WPE 2008

From Wiki-site

World Parliament Experiment 2008

Bonn/Germany, February 23rd – March 2nd 2008

(Version 2.0 created by Daniela Stoycheva and Boyan Tanev, small modifications done by others organizers of WPE 2008)

1 Invitation
2 Vision
3 Mission and Goals
4 Programme of the WPE 2008 NEW
5 Information for the participants
6 Contact
7 Links
8 More Questions?
9

Invitation

We would like to invite you to the World Parliament Experiment which is going to take place during the week of February 23rd – March 2nd 2008 in the city of Bonn, Germany. Unique about this event is that it has the ambition of being the first of its kind focusing exclusively on the World Parliament Experiment with its own structure and organization. Our aim is together with you to make this live World Parliament Experiment event as international and democratic as possible.

YOU CAN PARTICIPATE BY INTERNET:

Anyone can make, and vote on, motions or proposals for the WPE 2008 Conference. Please help us develop the best proposals and make the best decisions possible for solving our global problems.

Proposals or motions that you want to have included as a part of the WPE 2008 Conference Process should be made by going to the web section entitled: Create Vote. They should be posted under the category entitled: Recent Events which is at the bottom of the list of categories. See: http://www.tgde.org/createvote. However you will have to register or log in before you can create a vote.

Before you vote or make a motion you should also read about how the web voting process and procedures work. So, after reading this you can go back to http://www.tgde.org to get started.

The proposals that are made should either be procedural or they should address Global Issues and provide an effective means for solving them. The proposals and solutions could be implemented at any level; however they should be able to be replicable, in other words they should be able to be carried out either in many places around the world or globally. For example, a cell phone company has installed solar panels and a windmill to power their operations with any extra power being sold to the local community where it was installed. A proposal could thus suggest that a global program be set up to provide and fund such a service in those communities, around the world, that could not otherwise afford it.

In order to focus the discussion and the outcomes of the process, please address one of the following topic areas: a) the situation in Sudan, b) Climate Change, c) Establishing World Democracy, d) Promoting and expanding the use of the World Parliament Experiment website, or e) Achieving the Goals and Mandates of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If you are attending the actual conference in Bonn, then you can also make proposals addressing any topic as a part of the Open Sessions, they could thus be listed as: f) Open Topic.

The theme dealing with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is broad enough to include most people’s proposals. Given that this year is the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration, addressing it will help us to frame our proposals so that they are relevant to governments, civil society, and the interested public. It includes such things as the right to employment, healthcare, housing, food, education, peace and security, and all of our civil and political rights. You can find the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html.

When you Create a Vote or Proposal you will be asked to give it a title. Please make it as descriptive of your proposal as possible. Also, please indicate the topic area that you are addressing by listing the letter and the topic area: a) Sudan, b) Climate, c) World Democracy, d) WPE, e) Human Rights, and f) Open Topic.

Anyone that has a proposal which they would also like to have discussed at the actual WPE 2008 Conference in Bonn, can also email it to Rasmus Tanbergen at rasmus.tenbergen@world-parliament.org, the sooner the better. The WPE 2008 websection is only for discussing and voting on specific proposals. If you want to make more general or philosophical comments, then this should be done on the wiki or in the forum instead.

Thank you for your interest in the WPE 2008 Conference and Process. All of the decisions that are made on the website, as well as at the Conference, will be voted on here before March 16 when this particular WPE 2008 process concludes. You may want to copy or print this page for reference. Now please go to: http://www.tgde.org to get started.

WHAT IS THE WORLD PARLIAMENT EXPERIMENT (WPE)?

The idea of a WPE comes as a part of the debate on democratic world order and how it can be improved. The current forum has the objective to test the viability of an institution (a World Assembly), which to introduce an alternative to the democratic deficit existing today.

The participants in the event will be given the chance to:

- attend lectures by experts on topics on the global agenda such as conflicts, human rights, environment and sustainable development, etc. and participate in the discussions

- test their intellectual, leadership and speaker’s skills in an international environment

- participate in the debate, vote, elect or be elected as representatives in a simulated World Parliament (WP)

- in addition, everyone will be entitled to introduce proposals and amendments which will be incorporated in the agenda as long as they gain the support of the majority of participants.

The simulated World Parliament will be based on the principle “one person – one-vote”, thus leaving it up to you what decisions will be taken as a result.

The experiment will draw upon the experience made during the ISFiT 2007 (International Student Festival in Trondheim, see: http://www.isfit.org/wpe and http://www.tgde.org/isfit), where it was successfully conducted with more than 400 participants from more than 100 countries. Therefore our invitation addresses those who already took part in the ISFiT WPE as well as all other applicants who wish to be part of this extraordinary event. To encourage as much as possible the democratic spirit of the simulation a simultaneous online participation (discussions and voting) at http://www.world-parliament.org will be enabled for those who will not be able to attend the live event but still wish to make their voices heard.

The working language will be English.

