Contents

Bangladesh Krishok Federation
Bangladesh Kishani Sabha
People's Global Action
Bangladesh General Information
Conference Participants
Conference Agenda


PGA Asia Convenor
Bangladesh Krishok Federation


Conference Hosts
Bangladesh Kishani Sabha
Bangladesh Krishok Federation


Bangladesh Krishok Federation

Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF), the largest rural based peasant movement in the country, was established in 1976. Since its inception it has been actively involved in land occupation struggles in a very systematic way. From 1977 until 1991 BKF conducted various types of struggle and movements e.g. hunger strikes, sit-in strikes, public meeting, the encirclement of the local administrative offices, demonstrations, and road blocks. Through different agitational programmes, the BKF has been able to compel local government officials, at different times to make commitments about the distribution of land amongst landless men and women. Despite these commitments no concrete action was taken. However, in 1987 the then autocratic government introduced a land law called the "land administration manual" on behalf of the landless people. Because of this new land law, the movement gained momentum. Since 1987, the BKF had scope to demand the distribution of khas (fallow) land among bona fide landless men and women as stated in the land law. In spite of great deal of pressure from the movement, the government never paid heed to landless people's demands. Finally, in late 1991, thousands of landless men and women gave an ultimatum to government demanding the immediate settlement of khas land for landless people. As the government refused to take any initiative, BKF persuaded landless people to occupy the khas land in early 1992. This time over 22,000 acres of land on 4 chars (small islands) in the southern coastal belt were occupied.
During the occupation movement, the BKF has encountered many impediments from the local big landowners and their goondas (thugs), and a few local bureaucrats working in the Land Revenue Department. Local big landowners have made several attacks on the landless people's settlements on the chars. Every time, the landowners were defeated, but the landless people had to shed blood for their victories. Many landless people have had to sacrifice their lives, but their heroic role and fearless contribution continues to be a inspiration to all those involved in the movement. In remaining in their settlements, the people have built their homes, cultivated their land, and grown different indigenous crops (e.g. rice, vegetables, and fruits). Since 1992, the land occupation movement has continued, and so far, under the leadership of the BKF, the landless people have been able to occupy 70,000 acres of khas land, across Bangladesh. Most of the occupations are concentrated in the south of the country and all of land has been distributed to more than 100,000 of the poorest men and women of living in the countryside. In the context of Bangladesh, this has been a large success in terms of the struggle for land rights. In the past, there were a few initiatives to occupy the land by different organizations, but they were not sustained.
In addition to the land occupation movement, BKF is also involved in other action-oriented activities, such as the fight for fair prices for farmer products, the promotion of organic farming (which is our traditional farming method), subsidies for agriculture etc. A few years ago BKF started to develop the idea of food sovereignty for the farmers, and it has been advocating the protection of indigenous seeds. BKF is also against the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and multinational corporations that are the key players attempting to destroy the agricultural sector in Bangladesh. BKF has actively opposed the introduction of Genetically Modified crops in Bangladesh having had bitter experience with the introduction of hybrid crops during the Green Revolution. BKF believes in genuine agrarian reform to solve the existing problems in the rural areas. It is totally against market-led land reforms that benefit the multinational corporations and international institutions such as the World Bank.
BKF defended women's emancipation and officially committed its' organisation to cooperate with the struggle of women. BKF has 7 associate organisations, which together form the 8 organisations ('Aaht Sangathan'). These include the Bangladesh Kishani Sabha, the Bangladeshi Adivasi Samiti (indigenous people's association), the Bangladesh Floating Labour Union, the Bangladesh Women's Floating Labour Union, the Bangladesh Rural Intellectual Front, the Revolutionary Youth Association, and the Ganachhaya Sanskritic Kendra (cultural organisation).

Bangladesh Kishani Sabha

Bangladesh Kishani Sabha officially came into existence in 1990, through a conference held in Dhaka. It is the female dimension of the farmer's community in Bangladesh and is one of the biggest of the 8 organizations. In the landless movement, Kishani Sabha has played a heroic leading role and the members of this organization have been the main force in protecting the occupied land. Kishani Sabha has 14 major demands that have inspired women to struggle. These are:
01. To establish social, political, economic emancipation and democratic rights of peasant women, and all toiling women
02. To free women from domestic slavery and establish equal rights in all spheres of life for men and women.
03. To establish monogamy on the basis of equal rights of men and women in marriage.
04. To get rid of economic slavery (on the basis of equality) of married life of women through the participation of both men and women in social production.
05. To abolish the existence of the present master-slave relationship between men and women.
06. To abolish the discriminatory inheritance system of property between sons and daughters.
07. To establish equal rights of men and women on the property achieved with the joint efforts of husband and wife in married life, and to equally distribute all the moveable and immovable properties achieved in married life among husband and wife after divorce.
08. To free all women from illiteracy, fanaticism, superstition, blind beliefs and ugly custom.
09. To free all women for ever from the curse of the dowry system.
10. To ensure food, clothing, shelter, work, education and medical care for all women.
11. To establish just rights for men and women against bureaucratic and social bribes, corruption, oppression and injustice.
12. To ensure the participation of women in all spheres of social and state life, to struggle for subsistence wages and to abolish the discriminatory wage system for men and women.
13. To cancel the existing communal inheritance property system and to cancel the existing deprivatory act for women in Hindu community and to legal provision in order to give assurance for equal rights and dignity to them.
14. To introduce the custom of doing everything equally in terms of family and married life activities.


