UNPACKING PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

Transcription

1 UNPACKING PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY From practice to theory and from theory to practice 1

2 ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP The last three decades have seen the almost universal endorsement of democracy as the only acceptable form of governance. It no longer needs to be argued that transparency, accountability and participation should then be important defining and guiding principles for democratic governance. While political leaders seemingly swear by these democratic principles, citizens across the world have been struggling and campaigning to move beyond the rhetoric of these potentially powerful concepts, to apply them in practical and meaningful ways in their interaction with State, and even non-state powers. Of the three, participation is central to real democracy, while it remains its biggest challenge. Democracies are being taken over by structures of representation. People on the other hand, feel a growing sense of alienation from decisions taken by elected representatives acting on their behalf. The nature of peoples campaigns and struggles for democratic rights have changed. Today, those fighting for transparency and accountability demand participation in all spheres of governance and decision making. However, this has to be realized through practical and actionable entitlements which empower both citizens and the concept of citizenship; which are the real touchstone of sovereignty and legitimacy. As ordinary people assert their citizenship, it has become clear that democratic participation has to be unpacked and detailed step by step, so that it is connected to theory, law, policy and practice. 2

3 OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN OF THE WORKSHOP The workshop being planned and organized by Aruna Roy, the 2016 Professor of Practice for Global Governance at McGill University, Canada, comes at a time when there is serious need for reviewing democratic practice. This is a forum to discuss, debate, understand and learn from contemporary theories and practice, to place people at the centre of democratic governance. Drawing on the position of the Professor of Practice, this workshop is titled Democratic Participation: From Practice to Theory and from Theory to Practice. The workshop has been in two complimentary parts, in McGill in Canada and now, in Kerala in India. The workshop at McGill, Montreal in November 2016 brought together theorists and practitioners of participatory democracy to reflect on the contemporary crisis in democratic practice. It looked at the powerful concepts of transparency and accountability in defining the participation of people in democracy. The second workshop being held in the State of Kerala, India is in the context of Asia. It will bring together practitioners and theorists of participatory democracy to reflect on the contemporary crisis in democratic practice. It will look at the powerful concepts of transparency and accountability in defining the participation of people in democracy. 3

4 PROGRAM IN GLOBAL GOVERNANCE Funded by the Erin Jellel Collins Arsenault Trust This conference is part of the Program in Global Governance at the Institute for the Study of International Development at McGill University. The Program was created in 2013 to address challenges in contemporary world politics by exploring new, practical ways of improving global governance. Based at ISID in the Faculty of Arts, the Program is a collaborative effort with the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism in the Faculty of Law. It represents a bold attempt to marry the research and intellectual power of McGill University with the most innovative efforts by leaders from the public, private and non-profit sectors to design new forms of governance that are more appropriate for our new global circumstances. Given the complexities that global governance necessarily entails, this Program defines global governance as the formal and informal rules and practices designed to promote sustainable, inclusive development and democratic governance. While such rules and practices would typically be applicable at the supranational and transnational levels, they may also include local or national experiments which demonstrate the potential for wider application. Generously supported by the Erin Jellel Collins Arsenault Trust, the Program in Global Governance has three main components: Professors of Practice in Global Governance, Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Global Governance, and ISID s Speaker Series. This year, the Program in Global Governance is pleased to welcome and support, as the Professor of Practice in Global Governance, Aruna Roy, the main organizer of this conference. 4

5 AGENDA (Tentative) This Agenda is based on the list of participants who have accepted so far. The workshop is divided through 3 days, and consists of plenary sessions as well as several simultaneous breakaway sessions each day. A 30-minute period at the end of each session allows for questions and responses. 5

