. Corporations in general are looking to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA – see issue 76, enc 2) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), to gain ownership over the world's water supplies.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have in the past already given corporations access to the water systems of developing countries. However in 1999 events in Bolivia, where an estimated 70 per cent of the population live in poverty, highlighted a notable and encouraging example of people power together with a glaring anomaly that presented the World Bank with what it called a "fundamental paradox" relating to a country listed among its "best performing portfolios".

Under pressure from the World Bank and the IMF Bolivia agreed to pass a law privatising the water system of Cochabamba, the state's third largest city. The only bidder was Aguas Del Tunari, a local subsidiary of the San Francisco based Bechtel Corporation. All water supplies, including family-built wells and water irrigation system were confiscated and water was completely cut off from citizens unable to afford the excessive price hikes and increase in rates resulting from privatisation.

Resistance from the population including labour, environmental, human rights and community leaders became so fervent, sustained and unrelenting that, following a public referendum organised by the people, the government finally gave in and rescinded the contract with Aguas Del Tunari. Consequently the Bechtel Corporation threatened to invoke a provision in a bilateral treaty and sue the government of Bolivia for lost investments and potential lost profits.

While the government was locked in dispute with Bechtel, the workers of the water company SEMAPA (Servicio Municipal de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado), filled the breach and began running the water system, reducing prices, building new water tanks, laying pipes and providing water universally,fairly and reliably. Thus an alternative way to corporate privatisation emerged: neither government corruption or privatisation, but a government/public partnership where a public service is run with the full support and inclusion of its workers and community.

Throughout these proceedings the International Forum on Globalisation supported the citizens of Cochambamba and in Dec 2000 helped in drafting the following declaration on the global provision of water:

The Cochabamba Declaration

"We, citizens of Bolivia, Canada, United States, India, Brazil: Farmers, workers, indigenous people, students, professionals, environmentalists, educators, non-governmental organisations, retired people, gather together today in solidarity to combine forces in the defence of the vital right to water. Here, in this city which has been an inspiration to the world for its retaking of that right through civil action, courage and sacrifice standing as heroes and heroines against corporate, institutional and governmental abuse, and trade agreements which destroy that right, in use of our freedom and dignity, we declare the, following:

For the right to life, for the respect of nature and the uses and traditions of our ancestors and our peoples, for all time the following shall be declared as inviolable rights with regard to the uses of water given by the earth:

(1) water belongs to the earth and all species and is sacred to life, therefore, the world's water must be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all future generations and its natural patterns respected.

(2) Water is a fundamental human right and a public trust to be guarded by all levels of governments, therefore, it should not be commodified, privatised or traded for commercial purposes. These rights must be enshrined at all levels of government. In particular, an international treaty must ensure these principles are non-controvertable.

(3) Water is best protected by local communities and citizens who must be respected as equal partners with governments in the protection and regulation of water. Peoples of the earth are the only vehicle to promote democracy and save water."

Contact; IFG Bulletin, The Thoreau Center for Sustainability, 1009 General Kenedy Ave #2, San Francisco, CA 94129, USA. E-mail: ifg@ifg.org

"The wars of the next century will be about water"
Ismail Serageldin, Vice-President of the World Bank

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The fourth WM biennial Ministerial Conference is due to be held in Doha, Qatar, 9-13 November 2001. The relevance of the WM as an appropriate institution will depend on whether at this meeting agreement can be reached on launching a new round of trade negotiations.

The gravity of the situation was stressed in an important statement made on 20 July last by Mr. Mike Moore, WM Director General. This took the form of a letter addressed to the Chairman of the informal General Council of the WM and included the following remarks:

"We cannot pretend that this can be merely a 'routine' Ministerial meeting, at which Ministers will discuss general economic trends and progress, in the WM's built-in agenda. The context in which Ministers will meet ensures that a fundamental decision will be taken at Doha, whether positive or negative, which will have long term implications for the future of this institution and the way we conduct our business. In our joint report, Mr. Chairman, we have said that failure to reach consensus on a forward work programme that would advance the objectives of the multilateral trading system, particularly in the light of the earlier failure at Seattle, would lead many to question the value of the |WTO as a form for negotiation. It would certainly condemn us to a |ong period of irrelevance, because it will not be any easier next year, or the year after.

