We must all mind the gap

The European Anti Poverty Network reported last year that 120 million people were considered to be at risk of poverty and social exclusion. It noted that the interdependencies between poverty, wealth and inequality are often absent from media coverage.

... by 2015, one in five people will still have an income of less than $1.25 per day- Nighat Urpani

The richest 10 per cent of adults in the world own more than 85 per cent of global household wealth. The bottom half of the world adult population own barely one per cent of global wealth.

A British sociologist, Peter Townsend, drew our attention to the concept of “social polarisation” to describe the growing gap between wealth and poverty. He says that instead of focusing wholly on the “new underclass”, we need to shift some attention to an “overclass”, the small elite of the super rich. This leaves one searching for the reason behind escalating rates of depression and anxiety that have risen over the last 50 years in developed countries.

When we are talking about concentration of wealth, we can hardly ignore the concentration of power. Growing evidence has come to the fore that a small number of people and international corporations are exercising increasing influence over economic policy and on politics of development in general.

Trialog, a forum for development NGOS in the enlarged EU, held a central training programme in April for civil society organisations in Prague. I was given the opportunity by Skop, a platform for Maltese NGOs working on development, to attend.

The platform has 18 member organisations and five associate members. Ceratonia Foundation is an associate member. It is the cultural wing of Alternattiva Demokratika, the green party. The activities the foundation organises are related to social justice on several levels with special emphasis on holistic living and socio-economic responsibility towards the environment. To engage civil society, it places special emphasis on democracy and society’s active participation.

There were representatives from 12 EU new member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia) and from accession and candidate countries (Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The management of Trialog firmly believe that the involvement of CSOs in the process of global development is decisive in order to live up to the EU’s commitment to eradicate world poverty. About 65 participants gathered to mobilise more public support for action against poverty and for equal relations between developing and developed countries through CSOs by being part of advocacy actions and campaigns. This, in turn, creates a multilayered ripple effect in the field of development policies and strategies. CSOs are made up of the academic sector, trade unions and local authorities.

Networking was encouraged for providing opportunities for mutual learning and supporting the search for suitable project partners.

Many topics and policies related to development were discussed by CSOs and the EU representatives. It was highlighted that 75 per cent of the world’s poorest live in middle income countries despite seeing progress in economic growth. Currently, the 2014-2020 perspective is under preparation, waiting to be finalised by the European Parliament while EU member states are discussing it throughout 2012 after the European Commissioner for Development and the Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy announced a document presenting the 2014-2020 budget for EU external actions, themed Multiannual Financial Framework. EU As A Global Player. The document aims to ensure the EU is able to speak with one voice, to live up to its ambition in promoting democracy, peace and poverty reduction at global level and in its immediate neighbourhood. The main focus is being placed on two financial instruments: the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and the European Development Fund (EDF). However, CSOs pointed out that the binding rules are missing regarding aid effectiveness, financing of farming or sustaining the commitments to fight HIV and AIDS.

The stark reality is that half of the world’s population lives in poverty and, gradually, the interdependence between the global south and north in relation to sustainability issues is becoming more evident. Therefore, the Millennium Development Goals were scrutinised through critical lenses in the development framework. It was argued that the financial crisis has been rocking confidence in long-established economic reasoning as the international power has become more diffused and multipolar with difficult times ahead.

It is expected that despite progress in a number of areas, by 2015, one in five people will still have an income of less than $1.25 per day. There must be some form of overarching internationally-agreed framework for development after 2015 that must not repeat the shortcomings of the MDGs. The process must be participatory, inclusive and responsive to the voices of those directly affected by poverty and injustice. The MDGs were written by a small, elite group of UN insiders.

CSOs must come together to have a dialogue at national level to discuss and reach a minimum consensus on what should we focus on for post-2015 global age. There is more information on Beyond 2015 at www.unep.org/civilsociety/Portals/59/Documents/13_GMGSF/additional_Resources/Beyond%202015%20Essential%20MustHaves%20April%202011.pdf.

AD views this as an opportunity for the governments to ensure that, unlike the MDGs that were defined by “northern” governments, Beyond 2015 framework is an ownership built in the north and with our neighbouring south.

The author is Alternattiva Demokratika’s spokesman on global development.