By Convivialist Network
What can convivists convivialists wish for and wish for themselves for 2021? The same things as the largest number of people on this earth:
Less than a year after its publication in French (in February 2020 with the publishing house Actes Sud) the Second Convivialist Manifesto has already been translated into German, English, Brazilian and Italian. Translations into Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese are imminent. Translations into Arabic and Japanese are being considered (they would be more than welcome).
Already, in connection with two or three dozen global citizen goodwill networks (representing millions and millions of people), the convivialists have initiated a project for a world citizen parliament which is intended to embody the moral conscience of humanity and to help raise awareness (Cf. appendix).
Let us therefore hope that in 2021 an embryo of this world citizen parliament will be born. To this end, it will be precious that each of us, in our relations with our relatives, colleagues and friends, in our writings and conferences, should call ourselves convivialists. Under this sign we will win. Perhaps we will…
Humanity is faced with a growing number of problems - health, environmental, economic, social, moral, etc. - and the need to address them. Still, we seem to find it increasingly difficult to analyse and resolve these pressing issues. While there are many reasons for this impotence, it is possible to isolate two main ones:
The first is the rivalry, which is ever stronger today, between states, cultures, religions, etc., which is increasingly difficult to analyse and resolve.
The second, which is closely linked to the first, is that there is no moral authority that is sufficiently legitimate to make a diagnosis that can be shared and propose plausible solutions on a global scale. The UN represents states and can, at best, only organize arbitration between their interests. This is also true of all the international organizations that depend on it, such as UNESCO, WHO, etc., as well as all the major international meetings between heads of state (G7, G20, etc.). The Davos Forum brings together the world's most powerful and wealthiest people, but it only represents them and only aims to ensure their pre-eminence. The IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change)on the other hand is independent and influential, but it is not in a position to propose the economic, social and political changes implied by its climate diagnoses.
It is therefore imperative and urgent to create a moral body with sufficient legitimacy to speak for and from the point of view of humanity as a whole. It is in this spirit that the grouping of international networks, Multiconvergence, has decided, on the initiative of the Convivialist International, to launch a process of creating a World Citizens' Parliament. Multiconvergence, present on all continents, already brings together some fifteen international networks of networks (mobilising millions and millions of people). And many more who will be able to join them very soon. This is not much compared to the nearly 8 billion people in the world, but it is already significant and a sufficient start to this very urgent task.
The following principles (obviously amendable) have been retained:
This Parliament will be bicameral. It will be composed of:
For the Council for the Common Good of Humanity, each of the constituent networks makes proposals, some rather for world citizens, others for religious leaders or intellectuals. Each network will strive for gender parity and a broad representation of countries and continents.
For the Assembly of World Citizens, 240 people (120 in addition to the members of the Council of Wise Men) will initially have to be appointed, and here again, no more than that, to leave room for future new members. Each of the current networks (20) will have the right to appoint 6 people (3 of whom if possible by drawing lots), taking into consideration gender parity and striving for a broad representation of countries and continents, as well as a broad representation of professions and social positions (farmers, workers and employees, unemployed or homeless, civil servants, artists, entrepreneurs, etc.) .
The meetings will be held by videoconference.
The current working languages are English, Spanish, French and Portuguese (Brazil). There will be translators in each of these languages.
Purpose, strengths and weaknesses of the Global Citizen Parliament What would such a parliament work on? What kind of decisions would it take?
It would work on any subject it chose. Both the assembly and the Council for the Common Good of Humanity are separately self-governing. In each of these bodies decisions are taken by simple majority. But to be definitively endorsed, they must be endorsed by the other body. Decisions are made in the form of a proposal that is as short and concrete as possible.
Of course, they cannot be binding. The weakness of Multiconvergence is that it has no financial, media (and even less police, military or mafia) resources. But this is also its strength. No one can suspect or accuse it of working for this or that power. It is only motivated by a concern for the common good of humanity. Its sole aim is to contribute to the shift in world public opinion by making it aware that we are not condemned to impotence. To this end, all Multiconvergence networks are committed to making the existence and decisions of the moral world citizen Parliament known not only to their own members but to the public opinion of all the countries in which they are established.
The networks already present in Multiconvergence :