The Articulación Frente a IIRSA: A Transnational Network
During the 18th and 19th of July, 2005, 29 civil society organizations from a diverse group of South American and European countries and the United States met in Lima, Peru, to make a diagnosis of the current situation of the Initiative for Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA) and outline strategies to address the initiative's most controversial projects.
The group strongly questioned the sustainability of the initiative, and noted the lack of studies, information, transparency and alternatives, and the almost nonexistent role of civil society in the discussions and decisions regarding the more than 335 IIRSA projects.
To confront these threats the "Articulación frente a IIRSA" was created with the following objective: To detain IIRSA and expose the erroneous way in which it is being carried out, thus helping to raise a critical social and political consciousness in the face of IIRSA, while strengthening the capacities for influencing and generating alternative sustainable processes in which another integration is possible.
The Articulación is a broad network of cooperation that seeks to coordinate efforts between its members in the areas of information collection, organization, dissemination and disclosure and capacity building. Members of the Articulación will collect and share knowledge, analysis and experiences about the diverse aspects and activities relevant to IIRSA, such as the monitoring of projects, popular consultations with affected groups and alternative projects. Various commissions will be in charge of coordinating efforts for research, capacity building and campaigns for engagement around IIRSA. The Articulación will maintain a current database of IIRSA projects and will launch a web portal to systematize, analyze and share knowledge about the initiative. BIC collaborates directly with the Articulación through its BICECA project, which supports these efforts in the Andes-Amazon, while the Articulación members work in all regions of South America and are located around the world.
If you are interested in learning more about the Articulación or if your organization wants to collaborate with or join the network, please send a message to: Eric Holt-Giménez of the Bank Information Center at: pnovo@bicusa.org