People's Global Action (PGA)

What is PGA?

Peoples' Global Action (PGA) provides a common communication and coordination tool for movements that struggle against capitalist globalization and all forms of domination.
PGA provides a global forum for people's struggles to associate their efforts and share experiences and skills.
PGA not an organization. PGA has no members and does not have and will not have a juridical personality. No organization or person represents the PGA, nor does the PGA represent any organization or person.
PGA limits itself to facilitating coordination and exchange of information between grassroots movements through conferences and various means of communication.

Brief history of PGA

In August 1997, representatives of grassroots movements from the global South and North met to prepare resistance against the 2nd ministerial conference of the WTO (that was going to take place in may 1998 in Geneva with the objective of commemorating the 50th anniversary of GATT), and to develop tools that would give continuity to the communication and coordination among those who fight against the WTO and other 'free' trade agreements. The meeting took place in El Indiano (Spain) immediately after the Second Intercontinental Meeting for Humanity and against Neo-liberalism organized by the European Zapatista support network. At that meeting the idea of PGA as a network-process was born and it was decided to convene a conference to create it in Geneva in February 1998.

Over 300 representatives from the grassroots movements of 71 countries and all continents met in Geneva for the founding conference of the PGA. These included Bangladesh Krishok Federation, Movimento Sem Terra (Brazil), Karnataka State Farmer's Association (India), Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Nigeria), the Peasant Movement (Philippines), the Central Sandinista de Trabajadores (Nicaragua) and the Indigenous Women's Network (North America and the Pacific). What became obvious at this conference was that, despite great material differences, the struggles of working people are increasingly similar across the world: we share common problems, common opponents, and common dreams for social and environmental justice. This set the stage for a new and stronger sort of solidarity: People's Global Action.

In order to provide common ground for diverse social movements, from which to coordinate collective struggles, PGA established common objectives and 'hallmarks'. The PGA hallmarks represent certain common values but allow for the diversity of local or regional alternatives, projects, tactics etc.

PGA Objectives

Inspiring the greatest number of persons, movements, and organization to act against corporate domination through non-violent civil disobedience and people-oriented constructive actions.
Offering an instrument for co-ordination and mutual support at global level for those resisting corporate rule and the capitalist development paradigm.
Giving more international projection to the struggles against economic liberalization and global capitalism.

PGA Hallmarks

1.A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalization.
2.We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
3.A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organizations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker.
4.A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism.
5.An organizational philosophy based on decentralization and autonomy.

How PGA works

PGA uses the Internet as an important means of communication and coordination - through its web-site (www.apg.org) and various activist mailing lists (e.g. Pga-asia (at) lists.riseup.net). PGA is has regional Convenors from different social movements. The current convenors comprises movements concerned with ethnic, women's, labour, agricultural and indigenous issues. As a network process, PGA organizes conferences, and its convemors and support groups decide about the use of resources, advise local organizers about technical and organizational, and decide about the content of PGA's information tools. However, there have been some practical problems with the workings of the PGA process. First, full-time activist work has put great pressure on convenors and often left them little time to devote to PGA work. Second, because of language and cultural differences, the convenors have had great difficulty in functioning at a distance, being heavily dependent upon email access.

As a result, much of the initial organisational work of PGA has been conducted by Support Groups of activists who have helped organise conferences (in collaboration with regional convenors and conference hosts), mobilise resources (e.g. funds), facilitate communication between Convenors, and information flows between the participants of PGA. Also, to decentralize its everyday working, PGA has established regional 'networks' - e.g. PGA Asia, PGA Latin America, PGA Europe, and PGA North America. Each region decides how they want to organize between the participating movements and organisations (one main convenor, different co-convenors, collective participants, etc.). However it is necessary to have one point of contact and coordination for every region, known to all the participating movements and organizations.

PGA Actions

Conferences

PGA has periodic international and regional conferences and meetings that provide spaces within which representatives of participant movements can meet, discuss issues of common importance, and decide upon strategies for collective action. These meetings enable deeper interpersonal ties to be established between different activists from different cultural spaces and struggles. At the international conferences meetings are held primarily in English or Spanish (with the one being translated into the other). Translation clusters are also formed where the conference discussions are translated into the languages of the other people who are participating. There have been three international conferences, held in Geneva, Switzerland (1998), Bangalore, India (1999) and Cochabamba, Bolivia (2001).
A regional meeting of Latin-American social movements was held in April 2000 in Nicaragua. A South Asian meeting took place in Bangladesh in September 2000. A gender workshop and an emergency meeting on the Colombia Plan also brought together representatives of Andean and Central American movements in November 2000. European regional meetings were held in 2001 in Italy and in 2002 in Leiden, Holland. A European regional meeting is scheduled for July 2004. The North American regional meeting took place in 2001 in Massachusetts, and a Latin American meeting was held in Panama in 2003. All proposals for actions, themes and issues discussed at the international conference will come from the regional conferences.

