| Posted: Jan. 11 2010,18:14 |
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Postal address of organization/institution
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Schepenenplein 38
6224 VX Maastricht
Netherlands
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E-mail address of organization/institution
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info@vrijeconsumenten.nl
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Website address of organization/institution
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www.consumer360.org
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Telephone of organization/institution
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0031 43 3635654
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PRIORITIES: All of the organization's domains of culture of peace activity |
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION
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TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity |
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What
partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus
strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace? |
Partnership
for Education and research about Responsible Living PERL (for
consumereducation) - in cooperation with Consumers International and
the UN Decade for Education in Sustainable Development 2005-2014.
Consumer education will be introduced now by Consumers International
worldwide.
Lots of networks by publishing, going to conferences,
cooperating in working groups and new initiatives, membership of many
different associations, etc etc.
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ACTIONS: What activities have
been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a
report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010
report.
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In
2004 consumers and consumerorganizations came in a current of actions
and publications. Worldwatch Institute published their State of the
World about Consumerism. Now in 2010 again! These years also we could
start working at last, after preparing our exspertise since the
founding of the first ethical bank in 1980 in the Netherlands, the
Triodos Bank that I switched to do research in consumer issues and
consumer organizations.
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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 second half of the
Decade? |
The
whole world stepped into the 21st century of maturity! Since we learned
to think (Renaissance), to discuss in democratic ways (French
Revolution) and to consume (20th century - shop till you drop...) we
now are consumer/citizens with freedom but also responsibility! We are
now co-creators and learn to grow further by trial and error. Lifelong
learning! Now we can experience ourselves the words of Shakespeare: the
whole world's a stage and every human being a merely player!
Annual report 2009
Consumers
and their organizations were asking ever better and more critical
questions, even including the financial aspects of their choices. Trade
organizations and banks as translators of the economy became more and
more aware of their responsibility in the whole process. Producers and
service organizations, including governments and ngo's are in the
middle of transforming towards holistic ways of research, product
development and guarantees, involving nature and all stakeholders.
Towards corporate governance, government governance and consumer
governance, or in other words: all parties are playing their role in
the worldeconomy more and more based on good governance!
The
new standards for sustainable production and trade ISO / DIS 26000 were
published this year and will be introduced in 2010. The fair trade
organizations transformed their common goal into the new World Fair
Trade Organization WFTO this year. Ethical banks decided to work
together in the new group called Global Alliance for Banking on Values.
Consumers International started introducing consumer education on
schools worldwide.
Free Consumers Association
Also
our organization was fully involved in all these worldwide
developments, although on a small catalizing scale of course. We were
asked to give our comments and suggestions for the new ISO 26000
standards. We joined the discussions with World Fair Trade Organization
and Consumers International about harmonizing sustainable hallmarks
worldwide. And we presented our workshop about consumer governance at
the conference of Consumer Citizen Network CCN for consumer education
together with Consumers International and United Nations Decade of
Education in Sustainable Development DESD 2005-2014. The CCN in which
we are partners as well will continue as an advisory organization, now
called Partnership in Education and Research about Responsible Living
or PERL
The Free Consumers Association still works more like a
foundation and as a small catalist organization. The whole information
flow is managed by only one person, especially to indicate that every
consumer can manage his/her own information 360 degrees! THAT was the
initial question asked in 1980 at the start: how can i myself as an
individual consumer become an overview and enough insight in the
complex worldeconomy around me to work for what later would become a
world wide slogan of the World Social Forum: "A better world is
possible!" The one who triggered this research project was the
Nobelprize winner for economics professor Paul Samuelson, writer of the
most famous handbook for economy. He died this year at the age of 94
and will surely be very interested how the world goes on!
Our
office is now in the beautiful south of the Netherlands, in Maastricht.
The city where in 1992 at the Maastricht treaty the decision was taken
to introduce a new coin: the Euro. Our activities in the years to come
will be more and more international. Not only by writing and catalizing
and lobbying, but also assisting in e-learning programmes. Parallel to
that we will go on in developing our research and expertise together
with others in the newly started Consumer360 Academy.
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OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?
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There are no roads without obstacles ...
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to
promote a culture of peace and nonviolence? |
We
will go on as a small catalist and lobby organization for consumer
issues, helping innovative consumer organizations and active consumers.
Cooperation with other organizations in developing e-learning
programmes for consumer education in "consumer governance" and write a
summary about it for Wikipedia to connect with consumers worldwide. We
will go more and more international connecting to other consumer
organizations and initiatives, give lectures and workshops.
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GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??
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About the quality of life.
A consumers' vision
Why
is every producer wrestling for stakeholder-value for stock-owners? Why
is a consumer shopping and hopping to get lowest prices only? Because
everybody is in a desperate fear for not having enough income. And in
fact that is the reason why nobody is really interested in quality
first! In quality of products and services, in the quality of the
labour situation, of fair prices and so on, in sustainability, in
quality of life!
But in fact our income is not an economical
factor but a (human) right! In the same way as for instance two men, a
sick woman and a little child on a Robinson Crusoe Island have to live
of what those two man gather for food! In a globalized world we have to
share our wealth in the same way among all people. Depending on what we
need for our individual development: a reasonable income is a right!
Thus between two dollars a day and ten million a year we've got yet a
lot to discuss about what's reasonable. Haven't we? If we think about
our big world-family as a creation or as a big bang (for dummies)
doesn't matter. One way or another we have to deal with it in a way of
21st century (mature?) consumer/citizens should!
But the word
itself contains the solution already: REASON-able ! In the same way all
social systems are developed on the basis of reasons for what we really
need we have to complete that puzzle also for the last group consumers
among us who are producers as well for 40/168 part of the week
........... And that discussion is now in a current since two years.
Everybody is now discussing about basic incomes and top salaries. But
the puzzle is how we manage that whole spectrum in between? For that we
need the word 'reasonable' to find reasonable solutions! I think. If
those inter-human financial relations are better solved in the near
future then only then everybody can really think about sustainability
and quality in general. Not haunted anymore by values or prices alone!
Peter Daub
consumer360.org
Published
in december 2007 for the conference at Tilburg University in the
Netherlands, which was a follow-up of the OECD conference "beyond GDP",
discussing about how to work from wealth to welfare ...
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