Vision

The WPE will create awareness of issues concerning not only our global, but also local communities. It will contribute to the understanding between people by bringing students from many cultures together who in the course of a week will have to work together, discuss and take joint decisions. We expect that live events on the World Parliament Project will bring about a wider discussion on concerns about global democratic world order among people and on the international political stage. Our hopes are that as time progresses such an institution will gain popularity which will consequently bring along legitimacy and formal competencies of its decisions.

Mission and Goals

The organizing group aims by using the lessons learned at ISFIT and the intellectual skills and point of view of each one of the organizers to create such a simulation of a World Parliament which to be based on democratic principles and approachable for people from as many nationalities as possible and give them the opportunity to express their opinion on the issues discussed. In doing this the organizers will at all stages endeavour to uphold the principle that anyone should be able to influence any aspects of the project, if there is enough support.

Programme of the WPE 2008 NEW

	Morning	Afternoon
23.02.Saturday -Arrival Day	All day: Arrival of Participants, Organization of accommodation Place of arrival: Rudolf Steiner School Bonn Aula	1-4pm: Registration 4pm: Opening Session (Welcome, Intro RT, Greetings by Prof.Dr. Wolram Hilz, Managing Director of the Institute for Political Science and Sociology, University of Bonn, Patron of WPE 2008, Fabian Kyrieleis, WPE Speaker and some members of the WPE Organizing Team). Organizational Aspects of WPE 2008 (accommodation and other aspects). 6pm: Informal reception and get-together, organization of accommodation
24.02.Sunday - Get-Together Day	10am: Plenary Session: Background information on different proposals for a World Parliament with Guest Speakers. Discussion and first decision on WPE 2008 philosophy and procedures (see proposals decided by the WPE internet community).	1pm: Get-together-exercise Forming of groups according to political interest, first election of representatives and 2., 3. and 4. representative of the working group 5-7pm: Presentation of first resolution proposals of the WPE political working groups Test vote, confirmation or modification of procedures, confirmation of representatives, election of WPE 2008 facilitation team, first possibilities to announce candidacies for WPE 2008 President and working group chairs First part of of climate change role playing exercise 8pm: Cultural evening: Talent show and cultural presentations from participants (if you want to present something please contact Boyan or Rasmus as soon as possible. A piano is in the room and also people who can play it if necessary)
25.2. Monday - Sudan Day	Note! Place 25-29.02: University of Bonn, Main Building, Lecture Hall 1 9am:Opportunity for informal talks in the University lecture hall 10am: Introduction to Sudan topic,confirmation or modification of ISFiT 2007 resolutions, presentation of proposals for new resolutions, report by WPE 2008 rapporteuers (Andreas Bummel, chair of the campaign for a World Parliament in the United Nations; Daniela Stoycheva, WPE Programme chair)	2- 4pm: Speeches on the topic of Sudan by guest speakers 6pm: Start of parliament discussion on Sudan, followed by opportunity for informal talks, organization of evening activities
26.2. Tuesday - Open Space Day	9am:Opportunity for informal talks in the University lecture hall 10am: First decision on agenda for the day: limitation of time to finish Sudan topic, later: presentation of other topics (policies: for example environment, human rights, poverty alleviation or regional conflicts), second possibility to announce candidacies for WPE 2008 President and working group chairs	7pm: Football tournament Place: Strunk-Halle Bonn
27.2.: Wednesday - Sightseeing Day	9am: Opportunity for informal talks in the University lecture hall 10am: Finish open space discussion and decisions, analysis of the climate change role playing exercise Sightseeing. If the weather is really bad, sightseeing and resolution day can be interchanged
28.2 Thursday - Resolution Day	9am: Opportunity for informal talks in the University lecture hall 10am: Discussion and decision of all resolution proposals which could not be discussed during the open space Final part of the climate change role playing exercise
29.2. Friday - Election Day	9am: Opportunity for informal talks in the University lecture hall 10am: Discussion and decision on WPE 2008 working groups (general organization, next real life meetings, Internet). Third and last opportunity to announce candidacies for and elect WPE 2008 speaker and working group chairs, election of WPE 2008 President	5pm: “State of the World Address” by newly elected WPE 2008 President based on resolutions of WPE 2008
1.3. Saturday - Future Planning Day	Note! Place: Rudolf Steiner School Bonn Aula 11am: Plenary session, organization of working groups, division in groups	2pm: Main working group meetings 5pm: Plenary session, presentation of working group results 8pm: Talent show and cultural presentations from participants (if you want to present something please tell Boyan or Rasmus as soon as possible, ideally before February 28th, a piano is in the room and also people who can play it if necessary) Farewell Party
2.3. Sunday - Farewell Day	11am-1pm: Farewell breakfast, afterwards departure of participants
(3.3. Monday - Internet Day)		1pm: Chat session on: http://cgiirc.blitzed.org/ channel: #globalconfederacy for those who could not come in person and those who came and want to continue to be engaged in WPE 2008

Information for the participants

Do you want to participate?

This is the place to sign-up: http://www.tgde.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1096

Fees

There is no participation fee. The lodging and meals are for free and the organizing group is trying to find sponsorship, so that some participants can also receive travel support. In this way, we want to assure that everyone interested in coming to the event will have the possibility to join it.