Agreements and conclusions From the Urban Networks Coordination Meeting
In Nairobi, on the 4th proposal day of the WSF2007 (Jan. 24)
On January 24th, In accordance with the framework of the WSF and supported by HIC and AIH, a coordination meeting took place among the urban, social movements that fight for housing and city rights.
The meeting was made up of 200 movements’ representatives from 20 countries spread across Africa, South and North America and Asia, as well as FAL member local authorities.
The conclusions stated below involve all the participants that were the main networks acting as agents of the session, including: HIC, AITEC, AIH, and FAL which discussed the issues again. These conclusions link international, collective and local (Zimbabwe) campaigns.
In relation to the coordination among the networks
1. Incorporate the World Social Forum (WSF) in local movements to give a strategic perspective on the fight for housing rights.
2. Coordinate the fight for adequate habitat in local campaigns. Take as a reference successful coordination experiences (case of Brazilian urban social movements for instance).
3. Carry out joint training initiatives on housing rights issues.
4. Encourage the exchange and design of instruments that allow sharing of ‘know how’ between regions and continents.
5. Establish a group of contacts that take care of joint initiatives.
6. Have one unique spokesperson among all the coalitions.
In relation to evictions
7. Develop together an active campaign to fight evictions.
8. Denounce and diffuse the most significant cases of housing rights violations.
9. Set up, in each specific country, centers of reference for evictions prevention and denouncement.
Politics, instruments and studies proposals
10. Agree on proposals about housing policies so that the implementations of concrete resources as housing funds are designed on elements such as: each country’s public budgets, decentralized cooperation, and the cancellation of debt.
11. Combine efforts in order to relay upon up-to-date information concerning privatization projects of habitat grounds in general and of water projects in particular.
About campaigns and mobilizations
12. Support all the fights for housing rights in Africa, Asia, South America, North America, and Europe.
13. During the first Monday of October, 2007, establish a worldwide day against evictions and for international housing rights.
14. Defend the European social movement’s fight for the installation of the General Housing conditions and the adequate politics and policies at the European level regarding these issues.
15. Movilization during the days of the G8 to transmit the people’s perspective and defend their actions so that the housing rights issues are included in the G8 framework
16. Worldwide mobilization of the WSF’s Global Day on January 26th, 2008.
17. Incorporate in the agenda of mobilization campaigns the women’s social, urban agenda on issues such as access to land, urban planning and production of resources.
Alliances
18. Coordinate the housing rights campaigns with the local governments and the Forum of Local Authorities.
19. Seek alliances in order to fight for the security of property with the Vía Campesina.
FAL / HIC / IAI / AITEC
Nairobi, January 24th, 2007