Caravans

PGA caravans are organised in order for activists from different struggles and countries to communicate with one another, exchange information, share experiences and tactics, participate in various solidarity demonstrations, rallies, and direct actions, and attempt to draw new movements into the convergence. The emphasis on such processes is the two-way communication regarding struggles, strategies, visions of society, and the construction of economic and political alternatives to neoliberalism.
The first caravan was the Intercontinental caravan for solidarity and resistance which brought together in Western Europe 450 representatives of grassroots movements from the South and East of the world in 1999. Although the majority came from India (farmers' organisations, fisherfolk, Adivasis and anti-dam movements), there were also representatives of other movements including the landless women's movement of Bangladesh, the Process of Black Communities from Columbia, and human rights organisations from Nepal, etc. The groups that received the Caravan in 12 European countries included organisations of the unemployed, groups fighting genetic engineering, squatted social centres, and feminist organizations. Actions during the Caravan included demonstrations against the headquarters of multinationals such as Novartis, Monsanto, Cargill, and Nestlé; and against the headquarters of the WTO, NATO, the European Central Bank, the FAO, etc. Direct action done during the Caravan included the destruction of two experimental fields planted with genetically modified crops.
Other caravans have included a United States caravan that culminated in the WTO protests in Seattle in 1999; and caravans before and after the PGA conferences in Bangalore, India (1999), and Cochabamba, Bolivia (2001). In addition, there have been speaking tours (e.g. that which brought Colombian activists from the Process of Black Communities to Europe in 2001), and workshops and seminars, concerning neoliberalism and its alternatives, on several continents.

Global Days of Action

PGA has been one of the principal instigators of the new global, radical, anti-capitalist movement which today is challenging the legitimacy of global governance institutions. PGA has been partly responsible for putting out the calls for, organising, and participating in, global days of action that have occurred around the world in response to the meetings being held by the WTO (Seattle, USA in 1999; Cancun, Mexico in 2003), the World Bank and IMF (Prague, Czech Republic in 2000), and the G8 (Birmingham, England, in 1998; Genoa, Italy in 2001). That is not to say that these events were directly organised by PGA. The initiative for issuing the calls for action and organising the actions came each time from an autonomous group that was connected to the network (Reclaim the Streets in London, Direct Action Network in Seattle, Solidarità-INPEG in Prague, etc), calls that were then relayed by the convenors and the rest of the network.
As a result, during each of these global days of action, there have been massive demonstrations and actions in the cities where the meetings have taken place. In addition, solidarity actions have taken place across the world, at the same time. Hence, during the anti-WTO mobilizations in 1999, solidarity demonstrations occurred in over 60 different cities around the world, and during the anti-World Bank/IMF mobilizations in 2000, solidarity demonstrations occurred in over 110 different cities world-wide.

PGA Sustainable Campaigns

PGA has adopted, through its third international conference in Bolivia, a series of Global Sustainable Campaigns, which movements can collectively participate in, while responding to the particularities of their local/national circumstances.
1.Campaign against state militarism and para-militarism: stopwar(at)lists.riseup.net
2.Campaign for defence and recognition of self-determination and land sovereignty of all people: tierra(at)lists.riseup.net
3.Campaign against all privatisations: nosevende(at)lists.riseup.net
4.Campaign on construction of alternative models to the capitalist system, based on education and formation: alter(at)lists.riseup.net

PGA Convenors

The current composition of the convenors committee is:

CONFEUNASSC-CNC (Confederación Única Nacional de Afiliados al Seguro Social Campesino - Consejo Nacional Campesino): Ecuatorian peasant movement that protagonised several uprisings in a country severely affected by neoliberal policies.

MJK (Movimiento de la Juventud Kuna): Since decades, one of the organisational backbones of the Kuna, an indigenous people of Panama with a long history of resistance that won autonomy early in the century.
FNT: Union federation from Nicaragua that includes the Sandinista central and other unions.

ONECA/ODECO: Organisation of the descendants of enslaved Africans from Central America who created free communities in the rainforests. Part of the Afro-American Network, present in almost all Latin American countries.

Aoteoroa Educators: training branch of the inter-tribal Maori independence movement, called Tino-Rangatiratanga.

Krishok Federation: federation of peasants and landless agricultural workers from Bangladesh, that has since decades fought against the green revolution technologies introduced by the agribusiness and against mega-projects of capitalist development.