The questions facing Ministers will be the same as in Seattle: are they ready to launch a wider process of negotiations - a new round, in fact – and if so what should its content be. I have made no secret of my conviction that a new round is necessary. There is no better way in which we can effectively address the problems of economic slowdown or prevent the further marginalisation of many developing countries through the weakening of the multilateral system. There is no other way in which we can make sure that the legal system embodied in the WTO responds to economic reality. There is no other way in which we can sustain the momentum of the negotiations on agriculture and services. Nowhere in the world, as far as I know, is the need for negotiation on agriculture disputed; but nowhere else in the world, if not here, is that negotiation going to happen."

Continuing Mr. Moore pointed out that all the rules of the WTO had been negotiated and that they could only be changed by negotiation. Minister Simba of Tanzania had spoken recently about inequities in the system "and he is right – they exist. But only negotiation can remove them. Not to negotiate is accepting the status quo, which was yesterday's compromise. Opting for the status quo would mean that negotiating next year would take place outside the WTO, with those not included bearing the cost of exclusion".

Mr. Moore stressed the intensity of the efforts that had taken place to deal with the problems confronted at the failed Seattle Conference, including 35 plenary meetings of the Council, formal and informal, devoted to the Doha process. Although not all is were convinced of the need for new negotiations, Mr. Moore firmly believed in the need for a forward looking work programme which catered for the interests of all is "but in particular the developing and least developed countries" through a negotiating agenda "which strives to make international trade fairer".

What is in question during the four days in Doha, said Mr. Moore, is the launching of negotiations, not their conclusion. They could not be to solve all problems in so short a time. The package must therefore be largely agreed before the Doha conference.

"We know the state of the world economy and the role the multilateral trading system can play", said Mr. Moore, and "we know that 3 billion people, half of the world’s population, live on less than $2.- a day and that this figure could rise to 4 billion within 25 years. We have it within our grasp to do something about it."

The Director-General described the situation as "fragile" and that "without generosity, good manners and good will, the process could implode and become unmanageable".

The Council meeting in September would be crucial. The question then would be, what has changed? Well-known and well-defended positions were still dominating the discussions and while some signs of flexibility had begun to show, there was still a sense that many players were waiting for others to make the first concessions. NGOs and the WTO

In acknowledgment of the keen interest shown by civil society in WTO matters, the Director-General, acting on a decision of the General Council at its meeting on 8 May 2001, in mid-August issued invitations to 647 non-governmental organisations to attend the Doha Ministerial Conference in November. The NGOs’ enthusiasm, said Mr. Moore, could be an important source of strength for the multilateral trading system. He expressed regret that only one representative per eligible NGO would be a to attend because, faced with the choice either to limit the number of NGOs attending or limit the number of representatives per organisation, it was decided in favour of giving the opportunity for all eligible NGOs to have a presence at the conference.

"We will continue working closely with NGOs between now and Doha", said Mr. Moore, "We will be seeking their comments and advice on appropriate activities at the Ministerial Conference and beyond. I want to encourage a debate on possible rules of engagement So we can enhance the dialogue between civil society, international institutions and governments. I know NGOs will have ideas they want to place in front of us too. I look forward to a constructive engagement with in Doha". Draft Programme of Action (POA) for decade 2001-2010

The concern expressed by Mike Moore for the need to address the inequities in the system was underscored by a draft Programme of Action prepared by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), identifying commitments aimed at fostering a people-centred policy framework, making globalisation work for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), reducing vulnerability, conserving the environment, and mobilising financial resources. These commitments will call for action by LDCs and their development partners to ensure implementation.

There will clearly have to be a radical revision of WTO rules if the inequities in the system are to be effectively addressed. Multilateral free trade negotiations and their consequences have hitherto been to the detriment of the majority of the world's people, and to the environment.

It is up to the WTO to ensure that free trade is synonymous with fair trade, right dam and through the entire world community, if such scenes as wrecked the 1999 Seattle Conference are to be a thing of the past.

Contact: World Trade Organisation, rue de Lausanne 154, CH-Geneva 21, Switzerland http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min0l_e/min0_e.htm

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On the 11 July this year, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democratic representative, introduced legislation to create a Department of Peace. This department would become a cabinet-level agency dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions "conducive to both domestic and international peace."

Rep. Kucinich's bill (H.R. 2459) which has already 38 co-sponsors in Congress, outlines the formation of the Department of Peace to be headed by a Secretary of Peace, appointed by the President on the advice and consent of the Senate.

