X. Second Stage (May - October 2003) and Follow-up to the Project

How do we move from a simple Internet-based discussion to generating a world citizens’ movement having nothing less, as its ambition, than the institution of international democracy by establishing a World Parliament? In addition to that, how can we organize in the most open and democratic way possible, without exclusion, “making our way as we go,” and always striving to find the appropriate measures of modesty and emergency?

Here is what the ultimate, nearly ideal raison d’être could be for this electronic community, which, as a citizens’ experience, had only been planned for a six-month period ending in early May 2003 with a summary file – the very one you are reading now – meant to serve as inspiration for the constitution of similar future experiences.

In fact, thanks to the determination expressed by many participants and to the decision of part of the facilitation team to carry on with this adventure, we quickly renamed the first six months to be a "first stage" of the forum (October 2002 - April 2003), while a second stage is taking place as we write (July 2003): ideas and projects are circulating for follow-up now, and in the short, medium, and long term. This file has therefore become the first chapter of a story, the end of which we still don’t know.

A Second Stage Highly Committed to Exploring the Immediate Future

To the diversity of countries (more than 70 represented by our participants), professions, generations, ideologies, and points of view… we need to add a very important “strategic diversity,” which has placed us before several visions, not only of a World Parliament but also of how to succeed in its construction from the present context, or even of what future project or projects to design for this forum, without forgetting that this is only a very small initiative. Reaching an agreement among all or a lot of us in these conditions has thus turned out to be a major challenge, which we must tackle progressively with, or even thanks to our modest means.

In this spirit, the thematic agenda of this second stage was intended to maintain a balance between enlargement to new participants and the search for enough convergence so we may make progress, after all these months of a very rewarding flow of ideas. The agenda is set for a stage that is in itself “intermediate,” pending a future definition of the project and the provision of new funding.

Thus, May and June were devoted to new introductions and a new discussion on values, while in July, August, and September the aim is to reach an agreement on the form of deliberation, as well as on the writing of a manifesto or a charter to act as the foundation of the group. Although the present practice of the forum – half-way between a “chat” and a deliberative work group structured with precision – has led to parallel discussions on these various subjects, there is progress nonetheless, little by little, on this agenda.

Here is a list of possible scenarios of the project in the immediate future, on which several of us are working and thinking:

 Institution of geographically specific forums (in Spain, France, and Indonesia, in the Arab World, in Catalonia) and preparation of regional meetings (in Africa and in Latin America), which could precede a world meeting at the next World Social Forum (Mumbai, India, January 2004) or at a proposed international meeting on world democracy, and which could also be meetings for the preparation of future regional citizens assemblies.

 A practical, Internet-based deliberation and voting system that will allow us to make progress on our decisions and at the same time have the actual debate continue at the heart of our project without falling into the trap of rivalries in our decisions.

 A future distribution of tasks according to the fluctuating availability of our participants: from the elaboration of a list of grievances to the constitution of theme-based, well-structured task forces commissioned to make decisions on key subjects such as funding, research, visibility, the writing of documents… from the invitation of experts and men in key fields to help us progress in important areas through to the experimentation of the first people’s consultations.

 Concrete collaboration with other groups working toward similar ends, among others by setting up specific discussion lists that would be part of a future network.

 Funding proposals.

Opening the Box of Utopias and Letting Them Fly off to Fertile Soil

The immediate future remains open to each of these routes and others. The increase in the number of participants and messages per day clearly shows that among the inhabitants of the planet there is a sensitivity to the subject we are concerned with, as well as a will to act. It also gives us a first “legitimate” image despite the present limits of the initiative with regard to its ambition.

Otherwise, the objective is precisely to open the box of Utopias and to let them fly off to germinate in fertile soil. We wish at all costs to leave the circles of idealists and meet a larger number of fellow citizens and share our will to act for another kind of world. As a group whose aim is to seek world democracy, we would not be able, then, to maintain our specificity facing other movements and other projects: we would then become a vessel or “meeting point,” modestly persisting in sharing everything, by allowing, thanks to these "multi-band" exchanges, the construction of an strategic projection shared by civil society and citizens. In this post-ideological age, we need to put fidelity to people in its right place, i.e., above the importance given to individual ideas and projects, to move toward democracy step by step, thanks to the broadest possible global social pact that will serve to lay the foundations of the World Parliament, for a fairer and more peaceful world.

Germà Pelayo

WP21 Forum Facilitation Team

A World Parliament for the Twenty-first Century