Drugaciji Svet je Moguc (DSM) (a different world is possible) DSM is a collective of collectives' fron Serbia, striving to create a new political space unaffiliated with political parties and NGOs. This new space prefers direct political action and social dialogue which involves marginalised social groups that are systematically prevented from exercising their basic rights.

Acting convenors:
Provisional acting convenors for North America are the Tampa Bay Action Group and the Convergence des Luttes Anti-Capitalistes from Montreal; the final convenors will be elected when the North American PGA meeting takes place. Similarly, Rainbow Keepers (a network of radical anarcho-ecologist action in Eastern Europe and the former soviet republics in Asia) will act as convenors for Eastern Europe and Eurasia.


Bangladesh: General Information

Full country name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
Area: 143,998 sq km
Population: 138.44 million
People: 98% Bengali, 250,000 Bihari, tribals less than 1 million
Language: Bengali, English
Religion: 88.3% Islam, 10.5% Hindu, 1.2% other
Government: parliamentary democracy
Head of State: President Iajuddin Ahmed
Head of Government: Prime Minister Khaleda Zia

Environment and Culture
Bangladesh is located on the Bay of Bengal, surrounded by India. It shares a border in the south-east with Myanmar and fronts onto the Bay of Bengal. The country is dominated by the braided strands of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Jamuna delta. Where Bangladesh ends and the sea begins is a zone of shifting sediments, watercourses, flood waters and silt. Over 90% of the country is composed of alluvial plains less than 10m above sea level. In the north-east and south-east corners hills rise to an average height of around 240m (787ft) and 600m (1970ft) respectively.
Roughly two-thirds of Bangladesh is fertile arable land and a little over 10% remains forested. The country is home to the Royal Bengal tiger, leopards, Asiatic elephants and a few remaining black bears. There are also monkeys, langurs, gibbons, otters and mongooses. Reptiles include the sea tortoise, mud turtle, river tortoise, pythons, crocodiles and a variety of bloody unpleasant poisonous snakes. There are more than 600 species of birds: including the mynah, kingfishers and fishing eagles.

The climate of Bangladesh is subtropical and tropical with temperatures ranging from an average daytime low of 21°C (70°F) in the cold season to a top of 35°C (95°F) in the hot season. Bangladesh has three main seasons: the monsoon or 'wet' season from late May to early October; the 'cold' season from mid-October to the end of February; and the 'hot' season (known in Bangladesh as the 'little rainy season') from mid-March to mid-May. There is also a 'cyclone season' - May to June and October to November.
The Bengal region has a multifaceted folk heritage, enriched by its ancient animist, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim roots. The best known literature of Bangladesh is the work of the great Bengali poets Rabindranath Tagore and Nasrul Islam. More recently the writings of Taslima Nasreen have gained international acclaim (while receiving death threats from Muslim fundamentalists) for her outspoken critiques of Islam's oppression of women. Folk theatre and folk dances are common at the village level and usually takes place during harvest time or at melas (village fairs). Bangladesh's Muslims and Hindus live in relative harmony.
Bangladeshi food is varied, fish being part of the staple diet, which also includes beef, mutton, chicken or egg, and vegetables, yellow lentils (dal) and plain rice. Fish is part of the staple diet; however, over-fishing has led to a scarcity of river fish and more sea fish are appearing on menus.

