About Social Watch

1
About Social Watch

• Social Watch, III General Assembly

2
What is Social Watch?

• SW is an international network of citizens
  organizations that monitor their governments
  performance in discharging their international
  commitments to eradicate poverty and achieve
  gender equity.
• SW is made up of more than 60 groups in different
  countries .

3
Through Social Watch

• fora have been created in many countries to
  discuss social development concerns, develop
  advocacy strategies, work with grassroots
  organizations, and lobby government officials.

4
Events have been organized and processes have
been developed

• capacity-building workshops,
• national seminars,
• regional conferences,
• efforts to open global advocacy spaces,
• and alternative methodologies and indicators
• to better inform individual and collective
  understanding of social development commitments
  and policies.

5

• alternative methodologies and indicators have
  been developed
  
• to better inform individual and collective
  understanding of social development commitments
  and policies.
  

6
Such opportunities have served to

• break the isolation of national groups
• provided fora for groups to share experiences
• debate areas of divergence
• develop common positions and mutually reinforcing
  strategies
  
• Open spaces to NGOs and social organizations at
  the international level, etc.

7
In certain countries

• SW coalitions have participated in the
  development of social plans and policies
  
• in addition they have lobbied successfully for
  changes in existing policies and legislation.

8
How does Social Watch work?
9
The basic functioning principles

• were established at its creation in 1995
• were reaffirmed and updated by the first Social
  Watch Assembly in Rome, 2000
  
• and later on in Beirut in 2003

10

• The International Secretariat is to serve the
  nationally-based members and be accountable to
  them through the GA and the CC.
  
• The relation between the secretariat and the
  members is based on clear mutual commitments
  

11

• The secretariat edits and publishes the
  international report,
  
• disseminates it at appropriate international fora
  and
  
• contributes to the capacity building of the
  members.
  

12
The national coalitions

• report regularly on their governments
  implementation of internationally agreed
  commitments in the areas of social development
  and gender
• use those reports as advocacy tools and build
  national coalitions around their findings.

13
Memo of Understanding between national Social
Watch groups and the network (I GA, Rome, 2000)

• 1- based in the country and be active in social
  development issues in the country (not
  exclusively scholars or consultants)

14

• 2- commitment report, ownership of the national
  reports
  
• 3 - use their national report, and the global
  report in lobbying and advocacy activities at the
  national level
  

15

• 4- They should be open to incorporate other
  organisations and work actively to widen
  knowledge about Social Watch and encourage
  participation of other organisations.

16

• 5- They are responsible for raising funds for
  their activities.
  
• National groups do not depend on the
  Secretariat or on any other international SW body
  for their funds nor are they obliged to report
  regarding finances to them.

17

• 6- Each group chooses their own organizational
  structure.
  
• 7- There is a complete incompatibility between SW
  membership and holding government positions.
  
• 8- Cooperation with other national platform at
  the sub-regional, regional and global levels
  should be sought.

18
The International Secretariat

• the networks operation is run by the
  International Secretariat Coordination, based in
  the Third World Institute, Montevideo, Uruguay.
  

19
The International Secretariat is composed by
20
The Coordinating Committee

• The CC is composed by one representative and one
  alternate from each of six regions (Africa, Asia,
  Arab region, Europe, North America and Latin
  America), elected at the GA.
• The Secretariat attends the CC meetings as an
  ex-officio member.

21

• The CC communicates daily through an e-list (in
  English) and meets one or two times a year.
  
• The CCs decisions have so far always been made
  by consensus, both in the e-discussions and in
  the meetings.

22

• The CC is accountable to the membership of the
  network.
  
• The nature and role of the CC was agreed in a
  resolution of the II GA in Beirut, 2003.

23

• The CC will be composed of full regional members
  and their alternates, three members co-opted by
  the CC, and two ex-officio members from the
  Secretariat.
• Existing regional groups within Social Watch
  shall elect the regional members. For the
  elections at the Beirut Assembly there will be
  six regions

24

• composed with sensitivity to gender balance
• renewed according to the following principle
• One third of all elected members shall be
  replaced at each GA with the longest serving
  members being the first to leave each time
  
• In between GAs the CC should provide political
  leadership and guidance and guarantee realisation
  of decisions and goals of GA
  

25
Serve as key political structure

• of the network with the Secretariat as its main
  executive structure
  
• ensure the political visibility and participation
  of the network in relevant spaces and processes

26

• Based on proposals from the members, the CC
  should agree the principal theme for the annual
  SW Report.
  
• Oversee and support the work of the Secretariat
  in between GA

27

• report to the GA
• decide the time and place the GA, (convene every
  two years).

28
Institutional Challenges

• Social Watch, III General Assembly