PLENARY DEBATE Strengthening social cohesion, building trust: Some ways ahead FRIDAY 12 OCTOBER 2007
Wrapping up the morning’s thematic debates on various aspects of social cohesion, the plenary session sought to come up with a focus for the way forward. If it were to be summarized in one word, that would be “opportunity.” It was felt that a lack of social cohesion resulted primarily from the exclusion of whole sectors of national populations, or even whole regions of the world, from opportunities to become integrated and productive actors in the civic, economic and political spheres. The question was not one of giving charity to the poor but of lifting them out of that condition by integrating them into the workforce to end the cycle of multigenerational poverty, said South African Vice-President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. This was particularly relevant in her country where a majority of the population is under 21. “Youth entry into the labour market is very difficult. This should be our focus, to give young people a chance to earn a wage, not to depend on handouts. Not to think about that is detrimental to society as a whole,” she said. This reasoning was applicable to all societies, in wealthy and developing countries alike, participants heard. In Europe, large numbers of young people and particularly those of immigrant backgrounds are excluded from economic spheres for a host of reasons, with resulting problems of violence and religious fundamentalism. It was necessary to “channel youthful aggressivity into economic ambition,” said Maria Livanos Cattaui. This meant investing in and celebrating immigrant leaders who can serve as role models to promote integration, she added. Successful immigrants should also be used as vectors of development in their countries of origin, Soukeyna Ndiaye Ba of Senegal suggested. She cited a striking statistic: the transfer of funds from the Senegalese diaspora to the home country is equivalent to one-third of that state’s annual budget. “The challenge is in linking with the diaspora to ensure that that money goes to financing development,” she said. Trade was identified as one key area of action to create opportunity on the international level, and by extension, within poorer countries. “The more opportunities to trade, the more opportunities there are to create wealth,” said Laurence Parisot of MEDEF, the French employers’ union. Parisot called for governments and economic actors to keep this in mind and “show a minimum of solidarity with poor countries” during upcoming World Trade Organization talks. “We must do everything in our power to ensure that the Doha round (of talks) is a success,” she said. Speaking from the point of view of her home country of Senegal, Ndiaye Ba agreed. “We are simply asking that our products may be sold to Europeans. Today we are excluded from this market,” she said. “We’re not asking for donations. We’re asking that people’s talents and capacities be recognized and that they can sell what they produce,” she said. Education and knowledge transfer were also key to building social cohesion. “One of the biggest threats to democracy in South Africa is the shortage of skills,” Vice-President Mlambo-Ngcuka said. Participants called for increased mentoring on the part of private business, targeting both domestic populations and potential economic actors in developing countries. This required time and generosity, but it was both feasible and in everyone’s interest, they agreed. Jean-Paul Bailly told of an interesting initiative taken by the postal services of industrialised nations by which a voluntary tax is applied which goes to financing the improvement of postal services in developing countries. Finally, there was the question of individual responsibility. Moderator and consultant Liz Padmore reminded the gathering that the average CEO salary in the US is 369 times that of the average wage-earner. As South Africa’s Mlambo-Ngcuka put it, “We can’t have more for the poor if we don’t give up something. There are personal decisions we have to make.” ______________________________________________ |