Political History

Bengal's early history featured a succession of Indian empires, and a conflict between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance. Islam arrived in northern India at the end of the 12th century. Under the Moghul viceroys, art and literature flourished, overland trade expanded and Bengal opened to world maritime trade as Europeans began to establish themselves in the region. This period saw the establishment of Portuguese and British colonialism (initially via the East India Company), the decline of Moghul power, and the rise of the independent dynasty of the nawabs of Bengal. Over time British colonial power was established in Bengal, first through the East India Company, based in Kolkata (Calcutta), and subsequently, following the First War of Indian Independence in 1857, through direct rule by the British Government.
The colonial regime established Kolkata as one of the most important centres for commerce, education and culture in the subcontinent. However, Briritsh dictatorial agricultural policies, and the promotion of the semi-feudal zamindar system drained the region of its wealth and damaged its social fabric. While Hindus cooperated with the British, entering British educational institutions and studying the English language, the Muslim population refused to cooperate, and rioted whenever crops failed or another local product was rendered unprofitable by government policy.
The struggle for Indian independence, attained in 1947, was bitter and divisive, especially in Bengal where the fight for self-government was complicated by internal religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims. The British partitioned the subcontinent, with Bengal and Punjab, the two overwhelmingly Muslim regions located on opposite sides of India, partitioned to form the new state of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan. It was administered unfavourably from West Pakistan, with which it shared few similarities apart from the Muslim faith, and inequalities grew between the two regions. When the Pakistan government declared that 'Urdu and only Urdu' would be the national language, the Bangla-speaking Bengalis asserted their rights to speak their own language. The language issue quickly became a self-government issue, inspired by Bengali nationalism. When the Awami League, a nationalist party, won a majority in the 1971 national elections, the president of Pakistan refused to accept the result, and postponed opening the National Assembly. Riots and strikes broke out in East Pakistan, the independent state of Bangladesh was unilaterally announced, and Pakistan were sent troops to quell the rebellion.
The ensuing war was one of the shortest and bloodiest of modern times, with the Pakistan army occupying all major towns, using napalm against villages, and slaughtering and raping villagers. Bangladeshis refer to Pakistan's brutal tactics as attempted genocide. Border clashes between Pakistan and India increased as Indian-trained Bangladeshi guerrillas crossed the border. When the Pakistani air force made a pre-emptive attack on Indian forces, open warfare ensued. Indian troops crossed the border and the Pakistani army found itself being attacked from the east by the Indian army, the north and east by guerrillas and from all quarters by the civilian population. In 11 days the war for independence was over and Bangladesh officially came into existence. Sheikh Mujib, one of the founders of the Awami League, became the country's first prime minister in January 1972; he was assassinated in 1975 during a period of crisis.
The country experienced famine in 1973-74, followed by martial law, successive military coups and political assassinations. In 1979, Bangladesh began a short-lived experiment with democracy led by the overwhelmingly popular President Zia, who established good relationships with the West and the oil-rich Islamic countries. His assassination in 1981 ultimately returned the country to a military government that periodically made vague announcements that elections would be held 'soon'. However, it was not until 1991 that the (then) military dictator General Ershad was forced to resign by an unprecedented popular movement led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League.
In 1991 democracy was re-established and Begum Khaleda Zia became prime minister, and ties with the West were strengthened. By 1994, however, many Bangladeshis had become disenchanted with the Zia government. Despite election promises, the 1974 Special Powers Act, allowing detention without charge for 120 days, had never been repealed. There were claims that the government had rigged by-elections, and military and police repression of dissenters appeared to be on the rise. Opposition parties called for mass general strikes and the country's bureaucrats walked out.
A general election was held in February 1996, but a boycott by opposition parties, 5% voter turnout, and claims of ballot box fixing and repression of anti-government protesters raised serious questions about the legitimacy of the re-elected Zia government. Opposition parties and activist groups campaigned against the election, and on 30 March Zia stood down and a caretaker government under Muhammad Habibur Rahman was appointed. Elections were held in June and a coalition government headed by Sheikh Hasina Wazed of the Awami League was voted in. In October 2001, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the parliamentary elections and Zia was sworn in as prime minister.

Economy

Bangladesh is an agricultural country. With some three-fifths of the population engaged in farming. Jute and tea are principal sources of foreign exchange. The government is committed to market economy and has been pursuing policies for supporting and encouraging private investment and eliminating expenditures in the public sector. A number of measures have been taken to intensify reforms in the financial sector.


GDP: US$175.5 billion
GDP per capita: US$1,380
Annual Growth: 4%
Inflation: 7%

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%.
industry: 18%.
services: 52% (2000).

Population below poverty line: 35.6% (1995-96 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9%.
highest 10%: 28.6% (1996).

Labor force: 64.1 million (1998).
Labor force-by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 25%, industry and mining 10% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 35.2% (1996).

Industries: jute manufacturing, cotton textiles, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical, light engineering, sugar, food processing, steel, fertilizer.

Agriculture-products: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry.

Exports-commodities: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood.

Exports-partners: US 31.8%, Germany 10.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%,
Italy 4.42% (2000).


Imports-commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement.
Imports-partners: India 10.5%, EU 9.5%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 8.5%, China 7.4% (2000)

Conference Participants

Below are the self-descriptions of movements and activist groups at the time of writing this document. Some groups who applied very late may not have been included. We apologise for this. Many people wrote about the need for building stronger links between movements after the conference, sharing more information and experiences, building issue-based alliances and organising joint solidarity actions and activities. We hope the conference will help to begin to strengthen this process.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Krishok Federation
Bangladesh Kishani Sabha
Bangladesh Adivasi Samiti
Bangladesh Floating Labour Union
Bangladesh Women's Floating Labour Union
Bangladesh Rural Intellectual Front
Revolutionary Youth Association
Ganachhaya Sanskritic Kendra
Bangladesh Agricultural Labour Union
Bangladesh National Peasant Association
Bangladesh Peasant Association
Bangladesh Agricultural Labour Association
Bangladesh Landless Peasant Association
Bangladesh Peasant Forum
Bangladesh Socialist Peasant and Agricultural Labour Front
National Garment Worker's Federation
Nationalist Garment Worker's Federation
Barisal District Building Construction Labour Union
Lokoj
Natundhara
Naripakkho
Durbar Network

Nabadiganta Tarun Sangha:
NABADINTA TARUN SANGHA WORKS FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL BASE OF ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT OF POOR PEOPLES'. THE ORGANIZATION IS VERY NEW. SO IT HAS NO BIG-EXPERIENCE OF VARIOUS WORKS. THOUGH IT'S ALWAYS TRY TO CAMPAIGN ABOUT HUMAN & WOMEN RIGHTS.

