CIVIL SOCIETY AND REASONS TO HOPE Kumi Naidoo One fact of globalisation is that many decisions that affect virtually all human beings everywhere, for many generations, are increasingly taken by a few – that is, there is an ever-increasing democratic deficit at both domestic and international levels. The importance of efforts to counter this negative trend cannot be overemphasized, and the WSF represents a key part of these efforts.

Kumi Naidoo

One of the current challenges is the trend of increasing threats to civil society’s very existence – that are closely associated with the so called "war on terror" discourse and practice, and that take the form of an ever-growing number of countries passing legislation to restrict the rights and activities of civil society.

As civil society has grown more powerful, not only at the national level but also globally, there are also increasing calls by governments and critics questioning the legitimacy, transparency and accountability of civil society. There are many efforts underway to address this challenge such as the efforts of a diverse group of NGOs that have agreed an International NGO Accountability Charter in 2006. The charter illustrates civil society’s commitment to ensure that it maintains the highest ethical standards possible.

Another challenge that civil society must face is to find greater common ground for dialogue and action. The space offered by the WSF is an indication that civil society continues to make progress in this regard, but much more needs to be done. There ore other encouraging signs as well, such as the recent unification of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the World Confederation of Labour and a few other independent Trade Unions.

The ongoing efforts of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) also give reason for hope of more united civil society action across countries, sectors and regions. In October 2006, around the International Day for Poverty Eradication, GCAP led a mobilisation effort called Stand Up Against Poverty. According to the Editor-in-Chief of the Guinness Book of Records, the 23,5 million people who participated constituted the largest-ever single mobilisation of people in a twenty-four-hour period in the history of the Book.

These actions – which seek to keep pressure on governments to deliver on their fairly modest commitments and to open up pathways to participation by new constituencies of citizens – show how important it is that we focus on the considerable number of areas where there is agreement and common ground.

Most broadly, the challenge we must accept is to reflect deeply, from the local to the global levels, on how civil society can enhance and improve our effectiveness. We are called upon to recognise that one of our strengths stems from our diversity. The danger is that diversity can sometimes be used as an excuse for parochialism, a lack of willingness to explore collaborative ways of working, and sometimes individualistic approaches to social change for the greater public good. CIVICUS’ hope for the vast, diverse and complex "global community" that we call civil society, is that we will be able to take advantage of the space that we already have for meaningful dialogue, learning and strategising – including the WSF – to talk more about how we can act together more effectively to create a better and more just world.

Kumi Naidoo
Secretary General
CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation