War on Want Anniversary Conference
"Globalisation and world poverty: The challenge for the 21st century"
Saturday February 24th, 10am-5pm
University of Westminster, New Cavendish Street, London W1
Featuring keynote speakers Clare Short MP, Larry Elliott, Jyoti Mhapsekar & Giampiero Alhadeff

Quite why Clare Short is on the panel is a mystery to me. As "Secretary for International Development" her role within the Cabinet is to undermine the development of poor countries. She's a hard line right-winger committed to neoliberalism, the WTO, IMF/World Bank and corporate interests uber alles.

She has repeatedly claimed that anti-globalization protesters are protectionist priviledged people who use mobile phones and the Internet to organize protests and don't want people in developing countries to benefit from these things, and that people in developing countries want more globalization (!)

Of course, she knows this is all bollocks. Since there are no rational arguments for neoliberalism other than "Fuck the poor" (views of this nature are confined to financial conferences), scumbags like Clare Short have to resort to lies like this.

So get the fuck down to the War On Want conference and ask her some very difficult questions. And don't accept her neoliberalist bullshit if she dismisses you, shout at her and if necessary use tomatoes as debating tools. Don't forget she's a cold-blooded murderer.

Tickets for the conference are £5 and can be ordered on 020 7620 1111, or by emailing  mailroom@waronwant.org. If you need a crash course in why neoliberalism is so bad, download Michel Chossudovsky's excellent speech 'Th Globalization Of Poverty' from www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=936.


Here's the programme:

10:00-10:30 Registration and coffee

10:30-10:40 Welcome address (Liz Philipson, Chair of War On Want)

10:40-11:20 Fighting World Poverty - The challenges of the next decade (Larry Elliott, Economics Editor, The Guardian) followed by questions

11:20-11:40 coffee


11:40-12:45 Workshops. Choose one from:

A) Supporting workers’ rights - the best response to globalisation? (Giampi Alhadeff, Director SOLIDAR; John Evans, Trade Union Advisory Committee of the OECD)

B) The Tobin Tax - simplistic slogan or global opportunity? (Speaker from ATTAC, France; Steve Tibbett, War on Want)

C) Globalisation - reform or radical rethink? (Jeremy Corbyn MP; Colin Hines, author 'Localisation: A Global Manifesto)

D) Ethical trade, fair trade or no trade. What's the best way to help the poor? (speakers to be confirmed)

E) Child labour. Eradicate or alleviate? (Jyoti Mhapsekar, Ragpickers Project Bombay; Catherine Matheson, War On Want)


13:30-14:30 Skills and information workshops:

A) Discussing globalisation in the trade union movement

B) Campaigning for the Tobin Tax

C) Discussing globalisation in the election campaign

D) Globalisation and the media

E) Colombia - US imperialism continues

F) Western Sahara - what hope for a referendum?


14:30-15:45 Plenary session. Globalisation and development

Chair: Victoria Brittain (Deputy Foreign Editor, The Guardian)

Keynote speakers:

Rt Hon Clare Short (Secretary of State for International Development)

Jyoti Mhapsekar (Director Bombay Ragpickers Project)

Giampiero Alhadeff (Director SOLIDAR)

Followed by debate


15:45-16:00 tea

16:00-17:00 Formal AGM Business for War on Want members