What is APEC?
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) leaders meet in Sydney in September 2007. There
are 21 heads of government of Pacific Rim economies coming for the meeting.
Despite media reports, APEC does not
just mean traffic chaos, security threats and silly shirts.
APEC actually stands for achieving a
complete free trade objective in the Asia Pacific region, and also discusses issues like
security and terrorism, without serious consideration of human rights or the environment.
It will be the most significant meeting Australia has ever hosted.
What’s happening about APEC in Sydney?
Over 20 key community groups, trade
unions and environment groups have formed the ‘Asia
Pacific People for Environment and Community (APPEC)’ coalition in response to
the APEC meetings being held in Sydney.
This group will be holding two
exciting community events design to ‘put people into APEC’, and will consider
the important social justice issues and
environmental issues which APEC fails to address.
- Asia Pacific People for Environment
and Community – putting people into APEC! -
Public forum –
Guthrie Theatre, University of Technology, 5:30pm arrival for 6:30pm start, Friday 31 August.
Guthrie Theatre, Design Building
(Building 6), Harris St entrance (near the ABC building and near the overhead footbridge)
A public
forum where leading thinkers, community leaders, NGOs, and others, come together to learn about the narrow focus of APEC’s free trade agenda,
and its failure to consider labour rights, human rights or the environment. Fair trade
information stalls and products available.
Featuring:
Lori Wallach, (United States), trade lawyer,
author and director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
Sharan
Burrow, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and President of the
Global Unions’ International Trade Union Confederation.
Yuri Munsayac, (Philippines), Asia Partnership for
Human Development
Don
Henry, Executive Director, Australian Conservation Foundation
MC: Tim Brunero,
former Big Brother contestant!
Conference – Guthrie Theatre, University of Technology, 9.30am
– 4pm Saturday 1 September
Guthrie Theatre, Design Building
(Building 6), Harris St entrance (near the ABC building and near the overhead footbridge)
A
collaborative community space that draws people together for engagement on the topics APEC
fails to address, such as human rights, labour rights and the environment. Panel sessions, workshops,
information stalls, doco screenings, art exhibition and activities.
Featuring:
Richard Broinowski,
Adjunct Professor, Sydney University, former Australian Diplomat
Professor Jane Kelsey,
(New Zealand), University of Auckland and Action Resource
Education Network of Aotearoa (ARENA)
John Sutton, National
Secretary, Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union
Asia Pacific People for Environment and
Community is:
Aid Watch, Australian Catholic Social Justice Council,
Australian Council for International Development, Australian Council of Trade Unions,
Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union,
Australian Services Union, Caritas Australia, Community and Public Sector Union - State
Public Services Federation, Construction Forestry Mining
Energy Union, Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education,
Friends of the Earth Australia, Global Trade Watch, Grail Global Justice Network,
Greenpeace, Jubilee Australia, NSW Teachers Federation, Presentation Sisters (Wagga), Search Foundation, Sisters of Charity, The Commons Institute,
Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, Unions NSW |
