GLOBALIZING JUSTICE

A Call for a National Student Mobilization Against the WEF

From Thursday, January 31st to Sunday, February 3rd 2002
at Columbia University in New York City

URL - http://www.studentsforglobaljustice.org

Mailing List - Globalizejustice-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

1. BACKGROUND ON THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM (WEF)

What is the WEF?

Every year, 1,000 top business leaders, come together to shape the global
agenda, while political elites and media luminaries gaze on admiringly. The
World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its annual meeting at the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel in New York City from January 31st to February 4th 2002. By
its own description, the WEF is a special club of elite business leaders,
whose annual meeting is the world's global business summit.

What is the WEF's agenda?

At the New York WEF summit, the world's richest CEOs will collaborate with
the world's most powerful politicians to set the global economic agenda.
Meanwhile, in the halls of Congress, the world's most powerful politicians
are collaborating with the world's richest CEOs to expand the "war on
terrorism".

The WEF agenda has already led to a world in which every day 19,000 children
die in the developing world from undernourishment. While the worldÕs richest
200 people have doubled their wealth in the last five years.

This neoliberal economic agenda has also led to a world in which the U.S.
government, spending over $270 million annually on its military budget,
supports dictatorships and autocratic regimes, and leads other nations into
wars that kill millions of more innocent people. Most recently, this agenda
has led the U.S. government into another protracted war, while it attacks
the rights of workers, students, and immigrants at home.

It has led to a world where the people of Tuvalu are faced with the
possibility of fleeing their island nation if the rise in sea level causes
by global warming continues. A world where 50,000 endangered species
disappear forever each year, and where 214,000 acres of rainforest - an area
larger than New York City - is cut down every day.

What can I do?

It's time to make the connection. The same people who stand to gain from
extending the war are perpetuating the global economic conditions that
foster terrorism. Capitalism propels war, and war protects capital. U.S.
imperialism and global corporate domination go hand in hand.

In the name of democracy, in the name of economic justice, in the name of
the global anti-imperialist struggle, and in the name of the Earth, we call
all students, activists, rabble-rousers, and concerned citizens to share
their ideas, fears, inspirations and tactics. Our "leaders" will never make
the necessary changes; it's up to us to do it for ourselves!

Join us to say

-- NO to the War on Terrorism,

-- NO to the WEF,

-- NO to the global economic conditions that foster terrorism,

-- and, YES to a world organized around principles of democracy, equity,
sustainability and solidarity.

2. NATIONAL STUDENT MOBILIZATION AND CONFERENCE

What is the outline for the conference?

The four-day conference will comprise of three days of workshops and panels,
mostly in the evenings and on Thursday and Friday so as not to conflict with
direct actions to shut down the WEF being planned in the city on the
weekend.

We expect hundreds of students from all over the nation, from California,
the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the South and the East Coast. We're in
contact with students abroad in Canada, Europe and Asia. Together, and in
solidarity with other initiatives against the WEF, we will seek to model the
world we wish to create.

What are the workshops, panel discussions and forums about?

-- Legal, media, medical and tactical trainings

-- Forums on the history of the WEF and the policies it promotes

-- Workshops on globalization, labor, sustainable development, and human
rights

-- Education about the environmental impact of globalization

-- Speakers on the corporate influences behind US foreign policy decisions

-- Focus on indigenous peoples' right to self-sustainability

And much more, specific topics TBA.

3. HOW TO GET INVOLVED AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

How can I register for the conference?

To cover the costs of the conference, we ask that participants pay a
registration fee on a sliding scale from $5 to $10. No one will be turned
away from the door due to lack of funds. The collected funds will go towards
the reservation of spaces, rental of sound equipment, etc.

You can pre-register for the conference by sending a check or money order to
the Columbia Student Solidarity Network. Please email the WEF Counter-Summit
Organizing Collective for more information.

Where will I stay?

Arrangements are being made to provide housing for all out of town students.
To reserve a space ahead of time, please email the WEF Counter-Summit
Organizing Collective (globaljustice@peopleforpeace.org) for more
information.

How will I get to New York?

Unfortunately, we cannot provide transportation to New York. However,
many local and regional groups are organizing either group bus or plane
trips to New York. We encourage you to use The Anti-Capitalist Convergence
Ride Board (http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/transit.html) to either find or
offer transportation. If that doesn't work, e-mail email the WEF
Counter-Summit Organizing Collective (globaljustice@peopleforpeace.org), and
we will do our best to put you in touch with a group organizing
transportation from your area.

Where can I go for more information or to help organize the conference?

More information about the National Student Mobilization and Conference will
be posted at The Students for Global Justice website,
http://www.studentsforglobaljustice.org. Please check the site periodically
for updates.

You can also subscribe to the Globalize Justice mailing list for
announcements and updates, globalizejustice-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and/or
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/globalizejustice/

To get involved with organizing the conference and outreach to schools,
activist groups and communities, please email the WEF Counter-Summit
Organizing Collective (globaljustice@peopleforpeace.org).

See you at the conference and in the streets, because OUR WORLD IS NOT FOR
SALE.

In Solidarity,

The WEF Counter-Summit Organizing Collective

http://www.studentsforglobaljustice.org

--
Yvonne Liu

+ y@onomatopoeik.com

+ http://onomatopoeik.com

+ vox: 646 321 5710

The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back after a message

About a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.

You will not have to worry about a germ on your

Bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.

The revolution will not go better with Coke.

The revolution will not fight the germs that cause bad breath.

The revolution WILL put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, WILL not be televised,

WILL NOT BE TELEVISED.

The revolution will be no re-run brothers;

The revolution will be live.

--Gil Scott-Heron