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Events
"TAX JUSTICE - HUMAN RIGHTS - FUTURE JUSTICE"
International conference on November 27th in Berlin, Germany, at the headquarters of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.
A joint initiative by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Global Policy Forum Europe, MISEREOR, and terre des hommes in cooperation with the Tax Justice Network Germany
The debate around „tax justice“ is currently concentrated on combating tax evasion and avoidance as well as on the dismantling of the underlying structures that enable those practices.
In development policy oriented circles discussions focus on the precarious state of public finance in many countries in the South as well as around the issue of domestic resource mobilization through means of more effective tax systems and more efficient tax administrations. Problems here are domestic elites not paying their fair share; a good part of economic activity is happening informally; transnational corporations are evading effective taxation by using tax incentives and manipulative transfer pricing methods.
In the human rights arena the issue of „maximum available resources“ in combination with extraterritorial obligations of states is gaining increasing attention.
In the middle of the financial and sovereign debt crises, taxation is receiving more and more attention in Europe and Germany as one way out of the mess: wealth taxes, bank levies and a European financial transaction tax are shifting into the focus of policy makers.
Parallel to this, the evolution of the discourse around eco-social tax and fiscal reform is progressing as instruments to curb environmental degradation, climate change and limiting the consumption of finite and rare natural resources.
Tax Justice, Future Justice and the fulfillment of Human Rights need to be advanced in combination. At our international conference, we want to learn from renowned experts on how to achieve this and debate their proposals.
Invitation and program (pdf, 350 KB)
Bonn Symposium 2012
Paradigm Shift 2015. Towards a New Sustainable Development Agenda
A conference by the Development and Peace Foundation in cooperation with GPF Europe and the United Nations Association of Germany
Deutsche Welle and Haus der Geschichte, Bonn
13-14 November 2012
Over the last decade, the development policy debate has been dominated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This set of development policy objectives has proved to be a very effective tool for public awareness-raising and campaigning on development issues. At the same time, however, the last ten years have also highlighted the weaknesses of a development policy approach which is focused primarily on combating the most extreme forms of income poverty and hunger and meeting communities’ basic needs. In view of the changes taking place in global economic and (power-)political relations – China’s upsurge in significance being an obvious example – the division of the world into “industrialised” and “developing” countries, with an affluent North and impoverished global South, seems increasingly anachronistic. In our ever more interdependent world, countries which were long characterised as “developing” or “emerging” nations are now helping to shape the international policy agendaand bringing their own ideas and concepts to the table. The global power shift, the emergence of new strategic alliances and the growing importance of global public goods are just some of the crucial factors influencing theinternational community’s efforts to negotiate a new development agenda. Some of the emerging countries are themselves now playing a greater role as development actors in other countries and regions of the world – amajor paradigm shift in the global development architecture. These changes bring new challenges and offer new opportunities. Above all, they force us to question the usefulness of development goals which, although formulated at the global level, are mainly relevant to a narrowly defined group of “poor” countries.
In recent years, processes which seek to identify alternative concepts of development and models of prosperity have been initiated at various levels. At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) the international community agreed to develop a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, they will be elaborated in a different organisanional setting to the post 2015 Millennium Development Goals planning process. Aspirations to combine both agendas in the near future were disappointed.
Against this background, the Development and Peace Foundation (SEF), together with the Global Policy Forum and the United Nations Association of Germany, will give a discussion floor to those still demanding and working for a common agenda. The Symposium will explore the fundamental issue of what development will mean in an increasingly complex and differentiated world in future. Which new strategies and forms of cooperation must be developed at the global policy level in response to an increasingly diverse cast of actors and growing global interdependencies? This year’s Symposium will provide a platform here in Germany for the debate – now being conducted with growing intensity by international civil society and policy-makers – about the future of the MDGsand their institutional parameters, and, in particular, will explore the implications for UN institutions and other Bonn-based organisations.
