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Follow-up seminar Reclaiming Public Water

TNI
January 2006

 

Follow-up seminar Reclaiming Public Water
Presentation of the Spanish edition of Reclaiming Public Water
Madrid, 17-18 November 2005
Co-organised by TNI, CEO and Ecologistas en Acción (Spain).

Introduction

Over the last three years a loose but growing network of civil society activists, unionists and water utility managers have worked together to promote people-centred democratic public management as the way forward for urban water supply. Highlights were the seminar on alternatives to privatisation in Kyoto, Japan (March 2003), the seminars at the World Social Fora in Mumbai and Porto Alegre (January 2004 and 2005) and the process of writing the book Reclaiming Public Water (published January 2005). As a next step, we will prepare a seminar in November 2005, with the aim to:

  • deepen our collective insight (social learning) into key themes which have been identified over the last three years, not the least the potential of democratisation and the challenge of financing public water
  • consolidate and broaden the network and build stronger capacity for joint work on promoting alternatives to privatisation, locally and globally

A crucial political moment and a strategic focal point for the seminar is the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico, March 2006. By that time, civil society groups need to be optimally prepared to challenge the continued pro-privatisation orientation in the international water policy debate. An essential ingredient in any successful strategy is to be able to make the case convincingly for public water provision as a viable and attractive option for delivering water for all. This includes the issue of ensuring sufficient financial flow towards public utility reform and expansion.

The main political outcomes will be presented in a briefing and other publications.

The event will be attended by 30 activists/campaigners, utility managers and academics. We thank ICCO, the Netherlands for their financial contribution as well as the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee(US), Public Service International, World Development Movement(UK), Council of Canadians, Friends of the Earth International and Corporate Europe Observatory. Our joint efforts enable us to invite 15 co-authors of the the Reclaiming Public Water mainly from the South and others who have currently engaged in the process.

Seminar programme

Thursday 17 November

9.00 – 11.00 Plenary:

  • Welcome
  • Introduction round (including the expectations of the participants)
  • Reclaiming Public Water (RPW) evaluation
    To what extent has the book helped strengthen the case for progressive public water approaches and alternatives to privatisation generally? Evaluation of related activities like WSF workshops, waterjustice.org website, conference calls and listserve communication.
    Discussion starter: Nila Ardianie (t.b.c.)

11.00 – 11.30 coffee break

  • Democratisation of public water services
    Discussion about efforts to improve water delivery through citizen’s participation, community control, workers participation and other forms of progressive public sector reform.
    Discussion starters: Julian Perez from FEJUVE, El Alto, Bolivia (who will write a paper in advance) and Guillermo Amorebieta and/ or Santiago Arconada (all t.b.c.)
  • Publicness
    "Reclaiming Public Water" advocates democratisation of public sector water delivery and "progressive utility reform", but what exactly do we mean when we talk about "public water"? State-owned utilities are often bureaucratised and neither responsive nor accountable to the citizens. Moreover, encouraged by governments, publicly owned water companies increasingly start behaving like commercial operators. What does "publicness" mean to us?
    Discussion starters: Laila Smith and Augusto de Sanctis (t.b.c.)

Lunch break (14.00-15.30?)

15.30 – 17.00 in plenary:

  • Financing public water - ways forward
    Discussion on the background of paper summarising approaches outlined in "Reclaiming Public Water".
    Discussion starters: Abraham Grandydier (Cochabamca) / Al-Hassan Adam (politically constructed utility debt) / Svitlana Slesaronok (socially responsible approach to reducing waste via water metres) / Carla Montemayor: how improvement and expansion of public water delivery could be financed (all t.b.c.)

17.00 – 17.30 coffee break

17.00 – 17.30 in plenary:

  • Public-Public Partnerships
    Public-Public Partnerships are possible on the local, national and international level (North à South, South à South and South à North). What does this concept have to offer in practice? What are obstacles to making it work?
    Discussion starters: Charles Santiago and Antonio Miranda (t.b.c.)

Friday 18/11

Public water for all: developing a global solidarity network and campaign?

