The Future Is Public Global Manifesto for Public Services

A group of 80 organisations today launch a manifesto calling for a global push to strengthen public services, such as education, energy, water and sanitation, food, health and care services, housing, social security, telecommunications, transportation, waste collection and disposal.  This will require rewriting global rules, re-orienting public institutions and refocusing governments on meeting the needs of people and the planet.  

The COVID-19 pandemic showed the catastrophic consequences of decades of neoliberal privatisation, commodification and financialisation of public services.  Ecological breakdown and climate crisis loom imminently. These crises threaten lives and livelihoods, pushing untold millions into poverty, provoking mass migrations and creating social unrest and political instability.   

We call for a new social pact, one that supports families and communities as they face the systemic crises the world is currently facing.  The manifesto calls for stronger governments responsive to the needs of people and the planet.  It positions democratic governance and universal access to quality public services as the foundation of a fair and just society that implements the core values of solidarity, equality and human dignity.  It proposes ten principles for building quality public services.

This manifesto was developed collectively over the past 10 months by dozens of civil society organisations, trade unions and individuals through a series of meetings, regional workshops and online consultations.  

The manifesto is launched ahead of ‘Enough is Enough: The Future is Public’, an event bringing together eight UN Human Rights Special Rapporteurs on 26 October (at 2-4pm UTC) to discuss the crucial role of public services in building a more sustainable, inclusive, socially-just and resilient economy and society. Register here.