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GLOBALISATION: Barcelona Forum Yet Another Space for Inequality

Alicia Fraerman

BARCELONA, May 13 2004 (IPS) - The Universal Forum of Cultures is, according to organisers, a space to reflect on the principal cultural and social conflicts that humans face in the 21st century. But obstacles arise each step of the way in keeping this space open to all.

Social inequalities are alive and well at the Barcelona Forum 2004, which opened Saturday and runs 141 days until Sep. 21 in this Spanish city on the Mediterranean Sea. The event’s organisers hope to draw five million visitors, though initial ticket sales have been disappointing.

The social divide is evident in the prohibitive price of the tickets (a real economic barrier for the poor who want to take part in the event), reflected in the statements of panellists in the Forum’s early public dialogues, and in a report presented on the state of the world’s children.

If significant progress is not made before 2015, 56 million children will die poverty-related deaths, and another 75 million will continue without access to education, says the report.

The text produced by the Global Movement for Children was presented by its executive director John Greensmith and by the head of the Britain-based Save the Children organisation, Hill Bell. It was one of the central components of the dialogue titled "One World Today", initiated Wednesday.

Sixteen young people, under 18 and from four continents, are meeting through Friday to discuss the status and outlook of the world’s children.

One of the youths, Tounkara Tambake, of Guinea, spoke out against child labour, and said more than words, action is needed, "because to eliminate child labour we must end poverty, which is its primary cause."

Fifteen-year-old Moroccan Otman Boulmane came to Spain two years ago aboard a precarious little boat of the kind that many immigrants from North Africa use to reach the Spanish coast and elude border patrols.

Boulmane said that in Spain children’s rights recognised by international treaties are often violated. He was forced to choose between working and studying, and opted for the former, working in the black market in order to survive and to send home some money to his mother, a widow, back in Morocco.

All of the minors agreed that fighting for peace is a top priority. Nazly Cubillos, of Colombia, where armed conflict has extended over the past four decades, said, "Where there is violence and war is where human rights are most systematically trampled, and children are the ones who suffer most."

Cubillos, from the western city of Cali, dreams of studying medicine and building two hospitals: one for "poor people" and the other for those who have money. "That way with the income from one, the health services are paid for the people in the other," she explained.

Fatmire Feka, 16, co-founder of "Children for Peace" in the autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo, recounted how she lost two of her siblings and her house was burned down in the war in her country. "I would be happy if in this world different ethnic groups could coexist, as if there were different flowers, but all of them very beautiful."

Social inequalities were an issue taken up by renowned Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, who arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday to take part in the panel discussions.

Galeano said there is "a brutal imbalance" between the reality and the dreams of the vast majority of the world population. To build true democracy, common sense is needed. "But common sense does not have voice or vote," he said.

The author of the trilogy "Memory of Fire" cited the example of the United Nations, "where the five countries that produce and sell the most weapons (United States, Russia, China, France and Great Britain) are the ones who hold veto power in the Security Council."

In reference to the U.S.-led war against Iraq and to other countries overwhelmed by violence, Spanish philosopher Rafael Argullol said: "We find ourselves trapped between those who kill and those who commit suicide in the name of God and those who identify themselves as ‘good’ and consider themselves authorised to kill and to torture."

The thematic pillars of the Forum are sustainable development, cultural diversity and building peace. Furthermore the organisers have posted a sort of ecologist auto da fe on the event’s web site. But some aspects of the organisation reveal the persistence of the social divide.

In addition to the shortfall in predicted ticket sales, critics point to several other weak points of the Barcelona Forum, such as the ban on bringing food or beverages – including water – into the 30-hectare event site.

There are also protests against the rule that prohibits leaving and returning to the event site on the same day without paying for another admission, another 21-euros (25 dollars).

There are also complaints from visitors about the lack of places to seek refuge from the sun or the rain.

"This has been thought out for people with a lot of money, for those who don’t mind spending 50 or 100 dollars for each member of the family who wants to come," Rosa María, who lives near the Forum venue, told IPS.

She was trying to decide whether to eat lunch at home and not return, or "fast" in order to pass the rest of the day there without spending any more money.

Jordi Oliveras, the Forum’s director general, announced that the problem would be corrected at least partially. Beginning Saturday, visitors can bring in food and beverages, though "we will try to prevent the Forum from becoming a picnic zone."

Participation in seminars, dialogues and conferences also cost money.

Some of the least expensive run 35.7 dollars, while others, like the World Meteorological Conference in communications media, cost 535 dollars, the Parliament of Religions, 309 dollars, and the World Volunteers Conference, 357 dollars. Plus a daily 75-dollar admission fee for these three-day events.

Critics also point to the lack of dialogue in the programme activities that bear precisely that name: Dialogues.

The first of the 49 scheduled dialogues took place Tuesday and was presided by King Juan Carlos of Spain, who spoke about the situation in Europe. More than half of the seats were empty and there was no debate or questions or any participation from the audience.

The Forum, sponsored by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), is financed by the Catalonian authorities and Spain’s major corporations.

The Forum spent 2.1 billion dollars on infrastructure and another 386 million on "content" – entertainment, including concerts by Sting and Bob Dylan; speeches by international figures; and an array of cultural shows.