The Inhabitants of the world to Quito and beyond, fighting together to live well in our planet
This time we have no illusions and we are prepared. The New Urban Agenda of Habitat III will be based on the principles of developmentalist neoliberalism at the expense of commons, of nature, of rights. Therefore the International Alliance of Inhabitants will not participate in Habitat III, we have chosen the People's Social Forum Resistance to Habitat III to build the New Inhabitants Agenda, strengthening the convergence of struggles towards the Urban and Community Way to live well on our planet.
This time we have no illusions and we are prepared. The New Urban Agenda for discussion in the UN Habitat III Conference (Quito, 17-20 October 2016) will be based on the principles of developmentalist neoliberalism: the future of humanity is only in the cities, at the expense of the commons, of nature, of rights. The governments often forced to suffer the housing crisis and urban problems caused by globalization policies (immigration, foreign investment, evictions, etc.) without the necessary public resources -due to global crisis, aggravated by the fiscal crisis of the governments- are being invited by Habitat III to confront it by selling natural and social commons. The resulting policies are also disastrous for the countryside and its inhabitants forced to migrate and also for global warming that is unsustainable and even for inhabitants of the city. This approach highlights the regressive nature of Habitat III, which seems like something that was taken out of the founding principles of the United Nations, which is made worse by the absence of real opportunities to be of influence.
Therefore, the International Alliance of Inhabitants will not participate in Habitat III. Instead, we have chosen to be present at the People's Social Forum Resistance to Habitat III, which we are promoting as a stage in the convergence process of the struggles of the organizations, movements and networks of inhabitants to live well on our planet, towards the Urban and Community Way. What has been happening since the World Assembly of Inhabitants in 2013 and 2015, the WSF in Tunisia and the People's Alternative Social Forum in Medellin, 2014.
Our starting point are the struggles that take place in different countries in defense of human and territory rights, as well as various efforts of interaction, reports, advocacy and proposals.
We want to show the community and popular initiatives that account for the warmth of the settlements that we are building every day, disputing the financial and speculative capitalism, to bring harmony between nature and society.
Our utopia: build righteous cities, communities and towns, which are democratic, sustainable, responsible, peaceful and loving, redistributing wealth to realize the dignified life of this and future generations.
At the heart of the Forum are the International Tribunal on Evictions activities’, including the opening by visiting the Guayaquil neighborhoods threatened by evictions and the 5th meeting in Quito; the participatory post-earthquake and disasters’ reconstruction, to finance it particularly because of the cancellation of the sovereign debt; the territorial defense against deathly megaprojects that are driven by the intensive extraction of natural resources; the social control of real estate and financial markets; and the Right to the City.
Our proposed strategy is to build a new type of Social Forum not only a space for exchange, but also able to contribute to the resistance and the alternatives because it decides, claims and wants to implement the decisions.
We will not throw stones. More bluntly: we are going to propose a meeting on neutral ground with other actors, including professional and from the institutions, to identify both in Quito and the subsequent follow-up, what level of particular will exists in potential allies to act and realize the New Agenda of the Inhabitants, the utopian and necessary alternative to the New Agenda Urbana.
Come curious, open, available and supportive!
IAI Agenda
Day | Hour | place | Activity |
15 | (all day) | Guayaquil | TIE mission to Guayaquil |
16 | 16-18 | Indoamerica Plaza | International ritual with Mothers of Central and South America, alongside Yumbos of Cotocollao |
15-15.45 | Exhibition with Asamblea Nacional, Pavilion, near Casa de Cultura (room118) | Urban Climate Policies in Cities without Evictions Misereor |
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18-20 | Hall TUCE | Social Popular Forum "All voices in resistance" Inauguration | |
17 | 9-17 | Faculty of Law Paraninfo Che Guevara |
Fifth Session – International Court on Evictions |
9-11 | Faculty of Architecture FAU6 |
Democracy, human Rights and political crisis in Latin America | |
10-11 | Faculty of Architecture FAU5 |
Impact on public policy: housing, water, sanitation and energy are a right | |
16-17 | Resistance to Habitat III inauguration march / Unveiling of the Mural “March of Women” | ||
18 | 10-12 | Faculty of Architecture FAU6 |
Reconstruction: A challenge of solidarity action |
8-10 | Casa de la Cultura | Trade Union and Workers roundtable in HIII | |
11-12 | Faculty of Architecture - AFAU | Responsibility Declaration of the Inhabitants | |
11-13 | Faculty of Architecture - FAU4 | Exhibition with networks of the WorldMap of Habitat: People are not the problem, they are the solution | |
16-18 | Faculty of Architecture FAU4 | Panel:Decent Work: Public service quality and tax justice. | |
19 | 9-11 | Faculty of Architecture FAU4 | Presentation of the iconic and successful case of the inhabitants of La Cascada neighborhood, in the city of Medellín |
14-21 | Quito’s Neighborhood | Visits to Neighborhoods: Bolaños, La Floresta, Loma Grande, San Roque | |
17-20 | Faculty of Law Paraninfo Che Guevara | Convergence Assembly on the right to the city | |
20 | 9-11 | Faculty of Law Paraninfo Che Guevara | Closing meeting: Writing the Manifesto. Articulation and struggle Agenda Announcement: Closing and post-Habitat articulation |
11-14 | Quito’s Streets | March of "Meeting with Quito’s residents". Departure from UCE |