STOP MAI

MEDIA RELEASE -for immediate release, 17 August, 2000 Authorised by the STOP-MAI Campaign Coalition (WA) Website http://members.iinet.net.au/~jenks/fair.html Affiliated with the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTInet) and with the World Social Forum (WSF)

 

N25 Convention will explore community responses to globalisation

At the initiative of Perth's StopMAI Coalition, a public convention on the community impacts of economic globalisation is being planned and will be held at Curtin University of Technology, Bentley, on 25 November 2000.

To be known as the "N25 Convention", this meeting will provide an important educational experience and comparison of views from many organisations and individuals representing all parts of the political spectrum.

The adopted theme is Globalisation: Trash or Treasure -- Community Responses.

There is widespread concern that Federal and State Government economic policies are being structured along lines of global corporate control and without due regard for their social and environmental impacts.

The N25 Convention is being planned by an ad-hoc committee representing many non-government organisations, trade unions and academics. There will be intensive workshop sessions on a number of areas of concern, including:

• Labour standards, trade union options and social equity
• Genetically modified products and control by corporate patenting
• Erosion of democratic processes by "free trade" treaties and policies

The importance of the subject has enabled co-operation between politically opposed groups which share a strong desire that these issues be publicly canvassed more widely and in much more detail than is happening at present.

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PHONE CONTACTS: Brian Jenkins +61 8 9528 1864; Dion Giles 0411 745 538