So this has been a long time coming.
I'm working with a group down here called "Democracia Global." DG is an NGO that is associated with the WFM, UNPA, and PARLATINO.
You should have no idea what any of those letters stand for, except for maybe DG because I referred to it in the sentence before and what an NGO is. The rest for the most part are unrecognizable because they are Non-Governmental Organizations that work for far-reaching idealistic goals. In a nutshell Democracia Global is a team of about 12 volunteers, the majority Argentinean with a girl from the Galapagos, myself, Quintin from BC who graduated in 09, and now 3 girls from USCB. We are fearlessly led by Georgina, who is the lynchpin to the operation, Fernando Pedrosa, who is the face of the organization and co-presidente, I believe he spends a lot of time travelling, especially to Europe, and last but not least Fernando Iglesias who is the ying to Pedrosa's yang as Co-pres of DG and he is a national Diputado for Argentina, basically the equivalent of a Congressman in the US.
The main pillars/goals of DG are the following in no particular order:
- Regional integration of Latin America--> this is a very interesting concept, one that I actually kind of like to deal with but obviously cannot lend very much expertise to. The idea is that since Latin America shares a geographic area, common language (with the large exception of Brazil and a few small French countries), similar cultures and economies it makes sense to form a unified whole. In addition to the many commonalities it would strengthen the bargaining power of Latin American countries when dealing with other world powers like the US and China. And in terms of defense it never hurts to have helluva lot of guys on your side. On the flipside there are an incredible number of challenges to ever obtain this state. The one that always comes to mind for me is the amount of division and internal turmoil in certain countries (Colombia) and inability of the government to maintain control. Another immediate reason is why would more succesful countries want to shoulder the burden of very poor countries, most recent example being Haiti? The European Union is the main model that is used for this discussion.
- Reform of international organizations--> As it stands most of the international organizations in particular the UN is controlled by the countries with money, or to simplify it even further the US. Countries that may have an ass load of people but no economy do not have much say in terms of world affairs, ie Latin America. DG would like to see a worldwide Democractic system where the UN is a parliament, comprised of representatives from countries directly in proportion to the number of people in the country. As an American, the system is obviously better for us as it is, therefore I am trying to foil the efforts of DG in this respect.
- Federalism--> this is a strange confusing term. However, I feel it is increasingly relevant in our increasingly global world [thesis?]. No, but if you think about it as everything is moved across borders- goods, people, technology, tacos, it becomes harder and more cumbersome to try and regulate everything- ie. something is a crime here but not there, it would help to have a bodies in place to help control/regulate (this goes hand in hand with the regional integration of Latin America, just think on a bigger scale). Instead of having just local government and national government add that third or fourth layer of supranational government. Again, I don't know how i feel about this, loss of sovereignty, too many bodies to answer to. However, this is a very attractive idea in terms of problems that need worldwide cooperation- ie. if climate change is in fact happening thus far no country is really willing to take the lead because they are afraid they will fall behind in terms of production ability, etc. If there was a body in place that mandated everyone to take the same first steps this could help attack the problem.
-Human rights--> I think if you are a non-profit organization you have to say you are working for this too.
With that brief but confusing overview behind us I can explain exactly what I am doing. most of the work we have been doing is geared toward an event which starts this week it is called "Diez Dias de Democracia Global." During the 10 Days will be a series of meetings, discussions, and panels between groups trying to reach these goals. We basically act as a hostess (I chose to say hostess because if we are going to want to have any success we will need that feminine touch).
Yesterday we did some scouting out of the different rooms in the national Congress that we will be using for the event, I've included a few of the pictures below. Unfortunately the lights were off in most of the rooms so it is hard to see.
this is the front of the National Congress
northeast corner
This is the logo for the senate, "Senado de la Nacion," looks kinda like the notre dame logo don't it?
In our event first up is the Parlatino, which is a regional parliament for Latin America, they don't have any real power to do stuff as far as a I know but what there existence does is start a dialogue for regional integration. By being in existence it gets the ball rolling on the different countries meeting, interacting, learning from each other and working together for common goals. Ideally eventually they would gain real legislative power and not just be a consultive organization.
this is where the Diputados meet to make laws while they smoke cigs even though they passed a law against smoking in government buildings
Once those knuckleheads finish up the UNPA- United Nations Parliamentary Assembly meet. This is the group of people that is working toward making a parliament as part of the United Nations, this will all be in English, which means it will be my time to shine.
this is the peanut gallery where guests of the event can view the debate and discussion below, some of our events will be here
Once the UNPA cacafaces are done the WFM- World Federalist Movement moves in, again in English, again time to shine, and hopefully the guests will be singing my praises.
below. this is where the Senators talk about stuff
another room inside the national congress that we will be using. this lady just saw a ghost.
another room made for our meetings. it's usually used for speed dating between senators.
Alright, that is what I got for now, in the near near future I will try and expand upon what I actually actually do, hopefully today or tomorrow before the event kicks off. I'll try and describe some of the differeent tasks I do on a daily basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment