By Dianne Tangel-Cate
The World Syntegrity Project continues in its third year to engage world citizens in the exploration of how we can govern our world. Through this ongoing "world constitutional town meeting," individuals worldwide have seized the opportunity to express their political will and contribute to a vital world legal consensus. Since the launch of the World Syntegrity Project in 1993, Infosets (Syntegration meetings of about 30 participants each) have taken place in the following locations:The results of all these Infosets are published in the "Collated Statements of Importance," which is available to the global public and will eventually form the basis of a democratic world constitution.
- Burlington, Vermont, USA-July 1993
- Toronto, Canada-July 1993
- New Hartford, New York, USA-July 1993
- Melbourne, Australia-July 1993
- Liverpool, England-July 1993
- Stockholm, Sweden-July 1993
- Greenwich, England-July 1993
- Bogota, Colombia-July 1993
- Swansea, Wales-July 1993
- Amsterdam, Netherlands-July 1993
- Cairo, Egypt-August 1994
- Dhaka, Bangladesh-July 1995
- Freetown, Sierra Leone-August 1995
- Accra, Ghana-August 1995
Many other people around the world want to participate in the World Syntegrity Project. Several would-be organizers who have done a tremendous amount of work, mobilizing participants and coordinating details of their local meetings, run into walls when it comes to procuring the money or materials needed to make their Infosets a reality. (Expenses could include facility rental, supplies, copying/printing, mailing, videotaping, food and stipends for facilitators.)
We appeal to you to step forward now and support the efforts of these Infosetters, many of whom live under repressive regimes and have few options. The following Infosets are currently being organized: . Addis Ababa, Ethiopia-organized by Seleshi Admasu Meherete, a former Ethiopian military captain. Apparently, the present policy of the country is to restrict job opportunities for former armed forces personnel; so, with a wife and son (daughter died), Seleshi is currently unemployed and without any source of income. Over a dozen people in his community are interested in participating in a local infoset.
- Loveland, Colorado, USA-organized by David Lesser.
- Tempe, Arizona, USA-organized by Douglas Carpa.
- Kombolcha, South Wollo, Ethiopia-organized by Mohammed Yimer, a 25-year-old high school graduate from a farming family. This Infoset is actually scheduled for March 3-6. It is planned to include 30 participants and four helpers (which are the recommended numbers for a syntegration). Most are high school students who have enthusiastically corresponded with us.
- Steffisburg, Switzerland-organized by Claudius Schauffler, a proponent of world citizenship since the 1940s.
- Karachi, Pakistan-organized by Muhammad Ashraf, an office clerk for the Karachi Stock Exchange.
- Sahiwal (Punjab), Pakistan-organized by Muhammad Sarwar Saqib, an overseas employment promoter for Sahiwal Enterprises.
- Kyoto, Japan-organized by John Henao, a teacher and counselor who has been sheltering victims from the earthquake of early 1995. He is currently advertising for participants "to get the right people." The infoset will be held at the Kyoto International Community House. The date has not yet been set.
- Manila, Philippines-organized by (name withheld by request), a Serbian refugee (military officer turned war-resister) who had to leave behind a wife and two sons five years ago. He is planning to appear on a local television show to talk about the project. We have had communicating with him because his mail is often confiscated by Philippines postal officials.
- Ljubljana, Slovenia-organized by Mitar Arsen, 50, married, father of two.
- Lagos, Nigeria-organized by Mathew Obata, Esq. His infoset (including at least 40 people) had been scheduled for May 1995, but it was postponed due to political problems. It was tentatively rescheduled to take place before the end of 1995.
- Onitsha, Nigeria-organized by Paul Chukwukorah, president of CEB Complex, Inc., a consulting firm. He has several dozen people mobilized for the Infoset, which he hoped would be held by December 1995.
