Workshop: Resistance Against Neoliberal Reforms / Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Workshop Description

Alternative World Water Forum (FAME)

March 2012

 Resistance Against Neoliberal Reforms / Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Sub-Session Two: The Influence of Transnational Corporations and Power Players on Water Policy and Governance

Logistical Details:

 Date: 15^th March 2012, Thursday

Time slot: 15H30 – 18H00

Time Division:  150 minutes total, 15-20 minutes for each presentation, 60 minutes for group discussion and wrap up.

Languages of Presenters: French, English, Spanish, Italian

Available Languages of Translation: French, English, Spanish

Technological Needs: Projector to connect to laptop for presentations and visuals

Transnational corporations have a tremendous influence on water policy and governance across the globe, but often in ways that are veiled, secretive, or not fully understood. This panel aims to expose the variety and breadth of tactics the industry is using to shift water governance and increase their control of water, as well as the negative impacts of those activities. The panel will draw parallels between corporate strategies and the activities of illegal actors that are also seeking to gain power through control over water. This workshop features speakers from unions, social movements, and research networks who share their knowledge of corporate interference and solutions for how to curb such corporate abuses from their own experiences.

Presentation Structure:

• Welcome & Introduction of Topic & Panelists, circulation of sign-in sheet (Shayda) – 5 min
• Introduction: “The Abuses and Influence of Transnational Corporations on Water Governance” Shayda Naficy, Corporate Accountability International, U.S.A – 10 min
• Panelist Presentations – 100 min total, 15 minutes for each presentation

1. “The Influence of French Multinational Corporations on Water

Governance: Case Study of the EU/Canada Free Trade Agreement (CETA)” – 20 min

• Gildas Jossec, Association Internationale de Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs, AITEC), France
• Jean-Yves McGee, Eau Secours, Québec
• [Representative], Canadian Union of Public Employees/ Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, CUPE/SCFP).

2. “Nestle’s Strategies for Privatizing Water: Partnerships and Persecution” Franklin Frederick, Brazilian water activist, Brazil – 15 min

4. “"Who has water has power. Similarities between Mafia and Transnational Corporation Activities" Barbara Grimaudo, Acquainsicilia.org - Sicilian Forum of Movements for Water, Italy– 15 min

5. “The Way Forward: How to Curb These Practices? - Proposal for a global Campaign for Binding Codes and International Tribunals to Judge Transnational Corporations.” Tom Kucharz, Ecologistas en Acción - Bi-regional Network Europe, Latin America and Caribbean Enlazando Alternativas, Spain– 20 min

• Discussion, Questions & Answers– 55 minutes (Shayda moderates)
  • Project powerpoint list of contacts for panelists
  • Take sets of 3 questions, and answer until time runs out8

• Closing & Wrap-up– 5 minutes (Shayda)
  • Thanks to attendees and participants
  • Contact details for follow-up with presenters
  • Highlighting key synergies and points
  • Highlighting key follow-up for the “Future of Water Movement”

Co-sponsors: Aitec, Bi-regional Network Europe, Latin America and Caribbean Enlazando Alternativas, Corporate Accountability International, Ecologistas en Acción, Ingeniería Sin Fronteras, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Eau Secours (Coalition for responsible management of water from Quebec), Acquainsicilia.org - Sicilian Forum of Movements for Water, Movement of the Friends of Water Circuit, French Latin America Group of Marseille (FAL), Quebec Network on Continental Integration (RQIC), Food and Water Watch, Transnational Institute.

Speaker & Organization Profiles:

1. 1.      Gildas Jossec (Association Internationale de Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs, AITEC)

Gildes Jossec is project officer for AITEC – a network of professionals, associations, NGOs and trade-unions  and expertise groups. AITEC’s project is strongly rooted in the field of international political economy, and includes work on trade and development, social and environmental justice, financial reforms and the right to the city.

1. 2.     Jean-Yves McGee, Eau Secours

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1. 3.     [Representative], Canadian Union of Public Employees/ Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, CUPE/SCFP

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is Canada’s largest union.  With around 615,000 members across Canada, CUPE represents workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines.

Le Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP) est le plus grand syndicat canadien.  Il compte 615 000 membres dans tout le Canada et représente des travailleuses et travailleurs de la santé, de l’éducation, des municipalités, des bibliothèques, des universités, des services sociaux, des services publics, des transports, des services d’urgence, du transport aérien et des communications.

1. 4.     Franklin Frederick, Brazilian water activist

Franklin Frederick is a Brazilian water activist, awarded with the 2009 NORTH -SOUTH Award from ROMEROHAUS, Switzerland, for his work on water as a human right and a public good. He has previously worked with the Movimento dos Amigos do Circuito das Aguas, Movement of the Friends of Circuito das Aguas, in Brazil – a social movement created to defend the waters of the Circuito das Aguas region in Brazil against water privatization and especially from Nestlé. Now based in Switzerland, he is working with OeME BERN – the Ecumenical and Cooperation Mission from the Reformed Church of Bern. He will present to you today about links between Nestle and security forces, including from his own experience of being a target for a Nestle spying operation.  

1. 5.     Barbara Grimaudo (Acquainsicilia.org - Sicilian Forum of Movements for Water)

Barbara is a project manager in the field of education and innovative learning, who has been an activist on migrant rights and water issues. In the area of water, her focus has been on: the usurpation of water, including by water bottlers, water quality, and water privatization by transnational corporations. Along with Giocchino Cannizzaro, Barbara helped to establish and represent the Sicilian Forum of the Italian Movement for Water (acquasicilia.org).  This forum works to build and coordinate civil resistance to water privatization, and support public water.

1. 6.     Tom Kucharz, Ecologistas en Acción - Bi-regional Network Europe, Latin America and Caribbean Enlazando Alternativas

Tom Kucharz is a member of Ecologistas en Acción, a Spanish federation of over
300 environmental groups invested in the field of social ecology. Ecologistas en Accion build awareness campaigns and organize public complaints or legal actions against those that harm the environment, in addition to pursuing concrete and viable alternatives in each of its focus areas (climate change, water, transport, energy, agroecology, contamination, and others).

The Europe-Latin America and Caribbean bi-regional network “Enlazando Alternatives” (Linking Alternatives) is an alliance between organized civil societies from Europe and the Americas in order to construct a world based on the concepts of peace, participatory democracy , social justice, human rights, food sovereignty, sustainability and peoples’ rights to self-determination. The alliance was established in response to the aggressive promotion of neoliberal policies and an EU trade agenda, driven by powerful transnational corporations.