WANGO Seminar Held in Spain
Contributed by Karl Oppermann & Marian Barnés
On November 13-14, 2004, 74 NGO leaders and several government leaders met in Marbella, Spain, for the first WANGO seminar in Spain to discuss the theme “The Role of NGOs in the Establishment of a World of Peace” and to sign a Declaration for Peace committing to work together for the good of the community.
The WANGO seminar was organized and sponsored by ANDECO, with the support and cooperation of public and private organizations, including the Intercultural Association Jóvenes del Mundo (Youth of the World); the Convention Centre and Town Hall of Marbella; the Youth Institute of Andalucia; CEDMA (Centro de Ediciones de la Diputación de Malága); Hotel San Cristobal; Bellamar Hotel School; APYMEM; ADEP (Amigos de la Ecología y la Paz) and PERSIS (Proyectos Integrales de Mejora Estratégica). The main objective of the seminar was to stimulate the establishment of closer links between the population (represented by NGOs) and the government authorities, in order to attain an integral community development, and thus, work together in the establishment of a World of Peace. The seminar had the local and national participation of 50 NGOs, foundations and civil associations. The inauguration of the seminar was on Saturday, November 13, in the Convention Centre of beautiful Marbella, located on the Costa del Sol. Among the panelists were Mr. Taj Hamad, Secretary General of WANGO; Ms. Belén Carmona, town councillor for Social Services of the Marbella Town Hall; Mr. Joaquín Antuña, President of Peace and Cooperation Foundation; Ms. Montserrat Arévalo, President of Forum per a la Solidaritat (Solidarity Forum) and Ms. Marian Barnés, WANGO representative in Spain. The Master of Ceremonies was Mr. Baldomero León Navarro, President of the Intercultural Association Jóvenes del Mundo (Youth of the World).
On behalf of the Mayoress of Marbella, Belén Carmona welcomed Taj Hamad and presented him with the symbol of the city, a replica of the arc of Marbella. Mr. Hamad addressed the gathering, advocating the cohesion between governments and NGOs in order to eradicate behaviour and attitudes that foment violence and terror, and defended the consolidation of a worldwide system based on peace. He emphasized that governments and NGOs must work together to achieve peace. Governments can show the way and pass laws but to create real peace, hearts must be healed and one must be clear about the fact that governments do not heal hearts. They make laws and regulations, but it is through interpersonal relationships that hurting hearts can heal.
Marian Barnés expressed that WANGO is building a new home, a new roof under which NGOs and other actors of the non-governmental sector can meet and relate together. Marian represented her NGO, ANDECO, in the past two WANGO Annual Conferences, and through the experience, she came to better understand the importance of an NGO to reach beyond its own mission and objectives, open itself to the larger world, and look after the concerns of all humanity.
The main session of the seminar, on the theme “The Role of NGOs in the Establishment of a World of Peace,” had three representatives of considerable prestige and experience in the area of NGOs and peace. Joaquín Antuña, President of Peace and Cooperation Foundation, spoke of his wide experience in matters related to peace cooperation emphasizing his particular vision of the extremely important role that NGOs currently have. He denounced the shortages that still exist in the world and advocated understanding and cooperation with governments for the development of peoples. Mr. Antuña said that the NGOs, even though they depend on public funding, have the responsibility to take positions on relevant topics however uncomfortable these positions may be for the government.
Montserrat Arévalo gave, as an example of cooperation, the work that the Forum per a la Solidaritat (Solidarity Forum) has done with the immigrant community, as well as the projects that they have carried out in several Latin-American countries such as Bolivia and Colombia. Baldomero León briefly presented the story of NGOs and focused his talk on the meaning of two key words in the seminar, peace and NGO. He emphasized that peace begins within oneself and in being able to treat others, as we would like them to treat us. He highlighted the 7 principles of WANGO indicating that the said principles are acceptable to all NGOs whatever their specific objectives may be, pointing out the fundamental role that NGOs will play in the twenty-first century in helping governments to achieve peace.
Taj Hamad, Secretary General of WANGO, gave a presentation titled, “The NGO Revolution in the World, Connecting NGOs Beyond Boundaries.” He explained that WANGO is the international organization, which welcomes all NGOs from all over the world and is currently present in more than 150 countries. Its principal challenge is to breach the frontiers between countries with the mission to serve NGOs. In this sense WANGO equips them with the mechanisms for them to do a much better job. Mr. Hamad emphasized that, with the increased number and development of NGOs in the world, an organization is necessary that brings this NGO movement together because there is greater strength for all in union. If united, NGOs do not compete among each other but instead will compete to better serve the world.
During the evening, the NGOs had two magnificent workshops, “European Funding to Non Profit Organizations” and “Social Marketing of NGOs and Media Relations,” which provided valuable tools to the participants. The second day of the seminar began with the presentation titled “An Ethical Project for NGOs,” by Mr. José Antonio Binaburo, head of the Peace Culture office of the Málaga Delegation of Education of the regional government of Andalucía. He emphasized peace, liberty, equality and justice as irrefutable values for a life worth living, and underlined the values of responsibility, tolerance, consistency, honesty, austerity, hope, affection and tenderness as necessary common values for people to live together in peace.
A high point of the seminar was the signing of the Peace Declaration. Immaculada Romero, President of ANEP (Associación Nacional de Educación Prenatal) presented the Peace Declaration, urging the participants to foster peace in each sphere of their life, beginning within oneself. Marian Barnés read the seven principles of WANGO as practices for peace and harmony that work in establishing a united world.
The Peace Declaration was signed with the unanimous support of all the participants. Ms. Barnes then emphasized the importance, as leaders, to reflect and make a new determination to work together, beyond all barriers, with greater dedication and effort to resolve the critical problems of the world.
A session on “Communication between NGOs” was moderated by Hector Moreno, allowing the opportunity for the NGO representatives to present their organizations and speak briefly about their projects. José Antonio Fuentes, Director of PERSIS, gave the last two workshops. “Managing Volunteers” and “Carrying out Projects and Strategic Planning.” The WANGO seminar received much local media coverage, with full reports and interviews presented by the newspapers, radio and television.