The W20 Summit 2018 is taking place on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of October at Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
On October 1st, the delegates’ working session drafted the Final Communiqué to be delivered to G20 leaders that will meet in Buenos Aires in less than two months to work on 4 areas: financial, digital, labour inclusion and rural development as priorities for women´s economic empowerment.
Meanwhile, the different coalitions, movements, and organizations that are mobilising around the Feminist Forum Against G20 have declared: W20 is a SHAM! The group affirms that the Affinity Group W20 is composed by a majority of representatives of transnationals, business, and foundations that do not represent the needs, visions, and alternatives of women and feminist groups.
The rallies with Pots and Pans, actions and debates have gathered a large group of women of different class, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and origin that are facing the consequences of the macroeconomic violent neoliberal policies. A big Pot was used to symbolise the incantation and spells against the adjustments and neoliberal policies.
The ingredients of the spell were the knowledge and pillars of the feminist alternative visions to development. From women that have been recently been fired due to cuts in national budgets and adjustment programmes, to women who are being affected by the occupation of their territories. From testimonies that visibilise the erosion of social benefits and attacks to human rights defenders to groups that fight for the elimination of violence, struggles for sexual and reproductive rights and labour rights and of women. The group came to the big pot to cast a spell and to denounce the liberalisation and deregulation that is at the center of G20 and IMF debates in Argentina.
Their screams, chants, and voices took the streets of Buenos Aires: Not in our name! W20 is a Sham!, Feminism is not Capitalism! , Pots yes, Adjustment NO!
After the Mob and mobilisation, the groups met in a very intensive programme to debate and generate proposals while the W20 is taking place in the city. The roundtables took place during October 2nd and the debates were around:
- Body and Territories 1: The fights for a life of dignity
- Body and Territories 2: Discussing the agenda of the W20 in the context of neoliberal deepening
- Economic violence, adjustments and debt
See the programme to learn more about the groups that are meeting this week in Buenos Aires:
Read the Manifesta that will be presented to W20 as a reaction to the instrumentalisation of women and women´s rights in the debates of G20 (in Spanish, soon to be available in English).
To learn more about the analysis of different groups:
“G20 and Women20 agenda: lessons learnt and challenges for the construction of a new feminist forum“, by Patricia Laterra, Corina Rodríguez Enríquez and Florencia Partenio.
Register here for the upcoming webinar “Feminist on the Road to G20” on October 10th in English, and stay tuned for the systematization of the first Webinar on W20 and for more documents, testimonies, and messages in English!
A lutta continúa!