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Organization: vrije consumenten vereniging (free consumers association), vrijeconsumenten.nl
The following information may be cited or quoted as long as the source is accurately mentioned and the words are not taken out of context.
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade?

Since the 9/11 events the whole world came into a rapid of awareness. After the sixties where it all began, the seventies where everybody joined the debates, and the eighties where consumers began to help and to finance new projects, we are now in a phase of professionalizing "consumer governance". After centuries of an economy of question and offering we are now learning to build an economy of questions and answers!
Especially since 2004 consumers realize that they are end-users (and financiers) of all processes. That they are themselves the basis for a culture of peace and nonviolence!
Indicators are the many special reports and initiatives coming up since 2004! The consumer has grown mature into this 21st century. See also the worldwide democratizations and Forums.

OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?

Awareness is a irreversible process. Maturity will always be a learning process in the sense of "education permanente"! We see now that we as consumers and consumerassociations face in "consumer governance" the same problems as in corporate governance and government governance.
Most obstacles in the past were the unawareness untill 9/11, internet, democratization. In practice you see that we had to wait untill our generation of students in the sixties came into the position to put our money where our mouth is!

ACTIONS: What actions have been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?

Six billion individuals are co-responsible for a culture of peace and nonviolence. We all have to learn to ask the right questions to hope for the right answers. How can we help each other?
Like the MIT University in Boston did with "open-course-ware" we placed all our core-knowledge about consumer governance on the internet. A summary of it is on the english page of  www.vrijeconsumenten.nl and later hopefully in an fully english website.







Photos from training of EU consumer unions in Brussels

ADVICE: What advice would you like to give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade?

Tell everybody in the world in a way that Bill Clinton should say: "It's the consumer stupid!"

PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace?

Consumers International (affiliate membership)
BEUC - Europe / Consumentenbond - Netherlands
All kinds of consumer associations
Especially many innovative initiatives
World Social Forum / Dutch Social Forum
World Watch Inst / Triodosbank (co-founder)

PLANS: What new engagements are planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)?

Consumer education in "consumer governance"
via website, lectures, seminars, articles, press releases, joining debates, helping with new developments in innovative consumer initiatives. Especially individual consumers.
(2001 was the foundation year, 2002/3 finishing old tasks and jobs, 2004 the start of interviews articles and seminars. So 2005-2010 and further on we've got a lot of work to do!)

Postal address of organization

Aristotelesstraat 783
7323NS Apeldoorn
Netherlands

E-mail address of organization

info@vrijeconsumenten.nl

Website address of organization

www.vrijeconsumenten.nl

Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace

Understanding, tolerance, solidarity

Second priority action domain of a culture of peace

Education for a culture of peace

Highest priority country of action (or international)

INTERNATIONAL

Second priority country of action (or international)

Netherlands
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Organization: vrije consumenten vereniging (free consumers association), vrijeconsumenten.nl

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