Nabadiganta Samajkallan Pathagar:
NABADIGANTA SAMAJKALLAN PATHAGAR IS A PUBLIC LIBRARY WORKS FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL-WELFARE WORKS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL BASE OF ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT OF POOR PEOPLES'. THE ORGANIZATION IS VERY NEW. SO IT HAS NO BIG-EXPERIENCE OF VARIOUS WORKS. THOUGH IT'S ALWAYS TRY TO CAMPAIGN ABOUT READING GOOD BOOK, HUMAN & WOMEN RIGHTS.

Nabadiganta Gymnasium:
NABADINTA GYMNASIUM WORKS FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL BASE OF ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT OF POOR PEOPLES'. THE ORGANIZATION IS VERY NEW. SO IT HAS NO BIG-EXPERIENCE OF VARIOUS WORKS. THOUGH IT'S ALWAYS TRY TO CAMPAIGN ABOUT GOOD HEALTH, HUMAN & WOMEN RIGHTS.

Thailand

Assembly of the Poor/ Friends of the Poor/ Slumdwellers Network.

The Assembly of the Poor is a network of movements in Thailand covering issues relating to forests, land, indigenous peoples, urban poor, fisherfolk, labour and alternative agriculture. Natser Yee-M works in the secretariat of the Assembly of the Poor and Kanchana Malaihom is a leader of a network of slumdwellers.

Thai Labour Campaign

The Thai Labour Campaign is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to promoting workers' rights in Thailand, and increasing awareness of labour issues generally. It also aims to build international solidarity between Thai workers and those from other countries, and to help workers get higher wages and improves labour rights. It also pressures the government to implement meaningful labour protection standards and to see those standards enforced.
 http://www.thailabour.org

India

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS Karnataka State Farmer's Association)

The Karnataka Farmers' Association came into being in 1980 as a symbol of solidarity between many small district level unions in the face of anti-farmers state government policies. At the time, farmers and peasants in Karnataka had raised their voices against low agricultural prices, the imposition of illegal taxes and the lack of essential services in rural areas. The state government killed 139 of those who protested. The KRRS continues to inspire a large number of women and men to continue the struggle for the right to life and livelihood.


Pedestrian Pictures

Pedestrian Pictures is an independent media activist group committed to using political films to strengthen and initiate action against imperialist globalisation and capitalism. The Pedestrians' work with peoples' movements has been to use films as campaign tools to mobilise people and to develop links between movements fighting similar battles across geographic planes. They would like to share information about a campaign in Karnataka against acid attacks on women. They would also like to screen films relating to the specific issues being discussed.

Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU)

The APVVU is a federation of agricultural workers and marginal farmers' unions in Andhra Pradesh. The APVVU has campaigned for the release of bonded labour, minimum and equal wages, and the struggle for land redistribution. Mostly a federation of Dalits, it fights against the practice of untouchability and other forms of discrimination, and monitors atrocities against dalits, women and adivasis. The APPVU's main focus is to protect the rights of communities from the onslaught of globalisation.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU or Indian Farmers' Union)


Kera Karshaka Samithi (Kerala State Coconut Farmers' Association)

The Association is a state level Organisation for the development of coconut farmers and to implement new methods of cultivation, marketing etc.

Indonesia

Serikat Petani Java Barat (SPJB or West Java Peasants Union)
The SPJB organises mass actions, education programmes, seminars, workshops and network-building.

Malaysia

Borneo Indigenous Peoples' and Peasants Union (Panggau)

Nepal

All Nepal Peasants Association (ANPA)

ANPA was established in 1951 and organises seminars, workshops and conferences on various levels, as well as providing training to the peasantry and carrying out campaigns on agrarian reform, food sovereignty and sustainable development.

Agricultural Labourers' Association of Nepal

Established in 1991, the Agricultural Labourers' Association consists of landless peasants, squatters and peasants with very small amounts of land that is insufficient for their family's livelihood. It organises agricultural labourers to reclaim the right to land, welfare schemes, pensions and wage increases.

Nepal Milk Producers' Association

The Nepal Milk Producers' Association has been fighting against all forms of domination in society, and in particular to defend milk prices and prevent imports of powdered milk. It organises seminars, workshops and conferences in various districts. It suggests the formation of a regional network of milk producers.

Nepal National Fishfarmers' Association

The Nepal National Fishfarmers' Association focuses on aquaculture and includes Mahjji indigenous people amongst its social base. It is campaigning for the access of fisher people to water bodies and land.

South Asia Peasants Coalition

The South Asia Peasants Coalition organises seminars, workshops and conferences at the national level and has campaigned on agrarian reform, food sovereignty and sustainable development.

Peasant Womens' Association of Nepal

Contributors of 70% of agricultural work, and highly oppressed, the Association has taken several social, educational and political issues before the government. It has campaigns against pesticides and on parental property and land rights.

