SEPTEMBER 2003

IN THIS ISSUE:

· New ICSW Leadership

· UN Regional Commission

· WTO Ministerial

· Upcoming Regional Events

ICSW’s New Global President – Solveig Askjem

Ms Solveig Askjem succeeded Mr. Qazi Faruque Ahmed as President of ICSW on Friday 26^th September 2003. Mr. Ahmed resigned as President prior to the end of his term. As many of you know, Mr. Ahmed has been subject to extraordinary pressure in his home country of Bangladesh. Bushra Gohar, ICSW Vice-President, in the December 2002-March 2003 edition of Social Development Review, said, “Mr. Ahmed, who led a voter education campaign during the national elections, is presently under threat for his activism in Bangladesh.” Thus, it became impossible for Mr. Ahmed to fulfill his role of ICSW president. Bushra Gohar noted her concern that the restriction imposed on our president “impeded the democratic functioning of ICSW.”

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, the Executive Committee of ICSW was pleased to be able to appoint Solveig Askjem to the position of President. Solveig Askjem is a citizen of Norway. Following her education in social work, Solveig has had an extensive and successful career in social work and social education. In addition to her employment and voluntary activities, Solveig has written two books “Social Work in Practice” and “Professional Roles of Health and Social Workers”. ICSW welcomes the leadership abilities that Solveig brings to our organisation and looks forward to her term as President that runs to August 2004.

New Member of ICSW’s Executive Committee

The President has appointed Lieutenant Colonel Dawn Sewell to ICSW’s Executive Committee as a representative of International Member Organisations. Dawn fills a casual vacancy created when Birgitta Nilson retired from her position with The Salvation Army. Lieut Col Dawn Sewell, as Mission Resource Facilitator, has the international liaison responsibility within The Army’s International Programme Resources Department. She has returned to England following four years in Lagos, Nigeria. She has considerable knowledge of development issues, particularly in Africa.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
ICSW’s Executive Director Denys Correll, Vice President Bushra Gohar and ICSW Communications Consultant Michael Chai represented ICSW at the 59^th Session of UNESCAP. Governments from around the region discussed strategies to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic which is taking a large human toll in parts of Asia and the Pacific in much the same way as Sub Saharan Africa. UNESCAP’s Executive Secretary and the UN Special Representative on HIV/AIDS in Asia joined the President of Botswana, a nation that has seen some success in prevention, urged delegates to take the health crisis head on before it becomes a major development crisis. More information can be found at: http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2003/sep/g_11_03.asp

ICSW’s Social Development Review targeted to WTO

Social Development Review subscribers will have received the September 2003 issue of ICSW’s magazine titled: The Menace of GATS: Promises or Threats. The issue was released to coincide with the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Cancun, Mexico, 10-14 September 2003 which reviewed the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS.)

The growing voice of developing countries, such as the new ‘troika’ of Brazil, India and South Africa, that involve half the world's population and more than 70 % of its agricultural production, shifted the political balance at Cancun. This will have many ripples and exposed the back-room procedures utilized by the US and EU to manage WTO processes before Cancun.

Colleagues of our SDR guest editor, John Foster, distributed copies of SDR at the Cancun meeting. The editor continues to receive positive feedback on the issue such as from Miloon Kothari, UN Special Rapporteur on Housing. Issues of SDR are on the ICSW website. Excellent coverage of the ministerial and civil society activism can be found on the website of Third World Network at http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/update.htm

ICSW 30^th Asia-Pacific Conference - Taipei, Taiwan – 8-12 December 2003

The 30th ICSW Asia-Pacific Regional Conference has been rescheduled for 8-12 December 2003 following the end of the SARS crisis. The Conference's Second Announcement with detailed information regarding the Conference together with the Registration Form was posted in August. Should you have any inquiries, please contact The National Council of Social Welfare, Taiwan by emailing:icsw_taiwan@yahoo.com or for more information go to http://www/icsw.org.tw.

ICSW Executive Director, Denys Correll, visited Taipei in September to review planning for the Regional Conference. The programme encompasses the major theme of Globalisation and Social Welfare a subject which is a major focus for social welfare and social development. Not so long ago, many social service providers did not find globalisation directly relevant to their work. This has changed and it is increasingly important that civil society organisations that focus on service delivery become familiar with global issues, such as those that debated at the recent World Trade Organisation meeting.

The themes of the Taiwan conference are integral to ICSW’s global programme. By February 2004 ICSW will have lobbied the United Nations Commission for Social Development on the priority theme, Improving Public Service Effectiveness. This subject encompasses the global trend to broaden welfare and health provision beyond the traditional government service providers. The theme of social consequences of globalisation will be one of the major themes for the 32^nd International Conference on Social Welfare to be held in Kuala Lumpur 16-20^th August 2004. ICSW is linking its projects, forums and conferences to the issues outlined in ICSW’s global programme.

4^th South Asian People Summit, Islamabad, Pakistan, 2-4 January 2004

For the fourth year ICSW will support the annual gathering of South Asian civil society groups. The summit provides civil society advocates with a platform to voice their concerns, share successful strategies and strengthen their efforts through regional cooperation. In 2004 the summit will continue to raise awareness on the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) agenda. They will support and review SAARC’s Convention to Promote a Regional Instrument to Combat the Crime of Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution. They will lobby SAARC to develop a legally binding instrument on small arms control. The Peoples’ Agenda formulated during the summit is presented at the intergovernmental meetings of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. For further information email: sapi@eureka.ik

The content of Global Cooperation may be freely reproduced or cited provided the source is acknowledged. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the policy of ICSW.

Please distribute this newsletter as widely as possible to:

o your organisation’s staff

o your Board/Committees

o your members

o other interested people

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Newsletter Editor: Felicity Daly, Project Officer, London Global Office

ICSW Contact Details

Website: www.icsw.org Email icsw@icsw.org

London Global Office:

16 Hatton Wall, London EC1N 8JHN,

Tel: + 44 20 7404 9780, Fax: + 44 20 7404 9527

Kampala Global Office:

PO Box 28957, Kampala, Uganda.

Tel: +256 41 531036, Fax: +256 41 531037,

Roselyn Nakirya, Programme Assistant /Administrator

President: Solveig Askjem

Vice President: Bushra Gohar

Treasurer: Michael Raper

Executive Director: Denys Correll

If you have any questions or need further information on any of the activities or issues mentioned in this newsletter, please contact: Felicity Daly, Project Officer, at the Secretariat in London, or reply to this email. icsw@icsw.org.