The bill also sets forth the mission of the Department of Peace, which includes:

• holding peace as an organising principle;
• endeavouring to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; and
• developing policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, non-violent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict

• the establishing in the Department the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace;
• the transference to the Department of the functions, assets, and personnel of various Federal agencies;
• establishing a Federal Interagency Committee on Peace.

Rep. Kucinich, who is a strong supporter of the Natural Law Party (formed in 1992), received the Party's wholehearted endorsement for the bill.

As Rep. Kucinich introduced H.R. 2459 he commented that peace is not merely the absence of violence but "the presence of a higher evolution of human awareness with respect, trust and integrity toward humankind. Too often we overlook the long-term solution of peace for the instant gratification of war.

The challenges inherent in creating a Department of Peace are massive, conceded Rep. Kucinich, but the alternatives are worse: "Violence at home, in the schools, in the media, and be nations has dragged down humanity". It is time, he said, to recognise "that traditional, militant objectives for peace are not working, and the only solution is to make peace the goal of a cabinet-level agency."

For the full text of the bill see: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/clO7query.html#billno and type in H.R. 2459 under Search Bill Text #2, Bill Number.

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One of the guiding principles at the very heart of the United Nations Charter which all nations, upon becoming United Nations members, agree to uphold, is the fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small – together with the pledge to practice tolerance and life together in peace with one another as good neighbours. In 1948 this principle was developed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights subsequently followed by many other international human rights instruments adopted by UN member states.

Throughout three decades (1973-2003) designated for action to combat racism, discrimination against people on the ground of race, and ethnic violence, numerous seminars, conventions and conferences have taken place to discuss these crucial issues and to find solutions for lifting this curse which ravages so many lives within the local/global community.

From the 31 August to the 7 September this year the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance will take place in Durban, South Africa. Through a preparatory process which began in early 2000 the Preparatory Committee has endeavoured to raise public awareness on all aspects of racism with emphasis on how to fight it.

The conference will concentrate its deliberations on issues grouped under five themes:

• Sources, cause forms and contemporary manifestations of racists, racial discrimination and related intolerance;
• Victims of racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance;
• Measures of prevention, education and protection aimed at the eradication of racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance at the national, regional and international levels;
• Provision for effective remedies, recourses, redress and other measures at the national, regional and international levels;
• Strategies to achieve full and effective equality, including international cooperation and enhancement of the United Nations and other international mechanisms in combating racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.

The logo for the World Conference against Racism was put forward by the South African Government and heartily endorsed by the conference Secretary-General, Mary Rob. This artistic interpretation of the Yin Yang symbol embodies, says Mrs Robinson, "the concept that diversity, rather than being a reason for antagonism, is enriching, and that the different peoples of the world complement each other."

The following is the full text of a declaration initiated by Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Secretary-General of the forthcoming World Conference against Racism, and Nelson Mandela, Patron of the conference. This Visionary Declaration has been signed by the leaders from seventy-five countries.

"As a new century begins, we believe each society needs to ask itself certain questions. Is it sufficiently inclusive? Is it non-discriminatory? Are its norms of behaviour based on the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all kinds of related intolerance have not gone away. We recognise that they persist in the new century and that their persistence is rooted in fear: fear of what is different, fear of the other, fear of the loss of personal security. And while we recognise that human fear is in itself ineradicable, we maintain that its consequences are not ineradicable.

We all constitute one human family. This truth has now become self-evident because of the first mapping of the human genome, an extraordinary achievement which not only reaffirms our common humanity but promises transformations in scientific thought and practice, as well as in the visions which our species can entertain for itself. It encourages us the full exercise of our human spirit, the awakening of all its inventive, creative and moral capacities, enhanced by the equal participation of men and women. And it could make the twenty-first century an era of genuine fulfilment and peace.

We must strive to remind ourselves of this great possibility. Instead of allowing diversity of race and culture to become a limiting factor in human exchange and development, we must refocus our understanding, discern in such diversity the potential for mutual enrichment, and realise that it is the Interchange between great traditions of human spirituality that offers the best prospect for the persistence of the human spirit itself. For too long such diversity has been treated as threat rather than gift. And too often that threat has been expressed in racial contempt and conflict, in exclusion, discrimination and intolerance.

Preparations for the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination-Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa in September 2001, offer an opportunity to consider how far the aspirations of the three United Nations Decades Against Racism have been realised. The horrors of racism – from slavery to holocaust to apartheid to ethnic cleansing – have deeply wounded the victim and debased the perpetrator. These horrors are still with us in various forms. It is now time to confront them and to take comprehensive measures against them.