Peasant Youth Federation of Nepal
The Peasant Youth Federation of Nepal organises educational programmes for the peasant youth, and provides technical training for agriculture.

All Nepal Women's Association (ANWA)


Vietnam

Vietnam Farmers' Union ( VNFU)

The VNFU is a national farmer organization which represents Vietnamese farmers and protects the legality rights of farmers throughout the country. At present, VNFU has more than 8 million members.

Philippines

Sumpay Mindanao

Sumpay Mindanao works for the realization of alternative models of development that evolve from the convergence of peoples' initiatives and solidarity amidst diversities towards building sustainable and developed communities of the islands of Mindanao. Basically, it has four programs namely: a. Organizational Development and Peace Constituency Building (ODPCB); b. Peace Advocacy, Campaign, and Education (Peace); c. Direct Program Services on Integrated Area Development (IAD); d. Research, Promotions and Advocacy Program.

GABRIELA (National Alliance of Women's Organization)

GABRIELA started as an assembly of over 40 women organizations, today, it continues to be in the forefront of the struggle for women economic rights, right against social discrimination and right to be free from violence. GABRIELA works against issues that affect women including violence against women and children, prostitution, sex trafficking in women, the denial of the right to women's health care and migration. GABRIELA has, to a large degree, effectively put women's issues on the public agenda by consistently addressing the many issues of the Filipino women and fighting for the advancement of women's rights and basic interests.

Focus on the Global South

Focus on the Global South is an NGO conducting research into issues of agriculture and gender.


Conference Agenda

First Block: Welcome and Gender

Wednesday, 19th May: Arrival delegates
19:00
Tea and welcome
19:30 - 20:00
Cultural Program: Theatre
20:30 - 22:00
Singer
22:00 - 23:00
Dinner

Thursday, 20th May: Welcome and Gender
8:00 - 9:00
Breakfast
9:00 - 11:00
Registration
11:00 - 12:00
Welcome (two language. English and Bangla):
KS:Omoli Kisku
Representative KS
Convenor PGA Asia. Krishok Federation
12:00 - 12:30
Event in honour of M.D. Nanjundaswamy
Convenor: Krishok Federation. Badrul Alam
KRRS. Chukki Nanjundaswamy
National Indian Coordination: Yudhvir Sing
1 minute of silence
12:30 - 13:00
Description of Agenda and logistic. Introduction local responsible on logistic
13:00-14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 15:30
Introduction organizations
15:30 - 16:00
Tea Break
16:00 - 16:30
Gender workshop
19:00 - 19:30
Tea Break
19:30 - 21:00
Gender workshop
21:00 - 22:00
Dinner
22:00
Cultural program: Qawali music and videos

Friday, 21st May: Gender
Gender Workshops facilitated by Naripokkho

8:00 - 9:00 Breakfast

Session 1
0900 - 1300 Building Personal Awareness of Gender Discrimination
Bangladeshi participants will be divided in to four groups, two female and two male, for sessions in Bangla. Foreign participants will be divided in to two groups, one female and one male, for sessions in English.

Session Description:
0915-1100 Part I - Participants Round
Each participant will be asked to respond to the following question.
Describe in brief an experience or incident from your life which you think happened simply because you were female or male, in other words which would not have happened if you were of the opposite sex.
This exercise will help identify the different types and forms of discrimination that women and/or men face in their own societies. The sharing of individual experiences will help participants to recognize discrimination in their own lives and make the link between gender privilege and gender disadvantage.

The facilitator will lead a discussion on difference and discrimination.
1100 - 1130 Break
1130 - 1215 Part II - Group Discussion
Participants in each workshop will be divided in to four smaller groups to facilitate in-depth discussion in response to the following question.

Describe the comparative situation of women and men in the family and in society in your country. Share examples of socio-cultural, economic, political and legal discrimination that women and men face. Select two examples that you consider significant for sharing in the larger group.

This exercise will reinforce the recognition of discrimination and build understanding about its prevalence.

1215 - 1300 Part III - Workshop Plenary
Each small group will present on flipchart paper or OHP two examples of discrimination they have identified.

The workshop facilitator will do a summing up discussion and explain the assignment for next session.

1300 - 1400 Lunch Break

Session 2
1400 - 1530 Role Play on Gender Discrimination

1400 - 1430 Part I - Group Work
Each small group will work on the assignment for this session, which is to prepare a role play on one of the two examples of discrimination they have presented earlier to their workshop groups.

1430 - 1530 Part II - Presentation of Role Plays
The role plays will be presented on the main conference stage to a combined audience of all participants and organisers.

This session will allow for a light-hearted sharing of examples of discrimination across cultures.

1530 - 1600 Break

Session 3
1600 - 1830 Understanding Gender Concepts and Perspectives
Bangladeshi participants will be divided in to two mixed groups of women and men for sessions in Bangla and foreign participants will be divided in to two mixed groups of women and men for sessions in English.

