Highlights

SW approved its Strategy Document and elected its new Coordinating Committee. These were some of the many things accomplished in the General Assembly held last October in Accra, Ghana. The Assembly, besides approving the strengthening of activities on the regional level and the expansion of the network, reaffirmed the United Nations as the principal target institution for the work of SW and rejected the further empowerment of illegitimate groupings such as the G-8 and G-20.

This month´s “Spotlight On…” column highlights the work of Social Watch Bulgaria, a dynamic national coalition that is helping to spread the Social Watch message of gender equality and social rights for all among the ex-Soviet states in the Eastern and Central European region.

 The global financial crisis which caused in 2009 the most serious global recession in 80 years, together with the difficult debate that is taking place in Denmark on how to prevent global warming, mitigate its impacts, and adapt to its already inevitable consequences, are the two biggest news stories of the year that is about to end.

In Pittsburgh and New York in September, the Social Watch 2009 Report was launched on a global level. The Report, titled People First, underscores the necessity for solid investments that can stimulate the world economy, and the need for thoroughgoing reforms of the world financial architecture, beginning with institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, so that national policy space is respected and there is policy coherence with regards to internationally agreed-upon  norms and commitments.