Over 1,500 social organizations to compile suggestions for G20
The G20—an international forum bringing together the governments of 19 of the world’s top economies—plus two blocs of countries are holding annual summits with heads of government and foreign and finance ministers to discuss issues of international relevance and outline proposals for the global agenda in the coming years in such areas as health, international security, environment, and economy.
These debates will result in an official communiqué, to be released at the end of each summit gathering. To contribute to the drafting of this document, society and other authorities mobilize every year into 13 engagement groups specializing in various themes, including business, labor rights, justice, business, youth, and women.
The social organizations have their own group, called C20, an acronym for Civil 20. “Each of the engagement groups has an autonomous G20 governance. In the case of the C20, it is entirely run by civil society organizations. Organizations and social movements are independent in the way the C20 operates, and its main purpose is to draw up proposals to influence global leaders in the rounds,” said C20’s current Coordinator Henrique Frota, who heads the Brazilian Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, explains.
Approximately 1,500 social organizations from over 60 countries, he said, have signed up to write the text that will be submitted for negotiation with the governments of the G20 nations until November, when the group’s next summit is slated to take place in Rio de Janeiro. As registration is still open, this number could rise even further.
“Work on the proposals will be carried out from March to June. The C20 is not starting from scratch. It’s been in the making for 10 years. The group has existed since 2013. So this year’s proposals are not being developed out of thin air. We’re going to be building on the international debates already held,” Frota stated.
As this year’s summit is taking place in Brazil, it is natural that some issues will stand out in the C20’s discussions, he pointed out. “There’s a desire for Brazilian organizations and social movements to bring in their values and demands. And the priorities of the Brazilian presidency regarding efforts to tackle hunger and poverty, sustainable development, energy transition, and reform of the multilateral system end up serving as guidelines for the debates,” he noted.
Frota said that some topics are relevant to different engagement groups, which is why, in addition to negotiations with governments, talks will be held with other groups, such as the L20 (with trade unions), the W20 (on gender equality), and the T20 (experts and institutions specializing in socio-economic issues).
Other engagement groups include P20 (parliamentary leaders), S20 (scientists), B20 (businesses), U20 (urban authorities), Y20 (young people), and J20 (supreme courts).