We continue to receive letters of inquiry daily from potential organizers and participants all over the world. Each independent Infoset is vital to empowering a fully democratic world government; the success of the project is dependent upon the proliferation of Infosets, increasing awareness of popular sovereignty worldwide.
If you are interested in supporting or sponsoring an infoset in a specific part of the world, please let us know. We will provide you with detailed information. Contact the World Citizen Foundation at 113 Church St., Burlington, VT 05401, USA; phone: (802) 660-8998; fax: (802) 864-6878.
We greatly appreciate your consideration and generosity.
Please Heed These Pleas
We frequently get requests from World Syntegrity Project organizers for money (for facility rental, food, supplies, and stipends); photocopying/videotaping/camera equipment and film; typewriters; WSP T-shirts; Garry Davis' books and videotapes; the World Flag; and, of course, World Service Authority documents. Below are just three examples of the predicaments many organizers face:
"Because I already subsist on my labor, I can't cover the cost of postage and communications tax. Now, a great number of letters have been forwarded to me for response. The letters are from many parts of Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa....I am obliged to respond to each letter with clear information on how to have three days of meetings and how to understand the guide in order to be hand-in-hand on Syntegration. To tell you the truth, I lose much money on buying paper and for payment of postage. Then it my daily food is under serious question....
Most of the time I stay in house to distribute letters to our members. My poverty is becoming an obstacle to what to I want to don of behalf of humanity."
Mohammed Yimer
"Would you please make not of our situation in World Citizen News so that we could get support in material? I have received names of people who are registered for the WSP and are living near me. In addition, I have recruited 12 players. These players include those who are:
- not allowed to be employed in any organization due to political reasons;
- engaged in small trade activity;
- students who have completed their education and are jobless.
As you can understand easily, these individuals have no kind of income and few are living on a survival basis. So they cannot contribute.
As you might know, Ethiopia is the poorest country in Africa. We tried our best to set sponsors and donors but unfortunately couldn't get any. So we decided to inform you concerning our situation.... We will try our best to get the tools and supplies by ourselves."
Seleshi Admasu Meherete
"I can tell you, here in Philippines, nobody cares about you if you don't have money. Nobody is supporting me in this effort to be an organizer! How will I find payment for the place where I'm going to organize Syntegrity effort?.I'm trying to organize because I'm world citizen." (Name Withheld by Request)
Bangladesh Infoset Attracts Foreigners
An Infoset held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 20-22, 1995, included an extraordinary number of participants-145! Although we are still awaiting receipt of the Statements of Importance-delayed due to the hospitalization of the organizer, M. W. Faruque, after the Infoset-the following is a report on the historic meeting.Regarding the Syntegrity Project, a seminar was organized under the auspices of Youth Approach for Development and Co-Operation (YADC), beginning 21 July at the National Book Center's auditorium. The main theme of the discussions was "How Can We, Sovereign World Citizens, Govern Our World?"
Various social workers, migrants from Europe, Canada, USA and the Middle East addressed the meeting, attended by both men and women as well as local journalists. Luncheon and soft drinks were provided to the participants and the sessions were photographed and videotaped.
Based on the theme, the meeting discussed 12 issues, grouped by color: Yellow (Poverty and Hunger), Purple (War and Peace), Light Blue (Unemployment and Migration), Black (Illiteracy), Gold (Anti-narcotics, AIDS and STD), Silver (Communication and Solidarity), Red (Environmental Degradation), Dark Blue (Women's Rights), Orange (Population Explosion/Health), White (Ethnic and Minority Affairs and Communalism), Green (Social Justice/Anti-Dowry), Brown (Planning, Development and Sustainable Livelihood).
Due to comprehensive examination of the Collated Statements by the organizer (who was hospitalized), the statements have yet to be prepared. We remain,
Yours very truly,
for Youth Approach for Development and Cooperation
M. S. Kamal, Coordinator (Migrant)
Obaidul Haque, Coordinator
Jasim Uddin, Coordinator (Canada)