9.00 –11.00 plenary discussions

  • Next steps in networking and joint international work to promote public water for all – is it time for global campaign?
    What are our collective aims, what can we achieve together and how are we going to do it (we = those involved in the RPW process and likeminded initiatives)? Several co-authors have proposed to use the seminar to create a strategy for a global campaign for public water.
    Proposal(s) by Charles Santiago / Guillermo Amorebieta / Antonio Miranda / Andres Sanz? (all t.b.c.)
  • Financing Public Water
    How to make the great leap forward in the debate about financing public water? One proposal is to solicit support from intellectuals and academics to create an "alternative Camdessus panel report".
    Proposal(s) by Guillermo Amorebieta / Antonio Miranda /(all t.b.c.)
  • Promoting public-public partnerships in practice
    Best-practice in public-public partnerships; what can NGOs and trade unions contribute to build political and financial support for public-public partnerships; do we need a "Friends of Public-Public Partnerships"?
    Proposal(s) by Charles Santiago / Laila Smith / Nila Ardianie / Guillermo Amorebieta/ Olivier Hoedeman (all t.b.c.)

11.00 – 11.30 coffee break

11.30 – 13.00 working out these proposals in smaller working groups

Lunch break (14.00-15.30?)

15.30 – 17.00 strategising and practical planning in smaller working groups on the following issues (more can be added):

  • How to make more case studies of successful public water more widely available? Can we create a permanent structure for information exchange and sharing of experiences on efforts to improve public water? Creating a set of recommendations for citizens participation? Producing a handbook, a resource bank with contact people for specific issues and other resources? Do we need a new expanded edition of RPW?
    Proposals by Julian Perez / Joy Elamon / Guillermo Amorebieta (all t.b.c.)
  • Planning for the World Water Forum in Mexico City, March 2006
    Proposal(s) from David Barkin / Satoko Kishimoto (t.b.c.)

17.00 – 17.30 coffee break

17.30 – 19.00 in plenary

  • Report back from working groups
  • Finalising plans and commitments

Launch of the Spanish edition of Reclaiming Public Water

Cover Reclaiming Public Water

Co-inciding with the seminar will be the launch of the Spanish edition of "Reclaiming Public Water- Achievements, struggles and visions from around the world". The Spanish edition will be published by a progressive publish house called EL VIEJO TOPO, based in Barcelona. The following all activities are co-organised with EL VIEJO TOPO, TNI/CEO and local hosts.

The book presentation in Madrid on 16th November 2005 in the evening. Speakers:

  • Antonio Miranda, ASSEMAE, Brazil
  • Santiago Arconada Rodríguez, Hidroven, Venezuela
  • Charles Santiago, Monitoring Sustainability of Globalisation, Malaysia
  • Joy Elamon, Chief Programme Coordinator SDC-CapDecK (Capacity Development for Decentralisation in Kerala,), India
  • El Viejo Topo

Host: Ecologistas en Accion, Spain

The press conference in Madrid on 16th November at 12.00

  • Guillermo Amorebieta, Water and Sanitation Works Trade Union of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Julian Perez, Federation of Neighbourhood Committees (FEJUVE), El Alto, Bolivia
  • Olivier Hoedeman, the editorial
  • Tom Kuchartz, Ecologistas en Accion, Spain
  • El Viejo Topo

The book presentation in Barcelona on 21st November in the evening

  • Antonio Miranda, ASSEMAE, Brazil
  • Al-hassan Adam, NCAP, Ghana
  • El Viejo Topo
  • Engeenering without Borders, Spain

The book presentation in Zaragoza on 22nd November (to be confirmed)

  • Guillermo Amorebieta, Water and Sanitation Works Trade Union of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Julian Perez, Federation of Neighbourhood Committees (FEJUVE), El Alto, Bolivia //

The book presentation in Murcia on 22nd November (to be confirmed)

  • Abraham Felipe, ASICA SUR/ Coordinadora del Agua, Cochabamba, Bolivia

the book presentation in Leon on 22nd November (to be confirmed)

  • Alberto Munoz, Union de Usuarios y Consumidores Asamblea Provincial por el Derecho al Agua, Argentina

The book presentation in Canary Islands on 22nd November (to be confirmed)

  • Santiago Arconada Rodríguez, Hidroven, Venezuela
  • Luis Isarra, Federacion Nacional de Trabajadores del Agua Potable y Alcantarillado del Peru (FENTAP), Peru

For more information please contact Satoko

  

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