Dear friends and colleagues,  

We have the pleasure of inviting you to an interactive and participatory workshop in Arabic (with interpretation into English) on 29 July at 11:30am – 2:30pm EEST on privatisation and public services.  

Privatisation, commercialisation and financialisation are increasing in a range of sectors, from education and health, to water, sanitation and housing. This raises a number of social justice and human rights concerns, such as growing inequalities and segregation, low quality, and the loss of democratic control over areas essential for human dignity.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and exacerbated the existing inequalities and injustices related to privatisation, highlighting the unsustainability of market-driven systems to deliver on human rights and ensure access for all. This is a crucial moment to build public services as part of a just recovery and transition to a more sustainable and resilient economy and society.  

This workshop will be part of a series of regional workshops to build political momentum and contribute to developing a strong cross-sectoral and cross-regional movement for public services. It will be an occasion for organisations and movements working in the MENA region to come together to share information, discuss different strategies, develop a joint understanding, and explore potential actions going forwards. This workshop will also be an opportunity to discuss and contribute to the global collective narrative on public services that is currently being developed.   

 This workshop will be held online. It will be a closed event among allies who are committed to responding to the challenges raised by privatisation and to mobilising for the public provision of services to ensure the delivery of economic, social and cultural rights. Please feel free to invite other trusted partners who share these values. The event is intended for groups working across various areas (development, human rights, finance, economic justice (including feminist groups), etc.) and sectors (education, water, health, etc.).  

 We hope this workshop will help further catalyse momentum for the recognition of the importance of strong, high-quality and publicly funded public services for the fulfilment of human rights. 

Please register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkf-itpz4sHtwPNIxgre7fbe1v-3LVyCM9 

The workshop is organised jointly by Public Services International, the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR). 

Register here

This meeting is organised with the financial support of the European Union and the Open Society Foundations. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.