News from the world of NGOs

The Commonwealth Foundation is organising a Commonwealth People's Forum (CPF) that will take place from November 18-22, 2007, at the Africana Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. This will coincide with the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting there.

The CPF, which provides a forum for civil society organisations, will see more than 500 delegates of more than 200 NGOs at the meet. The theme this year is: Realising People's Potential. There will be 20 parallel workshop sessions.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, an international NGO, will be organising the Commonwealth Human Rights Forum (CHRF). One of the key events in the CHRF will be the launch of its biennial report, "Stamping out Rights "" The Impact of Anti-Terrorism laws on Policing".

Action 2007 wants say in rehab policy
Action 2007, which brought together several people's movements against land acquisition issues this year, has held talks with members of the Group of Ministers on Rehabilitation Policy and also with members of the Planning Commission.

GoM members Sharad Pawar and Raghuvansh Prasad have agreed to hold talks with the affected people before finalising the policy. The people's movement represented by Action 2007 has rejected the present rehabilitation policy draft and demanded scrapping of the Land Acquisition Act and the SEZ Act.

The delegation was led by Medha Patkar. It demanded a participatory approach with full consent of small units of self-governance, Gram Sabhas in rural areas and Basti Sabhas in urban areas, according to Article 243 of the Indian Constitution as well as laws like PESA and the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Minister of Planning Rajashekharan assured the delegation that the Planning Commission would organise a series of national and regional consultations on the rehabilitation issue.

Protect people's knowledge
A national consultation organised by NGOs Grain, the Development Society and Kalpavriksh has warned the government against linking community knowledge to any national database on traditional knowledge saying that it would offer the rich heritage of the Indian people to the predatory corporate interests.

The consultation has also demanded that any such documentation must be designed and led by communities and given legal and other protection against theft and misuse through "biopiracy".

People from 10 states participated in the workshop at Pastapur Village in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh last week. The Centre has proposed a nationwide documentation of indigenous knowledge on biodiversity in tune with the National Biodiversity Act, 2002.

The National Biodiversity Authority, the apex body under the Act, leads this activity by facilitating the creation of biodiversity management committees in every panchayat of the country, and each such BMC is mandated to create a People's Biodiversity Register, which will be the documentation of the community knowledge on biodiversity.

NGOs get donation worth Rs 8.5 lakh
Around 13 NGOs of the CIOSA (Confederation of Indian Organisations for Service and Advocacy) received Rs 8.5 lakh grant out of the money received as donation during Chennai Sangamam, held in February.

The cheques were given away by Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi. The CIOSA serves as a facilitative platform, where NGOs, firms and individuals with social concerns come together for mutual learning and sharing.