The Alternative World Water Forum (French acronym: FAME) will be held in Marseille during the same week as the Sixth World Water Forum.
FAME's mission statement:
The objective of the Alternative World Water Forum (AWWF) – in French, the Forum Alternatif Mondial de l’Eau (FAME) – is to create a concrete alternative to the Sixth World Water Forum (WWF) which is organized by the World Water Council. This Council is a mouthpiece for transnational companies and the World Bank and they falsely claim to head the global governance of water.
For several years, different civil society movements have fought side by side for water conservation and citizen management of water. Activists have created platforms, propositions and campaigns at events such as the 2003 Alternative Forum in Florence, the 2005 Alternative Forum in Geneva, the 2006 Alternative Forum in Mexico or the 2009 Alternative Forum in Istanbul and within international Social Forums such as those in Porto Alegre, Caracas, Nairobi, and Belem. These gatherings helped solidify the movement to reappropriate water, a communal resource which belongs to all of humanity.
The world water movement, in its many forms, has given birth to national water rights networks (such as in Italy), continental networks (in Africa), and has led to the decline of water privatization in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and notably, in France. France, home to the main multinational water companies, yet has had water came back to public management in Paris.
The water movement has participated in the fight to have the access to water recognized as a fundamental human right. Water was declared a human right by the United Nations on 29 July 2010.
The AWWF will pursue and amplify the water movement by
- creating and promoting an alternative vision of water management which is based on ecological and democratic values
- continuing research to find solutions to the worldwide water crisis
- making the water movement structure sustainable.
This should make things interesting in Marseiile. I hope to partake in some of FAME's activities. Follow FAME on Twitter (@FAMEMarseille) and on FB.
And speaking of interesting, on 23 February the 6WWF unveiled its full programme. Nice of them to get around to it about two weeks before the start of the meeting. Oh, yeah, the early registration fee expired on 1 January 2012. SOL again!
Hope to see you there.
"Dans le royaunie des aveugles les borgnes sont rois." - French proverb ("In the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed are kings.")
Michael -- we absolutely have to meet in Marseilles. I just registered for FAME (cheaper, for sure :). That implies double overload...
Posted by: David Zetland | Monday, 27 February 2012 at 06:30 AM