6 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY :30 9:15 am 9:15 9:30 am 9:30 10:10 am Registration (please be seated immediately after registration so that the program may commence on time.) Recollection of Unpacking Democracy, Montreal (Screening) Inaugural Session Welcome: Satyajeet Rajan, Director General, Institute of Management and Governance, Kerala Sonia Laszlo, Director, Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID), McGill University, Canada, will introduce ISID and the Workshop Naurti Devi, Vice-President, School for Democracy and ex-sarpanch, Harmara, Ajmer District, Rajasthan Inauguration: Shri Thomas Isaac, Minister of Finance, Government of Kerala S.M.Vijayanand, Chief Secretary, Kerala will preside and comment on the workshop 10:10 11:00 am 15 min. 30 min. 5 min. Plenary 1 Scope of the workshop: Aruna Roy Keynote address: Gopal Gandhi, intellectual, writer and diplomat; Former Governor, West Bengal Comments and Vote of Thanks: Satish Deshpande, Professor of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics. He will also moderate the session 6

7 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY :00 11:15 am 11:30 1:30 pm Tea Session 1: Beyond The Vote; Participation In Democracy Breakaway Session 1A: People s Plan and Budget (Planning And Budget) Introductory speaker: V.S. Senthil, Indian Administrative Service Kerala cadre, Additional Chief Secretary, Planning & Economic Affairs Department; Member Secretary, Kerala State Planning Board Yamini Aiyer, Senior Research Fellow and Director General of Accountability Initiative Subrat Das, Executive Director of Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, India Mridula Eapen, Member, State Planning Board, Kerala Praveen Jha, Professor at Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University Moderator: Satish Deshpande, Professor of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics 7

8 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 1B: Empowering the Unheard; Public Hearings Kathyayani Chamraj, NCPRI Shankar Singh and Janani Sridharan, MKSS Kanak Mani Dixit, Nepali publisher, editor and writer. He is the founder of the magazine Himal Southasian and cofounder of Himal media Suchi Pande, Scholar in Residence, Accountability Research Center, American University, Washington D.C., U.S.A. Moderator: Mamta Jaitley, Founding Member of Vividha Features; Editor Ujala Chadi 8

9 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 1C: Including the Excluded: Understanding the Other Platforms for constructive dialogue, disagreement and dissent Anand Teltumbde, management professional, writer, civil rights activist, and political analyst Teesta Setalvad, Secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace Osama Manzar, Founder and Director, Digital Empowerment Foundation Vijayan M.J., Programme for Social Action Tripurari Sharma, National School of Drama Jyothi Krishnan, TISS Kerala Moderator: S. Anandalakshmy, eminent educationist 1:30 2:30 pm Lunch 9

10 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY :45 4:45 pm Session 2: The Journey of People s Sovereignity through Representation; Parties, People and Parliament Breakaway Session 2A: Electoral Processes: Election and Electoral Reforms Trilochan Sastry, Professor of Quantitative Methods and Information Systems at IIMB Tarak Bahadur K.C., Deputy Executive Director, Nepal Staff Administrative College A. Shahjahan, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Kerala cadre Naurti Devi, Vice-President, School for Democracy; ex-sarpanch, Harmara, Ajmer District, Rajasthan Vipul Mudgal, Director of Common Cause Moderator: Shiv Visvanathan, Professor at O.P. Jindal University, Sonepat 10

11 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 2B: Citizen Engagement with Parliamentary Processes and Procedures Venkatesh Nayak, Program Co-ordinator, Commonweath, Human Rights Initiative Annie Raja, General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women Anjali Bhardwaj, Founder, Satark Nagarik Sangathan, Delhi V. K. Baby, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Kerala cadre Moderator: John Harris, Professor, School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada 11

12 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 2C: Independent Commissions Wajahat Habibullah, former Minorities and Information Commissioner Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of People s Watch Vinson Paul, Chief Information Commissioner, Kerala Sayed Akram Afzali, Integrity Watch Afghanistan Shekhar Singh, Environmental Activist, Foundermember and former Convener of the NCPRI Moderator: Sonia Laszlo, Director ISID 4:45 5:00 pm Tea 12