1600 - 1730 Part I - Lecture Presentation
The presentation will introduce the concept of gender, linking it with the examples of discrimination presented in earlier sessions and explain the problematic of sex difference and gender discrimination. The presentation will also introduce concepts of gender disparity and disadvantage.

1730 - 1830 Part II - Open Discussion
18:30 - 19:00 Tea break
19:00 - 20:00 Cultural Program. Theatre
21:00 - 22:00 Dinner
22:00 Culture program: Fire performance by Pablo Kala. Video projection
Second Block: Workshops and Information
Exchange

Saturday, 22nd May

7:30 - 8:30
Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30
Women preparatory meeting for the day
9:30 - 10:30
Introduction of organizations
10:30 - 13:30
Workshops
1. Women emancipation
2. Violence against women
3. Impact globalisation on women and
agriculture
4. Reproductive Rights.
5. Cast, Racism, xenophobia,
sexism...social systems of
discrimination.
7. Gender and Trade
13:30-14:30
Lunch
14:30 - 15:00
Presentation: Omoli Kisku (Kishani Sabha): Indigenous Situation in Asia
15:00 - 15:30
Questions
15:30 - 16:00
Coffee Break
16:00 - 19:00
Workshops
1.Alternatives models of development
2.Decentralization on control of recourses, like water
3.Labour conditions in Asia
4.Indigenous Women (only women
participants)
5.Peasant rights
6.War and militarism (specially
mention to abuse of women)
7.Biodiversity and bio piracy. Genetic
recourses and TRIPs
19:00 - 19:30
Coffee break
19:30 - 21:00
Plenary
21:00 - 22:00
Dinner. From 22:00 Cultural program: Singer & Video session

Sunday, 23rd May:
8:00 -8:30
Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30
Women preparatory meeting for the day
9:30 - 10:00
Introduction of organizations
10:00 - 10:30
Questions
10:30 - 13:30
Division into workshops
1.Privatisation on common recourses and industry: water, energy, minerals, land...
2.Food Sovereignty
3.WTO and free trade agreement
4.Situation of Indigenous People in Asia
5.Art. 169. Self-determination of Indigenous People
6.Biodiversity and bio piracy. Genetic recourses and TRIPs
7.Migrant workers
13:30-14:30
Lunch
14:30 - 15:00
Presentation: Badrul Alam (KF): War and militarism in Asia
15:00 - 15:30
Questions
15:30 - 16:00
Coffee Break
16:00 - 19:00
Workshops:
Campaigns

(Tea breaks decided in the groups)
1. Campaign against state militarism and para-militarism
2. Campaign for defence and recognition of self-determination and land sovereignty of all people
3. Campaign against all privatisation
4. Campaign on construction of alternative models to the capitalist system, based on education and formation
5. Campaign on mining.
6. Campaign against violence against women
7. Campaign on reproductive rights
19:00 - 19:30
Coffee break
19:30 - 21:00
Plenary
21:00 - 22:00
Dinner. From 22:00 Cultural program. Video Session
Third Block: Organizational Session

Monday, 24th May

7:30 - 8:30
Breakfast
8:30 - 9:00
Women preparatory meeting for the day
8:30 - 10:30
Working groups by sectors.
Coordination and Campaigning

Farmers
Indigenous
Trade Unions
Women organizations
Youth Organizations
10:30 - 11:00
Break: Tea and snack
11:00 - 13:00
Working groups by Regions
Coordination and Campaigning
Farmers
Indigenous
Trade Unions
Women organizations
Youth Organizations
13:00- 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 15:30
Working groups by Regions
Coordination and Campaigning
South Asia
South East Asia
East Asia
15:30 - 16:00
Tea break
16:00 - 17:30
Working groups:
Coordination and Campaigning
South Asia
South East Asia
East Asia

17:30 - 18:00
Break/snack
18:00 - 21:00
Plenary: Discussion on workshop commitments
21:00 - 22:00
Dinner
22:00
Cultural Program Video Session

Tuesday, 25th May

7:30 - 8:30
Breakfast
8:30 - 9:00
Women preparatory meeting for the day
9:00 - 10:30
Working groups by sectors:
Structure PGA network

Farmers
Indigenous
Trade Unions
Women organizations
Youth Organizations
Group writing conclusion of the conference
10:30 - 11:00
Break Tea and snack
11:00 - 11:30
Working groups by
Structure PGA network
South Asia
South East Asia
East Asia
11:30 - 12:00
Tea and snack
12:00 - 14:00
Workshops
1. Structure
2. Communication tools
3. Group writing conclusion of the conference
4. Asian Farmers Network
5. Women Network
14:00 - 15:00
Lunch
15:00 - 20:00
Final Plenary (Tea and snack breaks every two hours).
20:00
Dinner
21:00
Closing and Cultural Programme consisted in singers

Wednesday, 26th May: Tour program

7:00-7:30
Breakfast
7:30
Leaving to village program
10:00 - 15:00
Program in the village
15:00 - 16:30
Enjoying the village
18:30
Arrival in Dhaka