Conference WebsiteProgramme of the conferene (pdf, 640 KB)
Programme of workshops (pdf, 630 KB)
Participation is open to all. Please register by sending an e-mail to gerhardt[ät]sef-bonn.org.
International Workshop
Civil society strategies towards tax justice – what next?
hosted by MISEREOR, Global Policy Forum and terre des hommes
Bonn, Haus der Evangelischen Kirche, Adenaueralle 37, Germany
13 September 2011
With this workshop we would like to take stock of the tax related debates in international fora, particularly the G20, the OECD and the UN; we will exchange views and experiences from various regions and share information about the tax agenda of CSOs in Africa, Asia and Latin America; and we will discuss advocacy priorities and themes for the coming months. Key issues of the joint brainstorming and strategizing will be country-by-country reporting (Dodd-Frank and beyond), measures against tax dodging (lessons from the SABMiller and Glencore cases), and an update of the TJN’s Financial Secrecy Index 2011.
Invitation and Programme (pdf - 70 KB)
Presentations at the Workshop (engl. pdf - 2.8 MB)
International Dialogue
Putting People First: Social Consequences and Policy Implications of the Global Financial Crisis
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastraße 17, 10785 Berlin
19 November 2009
International Workshop: Social and Human Rights Budgeting
9 December 2008
Berlin, Permanent Representation of Bremen
Invitation,Programme and Registration (pdf – 139 KB)
International Seminar
Money may not be everything but...
Civil Society Perspectives on Financing the International Development goals
15-16 October 2007
Bonn, Germany Joint conference by GPF Europe, Social Watch and terre des hommes
Workshop on The Precarious State of Public Finance
29th March 2007, 11.00 am - 6.30 pm
Joint workshop by the DGB-Bildungswerk, GPF Europe and terre des hommes in Berlin
Conference on Global Public-Private Partnerships – Privatisation of Multilateralism?
23rd January 2007, 5.30 - 8.00 pm
Joint workshop by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Global Policy Forum Europe
at the World Social Forum 2007 in Nairobi
Conference on Corporate Accountability: Analysis and Evaluation
28th and 29th of November 2005
Berlin, Germany
Co-organised by terre des hommes, Global Policy Forum Europe, DGB Bildungswerk and weed.
Over the last few years, numerous conferences, studies, political initiatives and international campaigns have taken up the topic of corporate social responsibility and the rights and duties of multinational companies. This energy has now begun to dissipate, as attempts to establish binding rules for multinationals have suffered set-backs. Increasingly, governments and international organizations concentrate instead on emphasizing the positive contribution the business world can make towards solving global problems ranging from violent conflicts to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.
Invitation (German only) - includes programme and venue details
Report (pdf – 1,7 MB, German only)
Media and Information Conference: Before the UN Reform Summit
1st of September 2005
Berlin, Germany
This conference was hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen (The German United Nations Association) and by the Stifting Entwicklung und Frieden (Foundation for Development and Peace) in collaboration with Global Policy Forum Europe. It was a forum for journalists and politicians to hear expert analyses and comments on the topics and problems likely to arise within the negotiations at the UN Millennium+5 conference in September 2005.
Programme (German only)
Conference Report (German only)
Towards a Global Package Deal?
International Workshop in preparation of the UN Millennium+5 Summit
13th and 14th of June 2005
Berlin
This workshop was organised in co-operation with the Friedich Ebert Foundation.
The International Finance Facility (IFF) –
Doubling Aid to Halve Poverty?
31st of May 2005
Berlin
This event was organised in cooperation with VENRO (Verband Entwicklungspolitik Deutscher Nichtregierungsorganisationen).
Programme (German only)
Invitation (German only)
Toward a More Secure World?
The Report of the UN High-Level-Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change
2nd of February 2005
Berlin
Organised in co-operation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and INEF.
Invitation (German only)
Strengthening Coalitions for Social Justice in Europe.
1st European Social Watch Conference
20th - 21st of November 2004
Berlin
Organised in co-operation with DGB Bildungswerk and terre des hommes.
