May 2007
Dear friends of Philippine Liberalism,
The election campaign is entering the home stretch, sadly accompanied by
mounting violence. The nature of campaigns is changing with TV and radio
replacing big rallies. Policy debates remain rather limited, but some local
races have started to grip the imagination of the wider public. Citizens groups
are active to ensure a clean count. That's where the democratic spirit of the
country shines brightly.
Meanwhile, the liberal Foundation has continued to work on its educational
mission. For the first time, we conducted an online seminar open to people from
the whole Southeast Asian region. The most active participants were then
invited to an intensive workshop in Bohol, Philippines. The topic was
globalization symbolic indeed for this new form of political education and
dialogue!
A very different learning experience was offered by the Ateneo Human Rights
Center. We supported its immersion program for law students. The program gives
students from elite schools of the Philippines a chance to experience the
reality that the poor live in, and to learn about the legal problems that the
poor face on a regular basis. Experience has shown that such an exposure to a
different reality has a transforming influence on most students. Many former
participants have become alternative lawyers and have dedicated their
professional careers to work for better access to justice for the poor.
ASEAN is busy drafting its charter at the moment. It was therefore important
for the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism to get together for a
strategic planning workshop in Manila to see how best to advance its issues
during this window of opportunity. After 12 years of patient work, a
breakthrough appears possible.
Lastly, I was invited to speak by the National Democratic Institute for
International Affairs (NDI) on international experiences with youth wings of
political parties. NDI is an American organization which has a similar mandate
to ours. The Foundation has cooperated closely with it in the past, especially
in Asia.
Until next time, stay tuned. Vote wisely!
Siegfried Siggi Herzog
Youth in Politics: How Political Parties Can Attract the Youth
Youth involvement in Philippine politics is still somewhat limited. One of the
reasons is the weakness of political parties, which in turn often do not have
strong youth wings that offer young people an attractive entry point into
politics. This ultimately limits participative democracy in the country. How to
address this issue was the burning question at the Institute for Popular
Democracy and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs forum
How Political Parties Can Attract the Youth on 3 May 2007 at Sulo Hotel,
Quezon City. More:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/news/how-political-parties-can-attract-the-youth.htm
Liberal Leadership Training Goes Online
After two successful Liberal Leadership Training (LLT) seminars on local
government and market economy, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) broke new
ground by offering its latest LLT online from 05 March 01 April 2007. The
chosen topic was Globalization due to widespread interest. Over 50
participants shared their views on the driving forces of globalization, its
impact on poverty and on whether it was more beneficial than isolationism.
Joining the Filipinos were several participants from Malaysia, Indonesia and
Thailand. More:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/news/liberal-leadership-training-goes-online2.htm
Foundation Supports Development of Alternative Lawyers
For the past three years, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) has supported
the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) in offering law students an alternative
break through its summer internship program. This program exposes students to
different sectors which are vulnerable to human rights abuses in the
Philippines. These sectors include: indigenous people, women and children,
laborers, farmers, environmentalists and inmates. The AHRC internship program
aims to concretize justice and develop alternative lawyers to serve in the most
needed sectors of the country. More:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/news/foundations-supports-alternative-lawyering.htm
ASEAN Writes a Charter Will It Cover Human Rights? The Working Group holds
strategy meeting
The Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (Working Group) held a
strategy workshop in Manila from 21-22 March 2007. Sponsored by the Friedrich
Naumann Foundation (FNF), it comes at a time of substantial progress. ASEAN s
Vientiane Action Programme incorporated human rights concerns in its agenda and
produced a commitment to work on the rights of migrant workers and the rights
of women and children. Next came the report of the Eminent Persons Group
outlining an ASEAN charter that was endorsed in the 12th ASEAN summit in Cebu:
it included the promotion of human rights in the list of objectives of ASEAN
and suggested that the idea of having an ASEAN human rights mechanism should be
further explored. Now the process is in the hands of the High Level Task Force
(HLTF) of senior ASEAN officials who are actually drafting the charter. More:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/news/asean-writes-charter-for-human-rights.htm
IAF 2007 Report: Depoliticizing the Primacy of Human Rights
Johann Carlos S. Barcena, first place winner of the Ateneo Human Rights Center
and Foundations essay writing contest on whether the universality of human
rights requires a particular type of democracy, is back from attending the IAF
Human and Civil Rights seminar in Germany. Read his insights on why the state
is a necessary good and a tool for the preservation of human rights and not for
its suppression:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/seminars/reports/human-rights-and-civil-rights-jan-barcena.htm.
Read up on the rest of the winners and their essays:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/news/human-rights-essay-winners.htm
IAF 2007 Program
The International Academy for Leadership offers new training programs for 2007
such as Equity and Justice and Political Communication in the IT Age. It
also continues to offer its popular seminars on human rights and the basics of
liberalism. Three online seminars are also offered. Please send CV's and
application letters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] More:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/seminars/2007-iaf-program.htm
Liberal Leadership Training: Globalization
Alexandra Cuyegkeng and Siegfried Herzog take you with them to Panglao Island,
Bohol where the Foundation conducted the offline part of its online seminar on
globalization from 22-26 April 2007. Listen to excerpts from a debate on
globalization and human rights along with parts of a discussion on whether a
benevolent super power, a concert of powers or strengthening the United Nations
would be the best future system of governance in a globalized world. Includes
candid insights from several participants on globalization and what their next
steps are after the seminar. http://www.fnf.org.ph/podcast/index.html
Friedrich Naumann Foundation Philippines
Makati Central Post Office Box 3196 Makati City, 1271 Philippines
Tel.: + 632-840 3728/29
Fax: + 632-810 3189
Website: www.fnf.org.ph
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