Analysis : Twenty Workshops and Hundreds of Proposals

Reporting in a few words on the wealth of the discussions held in twenty workshops is quite a wager. Starting this Wednesday, there will be reports on the official results of all the discussions. But now, a quick look into most of the workshops provides the tone of the proposals that will be submitted.

- Artists / Publishers : "It is man who gives life to art." Today the role of artists is to add value to existing lifestyles, and to give life to society through cultural and cross-cultural exchanges. They must stimulate and collect all forms of local expression (myths, symbols, etc.) and put human relations back in the forefront. "Culture for the sake of culture", and "commercial culture" must not be allowed to destroy " traditional culture."

- Health Workers : Health must fit into a specific culture and respect people's mentalities. There can be such a thing as a socially responsible and universal health system. For it to work, it needs to fit into the specific culture of every region of the world. Governments can and must take action. They must finance an effective and universal health system from which no one is excluded. Citizens must participate through contributions to an accessible and universal single fund.

- Women : The women of the world are present, their heads full of ideas. Only one desire: to be taken into consideration in a world where man has monopolized the power of decision. And precisely, they do not want decisions to be made in their name. So they are looking for solutions and answers to find the rank that they have never had. For them, but also for their children. Because women have never abandoned their children, which gives them legitimacy in deciding what's best - in terms of human interests, for the environment, and for peace - because they are involved in no other fight than the one for life.

- Teachers and Academics : What are the school and university systems good for? Or rather whom are they good for? The feeling is that schools and universities have not succeeded in meeting the challenge of inequalities and poverty, and that in spite of their efforts they contribute to maintaining, or even to developing inequalities. The concerns are quite different, with some dreading the privatization of schooling and the inclusion of education in WTO agreements on service trading, and others alarmed by the problem of massive illiteracy in countries such as India. And yet the answer must be global and multidisciplinary if it is to match the needs of human beings.

- The Military : The state must now work not on the consequences of violence (destruction, wars, etc.), but set up civil solutions to avoid these confrontations. There should be contact between the military and civil populations, not violence, which is the reaction that the terrorists are expecting.

- Company Leaders / Engineers : Companies have to play a social role. Social policies are indispensable to face the economic development of the market without harming women and poor people. An idea: a "humanity" status, somewhat like the "public utility" status, which would be applicable to NGOs …

- Religious Leaders and Philosophers : Diversity is great among religions and philosophies of various sources. How can this diversity be managed without depreciating those that differ? Religious leaders have to take a stand on the question of biotechnological developments (GMOs, cloning, patents on life, etc.). They also have to work on the question of governance because they can weigh upon the conscience of the leaders of the planet, both local and national. The point is not to replace politicians but to institute a "watch" to prevent politicians from taking slippery paths.

- NGOs / Nonprofit Organizations : The participants placed the first milestones of a strategy comprising common objectives in the framework of local and global development. Most of the available time was devoted to discussion on the challenges to development that NGOs are facing and on the difficulties encountered when acting in precarious contexts. Proposals for the future were postponed for the following day. To be continued…