The World Conference should adopt a declaration and plan of action which would provide the standards, the structures, the remedies – in essence, the culture – to ensure full recognition of the dignity and equality of all, and full respect for their human rights.

Over the year we pledge ourselves to seek that conversion of mind and heart. What we envisage for every man, woman and child is a life where the exercise of individual gifts and personal rights is affirmed by the dynamic solidarity of our membership of the one human family."

Contact: World Conference Secretariat, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Palais Wilson, 52, rue de Paquis, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland. E-mail wcr.hchr@unog.ch

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The mounting strength of the civil society |t was manifest in a gathering held in Geneva recently when over 100 people met to make preparations for the World Civil Society Forum scheduled for July 2002, Representatives from many Civil society organisations (CSOs) including men and women from Switzerland, India, Japan, Nepal, England, Peru, Colombia, United States, several African countries, and myself as the only New Zealander, met at the well-appointed, very large International conference Centre to propose themes and topics for discussion for the Forum next year, and to adopt and confirm the statutes of the World Civil Society Forum (WCSF) .

There have been forerunners to the idea of a people’s assembly, as having a complementary role to that of the United Nations General Assembly, for many years, beginning with the idea being mooted by Ernest Bevin in 1945, and now this concept of a WCSF is seen as embodying previous proposals and as the best way to make the United Nations a really effective|e instrument to bring about a safe, peaceful and just world.

The project was proposed during the Millennium Forum in May 2000, with the purpose being designed to strengthen cooperation among non-governmental organisations, indigenous peoples, UN agencies and other international organisations. In the Forum the opportunity will be available for sharing experiences, information and concerns, and the following objectives have been agreed upon: promotion of dialogue and cooperation with the United Nations system including the Specialised Agencies: strengthening democratisation and implementation of UN programmes; promotion of global governance; information to participants of international events and resources; consideration of a constitution able to facilitate better cooperation between civil society and the United Nations system as a whole.

One of the purposes of this preparatory meeting was to start organising the main thematic working groups for the 2002 Form, including: the environment, trade and sustainable development; health promotion; right to self-determination; human rights and humanitarian law; NGOs and the private sector; indigenous women; digital inclusion; cooperation between NGOs and international organisations.

Workshops on each of these themes were addressed by people with specialist knowledge of the subjects, and subsequently reports of the discussions were given to the plenary session. It was agreed that for next year there would be additional sessions – on peace and disarmament, education for peace, north-south and south-south cooperation, children’s rights, the role of migrants in internal cooperation and the role of local authorities and creative perspectives.

The 2002 Forum is planned to convene just before the United Nationes Working Group of Indigenous Peoples, and one week before that of the |sub-Committee on Human Rights. This will facilitate the participation of about 2000 NGO representatives, mainly from developing countries, who come to Geneva for these annual events.

The accent on the participation of indigenous peoples is a strong feature of the WCSF and is to be widely applauded. Several international meetings purporting to embrace representatives of all geographic regions of the world do not in fact succeed in the inclusion of indigenous people, and if the WCSF can ensure that their gatherings are enlivened and informed by the input of representatives of ALL peoples it will fulfil the objective of being a true voice of "we the peoples", as in the United Nations Charter. As the president of the UN General Assembly said at the September 2000 DPI/NGO Conference: "the United Nations" new priority is to strengthen its outreach to civil society as the way to peace and cooperation."

There were many impressive speakers at the meeting: we heard first from Raymonde Martineau who is responsible for NGO relationships with the UN in Geneva. She talked about the essential role of civil society in global governance, which she defined as: How to run our planet so that all human beings can live in a dignified manner.

Tony Hill, representing Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), observed that while there is a phenomenal growth in the importance of civil society there are a number of UN Agencies where NGOs are not welcome – there is no NGO input into official disarmament bodies. He stressed the need for Forum people to work at the national level to raise awareness of its objectives so that individual states can come to appreciate the value of the input of civil society into UN processes.

Speakers from the Indigenous Peoples' Movement spoke of the gradual recognition of their particular concerns by ECOSOC and the Human Rights Commission. They were persistent in their peaceful approaches to secure recognition and had their own ways of cooperating through their elders and family groupings. For indigenous peoples land ownership is the important common factor: collective rights should be recognised.