13 DAY 1: MONDAY 30 th JANUARY : pm Plenary 2: Culture and Democracy Tripurari Sharma, Professor at the National School of Drama and Founding member of Alarippu, will introduce the topic and coordinate the session T.M. Krishna, eminent Carnatic music vocalist and writer Sangeetha Sivakumar, eminent Carnatic music vocalist Shankar Singh, MKSS Charul Bharwada and Vinay Mahajan, Founding members of Loknaad, well known creators of popular movement music MBS Choir, Kerala 13

14 DAY 2: TUESDAY 31 st JANUARY : am Plenary 3: Planning and Local Self Government T.M. Thomas Isaac, Minister of Finance, Kerala John Harriss, Professor, School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada Rakesh Jain, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, India K.T. Jaleel, Minister for Local Self Government of Kerala CK Mathew, Former Chief Secretary, Rajasthan; currently Senior Fellow and Head, Public Policy and Research Group, Public Affairs Centre, Bengaluru Moderator: S. Parasuraman, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India; Professor, School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada am Tea 14

15 DAY 2: TUESDAY 31 st JANUARY :30 1:30 am Session 3: The Importance of Oversight in Democracy Breakaway Session 3A: Transparency in the Pre-legislative Process and in Political Parties Rakshita Swamy, Fellow, Transparency and Accountability Himanshu Damle, Public Finance Public Accountability Collective (PFPAC) Mouleshri Vyas, Professor, Centre for Community Organisation and Development Practice, School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai Jagdeep Chhokar, Former Professor, IIM Ahmedabad and Founding Member, Association for Democratic Reforms K.N. Harilal, Professor,Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Moderator: Vipul Mudgal, Director of Common Cause 1:30 2:30 pm Lunch 15

16 DAY 2: TUESDAY 31 st JANUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 3B: The Power of Public Audit and Supreme Audit Institutions (C&AG and Social Audit) Sowmya Kidambi, Director of Society for Social Audit Accountability and Transparency (SSAAT), Telangana Shohini Sengupta, Assistant Professor. Centre for Community Organisation and Development Practice, School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai Rakshita Swamy, Fellow, Transparency and Accountability Neten Zangmo, ex Chairperson, Anti Corruption Commission, Bhutan Rakesh Jain, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, India Moderator: Amitabh Mukhopadhyay, Former Director General, C&AG of India 16

17 DAY 2: TUESDAY 31 st JANUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 3C: Judicial Accountability Usha Ramanathan, Independent law researcher Cheryl D Souza, CJAR Ragini Ahuja, Lawyer and Legal Activist Shailesh Gandhi, Former Information Commissioner, CIC Moderator: Babu Mathew, Pioneer of National Law Institute University (NLIU), Former Country Director of Action Aid, India 1:30 2:30 pm Lunch Field visit to see participatory democracy in action: Peoples Plan, Kudumbashree 17

18 DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 1 st FEBRUARY : am Plenary 4: Examining the Role of People s Movements and Campaigns and the Threat to Constitutional Principles Annie Raja, General Secretary, NFIW Kamayani, Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, Bihar S.P. Udayakumar, Convenor, Peoples Movement against Nuclear Energy Fredrik Galtung, President, Integrity Action, London, UK Bezwada Wilson, Founder and National Convenor, Safai Karamchari Andolan Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, JNU, Delhi Shiv Visvanathan, Professor at O.P. Jindal University, Sonepat Anand Teltumbde, Management professional, writer, civil rights activist, and political analyst Jagdeep Chhokar, Association for Democratic Reforms Moderator: Harsh Mander, Director, Centre for Equity Studies 18

