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Update 42: Convention Special Dear friends, This is a special Update in anticipation of the Second National Convention on the Right to Food and Work, to be held in Badu (near Kolkata) on 18-20 November 2005. We hope to see you at the convention. The headlines:
1. FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT (please circulate widely) The second “national convention on the right to food and work” will be held in Badu (near Kolkata) on 18-20 November 2005. About 400 participants, representing a wide range of organisations working on these issues, are expected from all over India. Some participation is also expected from Bangladesh, South Africa, Sri Lanka and possibly Brazil. The convention is an opportunity to share experiences of struggle for the right to food and work, and to plan further activities. The main themes include the public distribution system, children's right to food, the Employment Guarantee Act, the Right to Information Act, legal action for the right to food, land rights, and forest rights, among others. This will be an action-oriented event, structured around a series of parallel workshops, plenary meetings, training sessions, cultural activities, and more. If you are planning to participate, please inform the secretariat of the “right to food campaign” (contact details below) in advance. All participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements, and to contribute Rs 100 to the cost of lodging and subsistence for three days. You are welcome to bring your own ideas, songs, plays, posters, pamphlets and other resources. For further info, including the programme of the convention and details of the venue, see www.righttofoodindia.org or contact the secretariat of the “right to food campaign” (righttofood@gmail.com, tel 011-2351 0042 or 09350530150). 2. CONVENTION PROGRAMME The convention programme is given below. Some details are yet to be finalised. Updated versions of the programme will be posted from time to time on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org). DAY 1 (18 November) MORNING SESSION (10 am to 1 pm) Inaugural plenary: - Introduction [Anuradha Talwar] - Welcome address [Ashim Dasgupta (to be confirmed)] - Keynote address [P. Sainath] - Brief interventions by invited speakers [to be announced] Chair: Gopal Gandhi (to be confirmed) AFTERNOON SESSION (2.30 to 6.30p.m) Parallel workshops: - Public distribution system [coordinated by Annie Raja] - Children's right to food [coordinated by Jean Dreze and Vandana Prasad] - Protection of existing livelihood [coordinated by Ilina Sen] - Land rights and forest rights [coordinated by Vincent Manoharan] - Social security [coordinated by Harsh Mander and Subhash Bhatnagar] - Emergencies and food security [coordinated by Vinod Raina] DAY 2 (19 November) Morning Session MORNING SESSION (9 to 10.45) 9 to 10.45: Legal action for the right to food and work (plenary, coordinated by Colin Gonsalvez and Harsh Mander) 11.00 to 1 pm: Use of the Employment Guarantee Act (parallel training sessions, coordinated by People’s Action for Employment Guarantee) AFTERNOON SESSION 2.30 to 4 pm: Use of the Right to Information Act (parallel training sessions, coordinated by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan) 4.30 to 6 p.m.: Reports from workshops and discussion (plenary) 6.00 to 7 pm: Lecture on WTO by Dr. Debal Deb (plenary) DAY 3 (20 November) 9 to 11.30: Organisational issues (plenary, coordinated by Anuradha Talwar and Navjyoti) 12 to 2 pm: Concluding plenary - Future activities - Resolution - Concluding address by Aruna Roy 3. VENUE AND HOW TO REACH The venue of the convention is: Badu Collective, c/o JSK Training Centre (Nutan Ashram), 1, Shibtola Road, Village Maheswarpur, P.O. Badu, Kolkata 700 128 (tel: 033-2526 0386, 09433002064, e-mail Jsk@cal2.vsnl.net.in) To reach the venue: 1. From Howrah station take L 238 bus to Madhyamgram Chowmatha OR, from Sealdah Station take a local train to Madhyamgram Station and then walk down to Madhyamgram Chowmatha. 2. From Madhyamgram Chowmatha, take an auto or bus to Badu IthKhola. 3. From Badu Ithkhola take a van rickshaw to JSK Training Centre (also known as Nutan Ashram locally or as the Mahila Samity). 4. STAYING ARRANGEMENTS Staying arrangements are in dormitory type places at the JSK Training centre or in club houses, schools and houses that have are being lent by the local people for the convention. We shall be able to provide mats or dhurries on the floor to sleep on, so please carry any other bedding that you need. Please also carry the following: a light blanket; a light sweater or shawl; mosquito repellent; a torch. 5. LOCAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE CONVENTION In West Bengal, active preparations for the convention have begun. A press conference was held in Kolkata on 26 October, addressed by Kamal Mitra Chenoy (People’s Action for Employment Guarantee), Kavita Srivastava (People’s Union for Civil Liberties), and members of the Right to Food and Work West Bengal Network. On 28 October, members of the Network flagged off a jeep colourfully done up with festoons, posters and flags. The jeep carrying 4-5 volunteers who have traveled through 9 districts so far, covering a distance of 1800 kilometres. Street corners and meetings with local organisations were held in many villages. The group visited areas near the Ganges where erosion has led to the disappearance of homes, land and livelihood of people. It has also visited closed tea gardens and chronically hungry areas of Birbhum and Purulia districts. It has been publicizing the fact that the second National Convention is to be held from 18 to 20 November 2005. It is also creating awareness about the Supreme Court orders on the right to food, and about the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act. The jeep is expected to reach Kolkata on 9 November after completing its journey. From 7 November to 9 November, there is a 72 hours “Awasthan” in Kolkata where about 1000 people from rural areas of West Bengal will be joined by people and intellectuals from Kolkata. For three days, these people are sitting in front of Metro at Kolkata in order to draw public attention to the non-implementation of the Supreme Court orders and to tell people in Kolkata about the forthcoming National Convention. In addition on 16 and 17 November, Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy shall be meeting students and teachers of the National University of Juridicial Sciences and other educational institutions like the Jadavpur University, Kolkata University and the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences to inform them about the Right to Food Campaign, its relevance in today’s context and the National Convention. [NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel 011-2351 0042, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the Right to Food Campaign. If you’d like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.] Last updated: 17 November 2004 |
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