Ref. : Er/press/’05/brazil.mds

Prof. Manubhai Shah to Attend Global Meet in Brazil

Prof. Manubhai Shah, Chairman Emeritus, Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, left Mumbai for Porto Alegre, Brazil, early this morning (25/1) to attend the five-day fifth World Social Forum (WSF 2005) beginning tomorrow (Wednesday 26 January 2005).

He will make a presentation at the Forum on “Poison in Your Food — Consumer Right to Information and Safety”. His presentation will be based on CERC’s experiences in the light of the findings of its in-house comparative testing laboratory, revealing the presence of pesticide residues, heavy metals, foreign particles and microbial contaminants in foods and beverages.

The Netherlands-based funding agency, HIVOS, has sponsored five representatives of leading consumer organisations in India to participate in the annual global event.

The World Social Forum (WSF) is a space for reflective thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals, exchange of experiences, and coordination for collective action by civil society organisations and grassroots movements that oppose neoliberalism, and are committed to building a planetary society committed to social justice. The WSF provides a space for building economic alternatives, for exchanging experiences and developing concrete projects, as well as for mobilising civil society internationally.

The first three editions of the WSF took place in Porto Alegre, in January 2001, 2002 and 2003, during the same period as the World Economic Forum (WEF), which occurs in Davos, Switzerland. Since 1971, the World Economic Forum has played a key role in formulating economic policies throughout the world, and it is sponsored by more than 1,000 corporations.

The WSF, on the other hand, has developed as a consequence of a growing international movement in opposition to policies of international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In 2004, over one lakh people participated in the fourth edition of the WSF, which was held in Mumbai. This year, once again, the WSF will be held in Porto Alegre, hosting representatives from about 156 countries. The goal of the Forum is to maintain “this permanent process of building alternatives to the current economic model”. As its slogan suggests, “Another world is possible”.

Date : 25/01/2005
Place : Ahmedabad

Pritee Shah
Editor
INSIGHT - The Consumer Magazine

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CONSUMER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTRE
“Suraksha Sankool”, Thaltej, Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad - 380 054 (INDIA)
Phone: 079-27489945-46 Fax: 079-27489947
E-mail: cerc@wilnetonline.net
Web Site: http://www.cercindia.org
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