[INVITATION! CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: APRCEM PEOPLES FORUM 2022]

[Villaney Remengesau]

Dear colleagues from Asia and the Pacific,

Hope this email finds you well. 

We are inviting you all to join us from March 22-25, 2022 for our annual Asia Pacific People’s Forum 2022 titled "Confronting Corporate Power and Demanding State Accountability for Just and Equitable Recovery from the COVID-19 Crises in Asia and the Pacific". This forum aims to serve as an avenue for civil society organizations, peoples' movements, and grassroots sectors and communities to build solidarity, foster sharing, and create a progressive narrative on sustainable development and development justice in the context of the systemic barriers worsened by COVID-19.

For more details, please find attached the concept note and program.

We hope you can be one with us at this event. Should you be interested to join, please register here: http://tinyurl.com/peoplesforum2022

For those who have already registered for the Peoples' Forum through UNESCAP's APFSD registration, we highly encourage you to register through the provided link as well.

Thank you so much and we hope to see you soon!

Kind regards,

Lany

[Villaney Remengesau]

Dear Colleagues:

The Asia Pacific Peoples' Forum 2022, organized by the Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM), provides an inclusive space for discussion and sharing among civil society organizations (CSOs) and peoples’ movements in the region on their positions on key sustainable development issues. The Peoples' Forum carves its space against a backdrop of shrinking civic spaces, widened inequalities, and digital divide brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Forum aims to serve as a platform that harnesses the collective voice of the region's people towards transformative and genuine development that serves the needs of the most marginalized.

Our annual People’s Forum will be held on 22-25 March 2022. The Peoples' Forum titled "Confronting Corporate Power and Demanding State Accountability for Just and Equitable Recovery from the COVID-19 Crises in Asia and the Pacific". This forum aims to serve as an avenue for civil society organizations, peoples' movements, and grassroots sectors and communities to build solidarity, foster sharing, and create a progressive narrative on sustainable development and development justice in the context of the systemic barriers worsened by COVID-19.

Please note this is the structure of our 4-day virtual People's Forum:

Day 1 - 3 hours plenary discussions starting 1PM BKK

The sessions on Day 1 will present the regional people’s realities during COVID-19 (based on the APRCEM demand statement released in 2020), and how systemic barriers are hampering the achievement of the SDGs including progress and setbacks, and the linkages between different processes towards Agenda 2030.

A representative of our Disability Constituency, Ms. Jacqueline Garoau, Co-chair of the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons and Board Member of the Pacific Disability Forum will be speaking on Day 1, Plenary 1, Panel 2. Achieving People’s Agenda and Development Justice Amidst COVID-19 People’s Demands/Resistances. Our representative was based on the recommendation of APRCEM RCC. This panel will discuss the grounded realities on the impact of COVID-19 on diverse constituencies in the region, as well as stories of resistances and initiatives, and present people’s development demands.

Day 2 - 3 hours plenary and breakout discussion starting 1PM BKK

The sessions on Day 2 will unpack the five goals under review and present CSO perspectives on the VNR.

We'll have an opportunity to make an intervention on day 2. It will be presentations of the goals as well as the presentation and discussion from the VNR reporting countries. We can intervene in the presentations of the abovementioned goals. An open forum is to be followed with an agreed discussion and preparation for HLPF. SDG 4 (Quality Education); SDG 5 (Gender Equality); SDG 14 (Life Below Water); SDG 15 (Life on Land); and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Day 3 - self-organized workshops from 9AM to 5PM with 1.5 hours slot each, so on average 1 participant will attend to almost 4.5 hrs of workshop hours for the whole day

The self-organized workshops for this year’s People’s Forum would like to unpack systemic barriers and harness people’s realities and resistance, highlight initiatives and community solutions to the COVID-19 crisis, as well as reframe Agenda 2030 using Development Justice lens through people’s analysis and recommendations.

Peoples’ Workshop Theme 1.0: People's’ Realities and Achieving Agenda 2030: Unpacking the goals under review and current systemic barriers in the time of COVID-19

Peoples’ Workshop Theme 2.0: Demanding Accountability and Actions

Peoples’ Workshop Theme 3.0: Harnessing the Power of Peoples’ Movements for a Fairer, Just and Equitable Asia Pacific

Our Disability Constituency will have a Workshop on Theme 3.0 on March 24 from 300pm to 430pm Fiji time. Kindly refer to the attached Disability Constituency Workshop's concept note and tentative program.

Day 4 - 2 hours parallel meetings in the morning for subregions and constituencies, 4 hours plenary session in the afternoon

On the last day of the People’s Forum, we would like to provide space for the constituencies and sub-regional groups to convene and reflect and plan ahead for the APFSD. The last day also re-affirms the regional CSO positions on Development Justice through approval of the CSO statement, and discusses strategies and ways forward for APFSD and beyond. CSOs and movements can also express their demands through AP-ROR.

This is dedicated time for the sub-regions and constituencies to meet as a group to discuss, prepare and finalize their collective positions for APFSD. This includes updating and/or review of recommendations and outcomes from the sub-regional forums held in 2021. Also, we'll present a CSO Statement and have an orientation to APFSD. Let's not forget to participate in the AP-ROR (Asia Pacific Regional Online Rally)

For more details, please find attached the concept note and program.

We also want to say our Thank You to IDA for its ongoing support to our Asia Pacific Disability Constituency. 

Thank you so much and we hope to see you soon!

Kind regards,

Villaney