24-26 May 2002.
The Context
Common trends in globalization and economic liberalization throughout
Asia have led to a collective growth in the informal sector. Widespread
unemployment in the formal economy has been a significant byproduct of
policies advocated by multi-lateral financial institutions in the region.
As reflected in domestic policies, reforms have included downsizing of
the public sector, labour market reforms to increase flexibility and mobility
in the formal sector, reduced trade protections, and removal of subsidies.
In many parts of Asia, informal employment comprises over 90 percent of
the workforce (ILO, 2001).
The Rationale
Housing more than half the world's population and the largest number of
the poor, the shared problems that South Asian and South East Asian nations
face at the inception of the 21st century suggest the need for a regional
meeting to address the challenges and push forth collectively. The objective
of this conference is to bring together Asian nations in an effort to
address issues including working conditions, social protection, microfinancing,
child labor, and women in the informal sector. The aim is also to reinforce
the legitimacy of the informal economy. Participants will include government
officials, trade unionists, journalists, social activists and academics.
Proposed Outcomes
The following are expected to be the main achievements of the Conference,
The promotion of regional solidarity on issues of the street vendors and
the urban poor
The development of a multi-sectoral analysis of the issues of the unorganized
sector
An exchange of strategies and political, legal and economic alternatives
for street vendors and the unorganized sector
The declaration of a Common Resolution that outlines the demands of the
unorganized sector and the comprehensive plan of action to be pursued
across stakeholder groups at a national and regional level
The Convenor
Hawkers Sangram Committee (A Struggle for Street Vendors) is a spontaneous
movement that has been borne of and sustained by the involvement of grassroots
activists committed to the cause of the unorganized sector. Initiated
in Kolkata, West Bengal (India), the Hawkers' Sangram Committee (HSC),
has in a period of seven years directly influenced 1.2 million street
vendors in West Bengal, and is affiliated to all the major actors in the
unorganized sector in India.
Programme
Day One: May 24, 2002 : Building A Regional Profile
Outlining the nature of the regional economy, its relationship with the
global forces of neo-liberalization, the urban economy and the impact
of these processes on the unorganized.
Examining the political, legal, economic and social context across participating
countries, and the development of a situational analysis of the unorganized
sector within the region, the discussion of the centralization of resources
at the macro and micro levels, leading to the disowning of the poor as
rightful stakeholders in the city.
Day Two: May 25, 2002 : The Challenges & The
Response
Assessing the experiences of street vendors across the region within the
human rights framework, the dynamics related to the realization of entitlements
such as the Right to Livelihood and the Right to Housing and the component
issues, women and child labour, evictions and displacement.
Identifying the possibilities for intervention through the discussion
of experiences with social action and advocacy, the evaluation of strategies
- what has worked and what needs to be taken forward, the development
of guidelines for a concerted response for the defense and legitimization
of the unorganized sector, the assessment of technical and financial resources
required to achieve a difference
Day Three: May 26, 2002 : Solidarity & Action
Consolidating the demands and directions of the conference into a Common
Resolution of street vendors in the region, determining the actions to
be taken by different groups in creating a humane alternative, outlining
the common stands and focal events in the region that can sustain and
develop the solidarity and resolve generated at the conference in y2002
and y2003.
Other Highlights
The Conference will be held in the premises of the Calcutta Heritage Town
Hall, for which permission has been specially granted to the organizers
at the behest of the Mayor of Calcutta. Over 150 volunteers from different
walks of life, associated with the Hawkers' Sangarsh Samiti, have come
together to make it a spectacular, city-wide event, that will bring the
demands of street vendors to the headlines not only in West Bengal, but
across the nation.
The conference will also showcase documentaries, books and popular education
materials on the unorganized sector. The itinerary also includes an exposure
to the actual working and living conditions of street vendors in Calcutta
through a field visit.