There was talk about the legitimacy of "big business" i.e. transnational corporates, being included in civil society, and this engendered differences of opinion. Generally it was accepted that civil society must be widely inclusive, even though some thought that the definition should be: those organisations which are non-profit making. The Human Rights session was addressed by a distinguished member of the International Commission of Jurists who gave us detailed information on human rights law and humanitarian law.

The substantial report of the environment workshop included proposals for the Johannesburg conference next year (Rio+10) – on toxins, restoration of cultural habitats, support for global "eco-villages". This special session at Environment House, Geneva, was addressed by several UN Environment Programme officials, including UN Under-Secretary Nita Desai who was recently in New Zealand. These officials told the workshop that they wanted concrete proposals from them for the World Summit for Sustainable Development agenda, and Mr. Desai said: "We're listening, but you must get your own ways of putting pressure on governments to comply with environmentally-friendly standards."

Dr. Jeffrey Segall, who has worked for and written much about the need both for a more democratic United Nations and for an effective "Peoples' voice" at the UN, was a major contributor to the firm establishment of the World Civil Society Forum. He sets the goal of an annual Forum at the United Nations and thinks that the initial steps of the WCSF should be to seek observer status at the UN General Assembly for Form representatives who would hopefully contribute to the work of the General Assembly, then report back to the Forum.

He and other organisers stressed the importance of the Declaration of the Millennium Summit, of September 2000, being the cornerstone for future Forum activity. The 32 resolutions adopted by 157 Heads of State at the Summit must be implemented, as an earnest of good faith, and it is the task and responsibility of civil society to monitor progress and urge action by governments on this implementation.

Resolution 30 of the Declaration says: we resolve to give greater opportunities to the private sector, non-governmental organisations and civil society in general, to contribute to the realisation of the organisation's goals and programmes.

The ball is in the people's court and they must run with it.

Laurie Salas,
August 2001.

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Working with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Telecommunications Union, the European Telecommunication Network Operators Association, the North American Communications Environmental Excellence Initiative and signatories of the World Telecom Congress communique on sustainable development, a number of companies have come together to establish a global ICT sustainability initiative. This initiative was launched at the world |environment Day celebrations in Turin, 5 June 2001.

Recognising the revolutionary changes taking place around the world as a result of new information and communication technologies, members of the initiative will take a pro-active stance over their environmental impacts and the contribution their technologies can make to sustainable development. Among the founding |s of this remarkable initiative were: AT&T, British Telecom, Cable and Wireless, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Marconi, Telcordia Technologies and Telenor.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Create a global forum to improve and promote both products and services, and access to ICT, for the benefit of human development and a more sustainable environment.
2. Promote greater awareness, accountability and transparency within the ICT sector.
3. Encourage continual improvement in environmental management and develop best practices.
4. Stimulate international and multi-stakeholder cooperation with, and by, the ICT sector.
5. Promote and support partner regional initiatives and liaise with other relevant international activities.
6. Start with a greater emphasis on environmental issues and move towards a gradual adoption of the full corporate social responsibility agenda.
7. Extend membership of the initiative in order to achieve full global coverage.
8. Construct the ICT industry contribution to the RiO+10 summit and other global activities such as the Global Reporting Initiative and the United Nations Global Compact.

The initiative is open to both communication service operators and their equipment suppliers and member companies who commit to a certain level of environmental achievement.

This article, written by Chris Tuppen, Head of Sustainable Development and Corporate Accountability at British Telecom, appeared in the United Nations Environment Programme magazine "OUR PLANET", Vol. 12, No 1, 2001. (www.ourplanet.com). Address: PO Box 3052, Nairobi, Kenya.

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Non-governmental organisations, religious communities and schools are all invited to acknowledge the importance of every child in the world during the Culture Of Peace Week, 11 – 18 September 2001.

This week aims to highlight the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the world and precedes the United Nations Special Session For Children, taking place in New York, 19 – 21 September.

It is hoped that as many groups and organisations as possible throughout the world will take this opportunity for raising public awareness of the need for changing the way we as individuals and as a society tend to ignore the rights and requirements of all children within our community.

In February 2001, UNICEF launched the Global Movement for Children which aim at changing the world for and with children, emphasising the need for providing opportunities for good working partnerships between young people and their leaders, cooperating together to find practical and lasting solutions to the problem of violence in schools, within and between families and neighbourhoods.

