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Convention on Right to Food and
Work This new page focuses on the forthcoming "convention
on the right to food and work" (Bhopal, 11-13 June 2004). Further
information will be added soon (you can also write to right2food@yahoo.co.in).
Please note that the confirmed venue is Gandhi Bhavan, Bhopal. Also please note that all participants are expected to announce their participation in advance. The venue (Gandhi Bhavan) has a capacity of about 400. Initial announcement A national convention on the right to food and work will be held on 11-13
June 2004, tentatively in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). Organisations committed
to the right to food and work are expected to join from all over the country.
The main purpose of this convention is to share experiences of grassroots
action for the right to food/work, and to plan future activities. This
is also an opportunity to address the organisational issues that arise
in building coordinated action for the right to food and work. This convention is a follow-up of earlier discussions held at the World
Social Forum in Mumbai (January 2004). It is facilitated by the support
group of the “right to food campaign”, in collaboration with several country-wide
networks such as the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), Bharat
Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), All India Democratic
Women’s Association (AIDWA), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW),
Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), National Conference of Dalit Organisations
(NACDOR), National Campaign Committee for Rural Workers (NCCRW) and People’s
Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). The convention is being organised on a shoestring budget. All participants
are expected to bear their own travel costs, and may be asked to contribute
to subsistence costs, if necessary. Other costs will be met through voluntary
donations with no strings attached. [Note: The National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) was left out of the above list by mistake. We apologise for the oversight.] Preparatory Meeting (11 April) A preparatory meeting for the forthcoming “convention on the right to food and work” (11-13 June, 2004) took place in Delhi on 11 April 2004. The meeting was attended by representatives of several national networks that have expressed support for the convention (for details see list of participants below). This note summarises the main decisions taken at the meeting. Venue Gandhi Bhavan, Bhopal has been chosen as the venue for the convention. Simple accommodation will be arranged on the same premises. Programme of the convention The convention will be organised around parallel workshops, a few plenary sessions, and cutural activities. The main purpose of the plenary sessions would be to share what has happened in the workshops. A programme committee has been formed to work on the details of the programme, taking suggestions from all concerned. An initial list of possible themes for the workshops was put together (see "tenative programme" below for an updated version of the programme: (1) Universalisation of the public distribution system. The convention will be basically geared to persons involved with grassroots work on the right to food or work. Possibility of a rally after the convention The possibility of holding a large rally at the end of the convention was discussed. There was considerable support for the idea, but it was decided that we would reconsider it again at the next preparatory meeting (on 16 May), and meanwhile consult participating organisations on this.
On finances, it was decided that no institutional funding would be taken for the convention. The support group of the right to food campaign will commit up to Rs one lakh, which has been collected through individual donations. This will be used mainly for overheads and accommodation. Participants will be asked to arrange their own travel and to pay for meals (simple food will be arranged at Gandhi Bhavan). If we manage to raise adequate finances, subsistence expenses may be subsidised. In the unlikely event where overhead costs exceed one lakh rupees, a modest registration fee may be charged to the participants. Working group for the convention Local arrangements in Bhopal will be made by Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (Madhya Pradesh) in collaboration with the support group of the right to food campaign. Two committees were formed, a “logistics” committee and a “programme” committee. The logistics committee consists of Asha Mishra, Kavita Srivastava, Rajeev Singh and Vivek S. The programme committee consists of Ilina Sen, Jean Dreze, Vandana Prasad and Vinod Raina. The next preparatory meeting will be held in Delhi on Sunday 16 May, from 3 to 6 pm.
For further information about the convention, please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in The “programme committee” is working on the details of the programme, in consultation with participating organisations. Most likely, the Convention will be organised around an opening plenary, 10-12 workshops (say, 3 sessions with 4 parallel workshops each time), and a concluding plenary. In addition there will be cultural activities, training programmes, and ample time for informal interaction outside the workshops. On the third day (13 June), there will be a special session on organisational issues. The possibility of a large rally on the last day is also being considered.
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