19 DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 1 st FEBRUARY am 1:00 pm Session 4: Accountability to the People/ Making Power Truthful Breakaway Session 4A Bureaucratic Accountability Yashomati Ghosh, Senior Assistant Professor, National Law School Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, JNU, Delhi Anjali Bhardwaj, Satark Nagarik Sangathan, Delhi Shaheen Anam, Manusher Jonno Foundation. MJF is a big network of organisations working on human rights, entitlements and governance issues. They led the campaign for RTI law, Bangladesh Harsh Mander, Director, Centre for Equity Studies T.K. Jose, IAS, Kerala C.K Mathew, Former Chief Secretary, Rajasthan. Currently Senior Fellow and Head, Public Policy and Research Group, Public Affairs Centre Moderator: Satyajeet Rajan, IAS, Kerala 19

20 DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 1 st FEBRUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 4B: Digital Technology/Demystifying Technology Rakesh Dubbudu, National Campaign for People s Right to Information Rosamma Thomas, Journalist, Rajasthan Usha Ramanathan, Internationally recognized expert on Law and Poverty, Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies Gautam Bhan, Indian Institute of Human Settlements Anita Gurumurthy, Founding Member and Executive Director of IT for Change Moderator: Nikhil Dey, Member of MKSS, NCPRI, and CJAR 20

21 DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 1 st FEBRUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 4C: Weapons of the Weak: Facilitation, Techniques and Methods for Accountability Fredrick Galtung, Integrity Action, UK Mashqura Fareedi, Amnesty International Inayat Sabhikhi, NCPRI Mouleshri Vyas, Professor, Center for Community Organization and Development Practice, School of Social Work, TISS, Mumbai Abey George, TISS Kerala Poornima Chikarmane, SNDT Women s University at Pune; Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat Moderator: Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, JNU, Delhi 21

22 DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 1 st FEBRUARY 2017 Breakaway Session 4D: Looking Back on 10 Years of RTI in India Pradeep Kumar Pradhan, NCPRI Kamal Tank, RTI Manch Joykumar, NCPRI Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, NCPRI Balvinder Singh, NCPRI Pankti Jog, Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel Anjali Bhardwaj, NCPRI Anil Galgali, RTI Activist, Maharashtra Moderator: Shailesh Gandhi, Former Information Commissioner, CIC 1: pm 2:15 2:30 pm Lunch Nikhil Dey will present the Accountability Bill prepared by the Suchna Evam Rozgar Abhiyan Rajasthan 22

23 DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 1 st FEBRUARY :30 3:30 pm Plenary 5 Discussion points from each group will be put together and circulated to all participants, prior to the session. Short and focused interventions on these points will help evolve the non negotiable(s) on participatory democracy Moderator: Shekhar Singh, Environmental Activist, Founder-member and former Convener of the NCPRI 4:00 5:30 pm Valedictory Address Sridhar Acharyalu, Information Commissioner, CIC Shailesh Gandhi, former Information Commissioner, CIC Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University Wajahat Habibullah, First Chief Information Commissioner of India and Former Chairman, National Commission of Minorities Thomas Isaac, Minister of Finance, Govt. of Kerala Vote of thanks: Sonia Lazlo, ISID, McGill University Way Forward: Aruna Roy, Member MKSS, NCPRI S. Anandalakshmy, eminent educationist from Chennai, has kindly agreed to provide her insights and comments on the workshop as part of a chronicle 23

24 TAKING THE DISCOURSE FORWARD Suggestions to discussants, moderators and rapporteurs Essential principles and tools of participatory democracy to be culled from the workshop in shaping forums for planning and budgets in organizing public hearings for equality of access: including the excluded in electoral processes in enabling peoples voices in Parliamentary Processes in democratization, representation and accountability within political parties in freedom to express and cultural plurality in processes of planning in governance in its various structural manifestations to protect independent oversight through Commissions through CAG and Social Audit Judicial Accountability The right to organize and protest: people s movements and campaigns The people s definition of state accountability The de-mystification of digital technology: access and controls Tools and techniques to access the right to life and other basic rights The power of information and transparency in shaping participation 24