A "Say Yes to Children Campaign" specifies ten points, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all UN states except USA and Somalia, which are:

1. leave no Child out
2. Put Children first
3. Care for Every Child
4. Fight HIV/AIDS
5. Stop harming and exploiting children
6. Listen to Children
7. Educate every Child
8. Protect Children from war
9. Protect the Earth for Children
10. Fight Poverty: Invest in Children

Through widespread participation in this awareness-raising effort to highlight the plight of the world's children the message will be sounded loud and clear leading up to the Summit for Children, impressing upon the leaders assembled the urgency for implementing the imperatives contained in these ten points.

The non-governmental organisation "Pathways to Peace" welcomes anyone who is organising a culture-of peace event within this week to submit a report (by 1 October) to its office or by e-mail or fax, to be included in the Pathways to Peace report for the United Nations.

Pathways To Peace, 3 Harbour Court, Centerport, NY 11721, USA.
Fax: (631)754-4906. E-mail: mbwillard@aol.com

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Based on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Millennium Report entitled We the Peoples – the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century, the UN Department of Public Information has recently produced and published a series of "briefing papers" on each of the key themes addressed in the report. Each paper gives an overview of the issue at hand, identifies recent developments, highlights areas of specific concerns needing attention, and includes also relevant case studies.

It is hoped that these papers will help encourage teachers to include the themes of the Millennium Report in their lesson plans whether history, geography, environmental or social sciences or international relations. These papers also contain suggestions on activities for students, encouraging them to become actively involved at local, national and international levels.

The Department of Public Information has prepared the briefing papers with four specific goals in mind:

* To help young people better understand the challenges the world faces;
* To let young people know that positive steps are being taken;
* To help them better understand the many ways in which the United Nations is working to build a better world;
* To provide them with practical ideas for getting involved.

This Millennium Report, although -prepared in advance of the Millennium Summit to present the UN Secretary-General’s set of recommendations and target proposals to the leaders of UN states for their consideration, the report is also intended for people in all walks of life: "As an Organisation the United Nations must become more effective, efficient and accessible to the world's peoples."

On the back cover of this publication a quote by Kofi Annan states:

"In an age when human beings have learned the code of human life and can transmit their knowledge in seconds from one continent to another, no mother in the world can understand why her child should be left to die of malnutrition or preventable disease.

No one can understand why they should be driven from their home, or imprisoned or tortured for expressing their beliefs. No one can understand why the soil their parents tilled has turned to desert, or why their skills have become useless and their family is left hungry."

This book, says the UN Department of Public Information, is about the challenges facing humankind today and what Governments and peoples can do to meet them.

One must hope that these briefing papers for students, published in April 2001, will be widely used.

Contact: United Nations Department of Public Information, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA E-mail: publications@un.org Internet: www.un.org/publications

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A "circle dialogue" is a special kind of conversation among people where – through a process of listening and learning and speaking – every participant contributes. This ancient way of conducting community meetings has been revived and is being embraced by an increasing number of people today who wish to create a "sacred place within which sound, inclusive and constructive dialogue can lay the firm foundation for right action.

The Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) is committed to encouraging the formation of "circles of compassion" and says in their Statement of Intention:

"Circles encourage connection and cooperation among their members and inspire compassionate solutions to individual, community and world problems. We believe that circles support each member to to find her or his own voice and to live more courageously. Therefore, we intend to seed and nurture circles, wherever possible, in order to cultivate equality, sustainable livelihoods, preservation of the earth and peace for all. Our aim is to celebrate the millionth circle as the metaphor of an idea whose time has come. To this end, we will promote circles as our contribution to the NGO process leading up to the 5th UN World Conference on Women in 2005."

The 12 critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) and the goals for 2005 review are:

• The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women;
• Unequal access to and inadequate educational opportunities;
• Inequalities in health status, and unequal access to and inadequate health-care services;
• Violence against women;
• Effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women
• Inequality in women's access to and participation in the definition of economic structures and policies and the production process itself;
• Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels;
• Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women;
• Lack of awareness of and commitment to, internationally and nationally recognised women's human rights;
• Insufficient mobilisation of mass media to promote women's positive contribution to society;
• Lack of adequate recognition and support for women's contribution to managing natural resources and safeguarding the environment;
• The girl-child.

The Women's World Summit Foundation was created in 1991 following the first World Summit for Children, New York 1991. Its mission is, according to Elly Pradervand, WWSF Founder and Executive Director: "to serve the implementation of women's and children’s rights and the promised development goals adopted by the International community at numerous UN summits and conferences; and hold our leaders accountable to the promises made."