The “Just World Conference: Whose Resources?” will
take place in Johannesburg from the 29th to the 31st of
October 2012.
Ample richness
in natural resources has failed to materialise in development for local
communities in many sub-Saharan African countries. Despite the so-called
resource curse, the existence of abundant natural resources can be turned to a
blessing, and can provide resources for enhanced development. The conference
will explore two main areas. Firstly the impacts of extractive industries on
local communities, gender relations and the environment will be examined.
Secondly, different models for ownership of natural resources will be
discussed, based on the experiences of a range of different countries. This
will include the Zambian experience with copper, the experience of Botswana
with diamonds, the South African experience with mining and the Norwegian experience
with oil.
Aims
The main aim is
to bring together academics, policy makers, NGOs, representatives of local
communities, traditional leaders, as well as mining companies, to share and
gain more knowledge about ownership of natural resources and the effects of
extractive industries.
This knowledge
should provide the basis for both advocacy work at the national level, and for
building local awareness of these issues. We hope that the outcomes of this
conference will influence policy-makers and show the wide range of
policy-options available to ensure that the benefits of natural resources are
shared by the population as a whole. In holding the conference in South Africa,
we also hope that it can feed into the on-going debate on nationalisation of the
mines. Instead of the polarized approach for or against nationalisation, the
presentations in the conference will aim to show the variety of different
models available for ownership of natural resources, and opportunities and
challenges with each of these.
We aim to ensure
that the conference is linked to work that is already going on in local
communities and organisations on these issues, and that the conference provides
a veritable space for communities to speak out on the effects of extractive
industries.
Presenters
The keynote
speaker for the conference is Professor Ben Turok.
Academics have
been invited from a variety of universities to present on the different models
of ownership of natural resources. This includes Dr Gavin Capps from UCT, Dr. Mathias
Mphande from the University of Zambia, Dr Onalenna
Selolwane from the University of Botswana, and Dr Bjørn Letnes who is a
Norwegian researcher.
Representatives
from local communities in various countries have also been invited to present
on their experiences of the effects of mining. Key speakers will also be coming
from the Bench Marks Foundation’s Community Monitors School. A range of
international NGOs will be presenting at the conference, including Mr Shamiso
Mtisi from ZELA in Zimbabwe, Mr Silas Olang from Tanzania Revenue Watch, and Mr
Yao Graham from Third World Network.
Target groups
Key
policy-makers and government departments have been invited to participate in
the conference and we hope that the conference provides a space for engagement
between civil society and government.
Key mining
companies have also been invited to listen to the testimonies of
representatives of the local communities and participate in debates.
A range of both
international and South African NGOs have been invited to both participate and
speak at the conference.
Program overview
The two first
days of the conference will be focused on testimonies from community
representatives and academic input on different countries' experiences with a
variety of models for ownership of natural resources. The different sessions
will start with representatives from affected communities giving testimonies on
the different effects of mining. Academics will then be asked to both respond
to the testimonies they have heard, and to give presentations on different
country experiences with different models of ownership of natural resources.
The purpose of such a set-up is to ensure that the experiences of communities
and the knowledge offered by academics are brought together to see what can be
learnt in terms of good policies for ownership of natural resources.
A debate on
nationalisation will take place on the evening of the 29th of
October, and will include representatives from the unions, government,
business, academia and civil society.
On the third day
of the conference, the Bench Marks Foundation will launch the “Church Leaders´
Call for Responsible Investment.” This is a statement signed by church leaders
across the African continent, demanding that multinational companies ensure
that their investments are ethical.
