Annual Forum
Among other relevant topics, CAF’s annual forum has dwelled on the unsustainability of inequality, the flaws behind the idea of economic and social development, and the rise of polarization and xenophobic policies.
Below you will find the compilation of all of the “Common Action Forum” editions so far, including their complete programs, the thematic sessions, and their full lists of participants. After each event, a comprehensive report of its reflections and conclusions is published.
Photo_ Rafael Heiber_ CC BY 4.0
CAF 2020
New dynamics in urban planning and international cooperation in the context of COVID-19
Chiapas, Mexico | 27 – 29 October 2020
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It would be simple to claim that today’s world is irrevocably altered, but a quick glance back demonstrates that before SARS-CoV-2 emerged, geopolitical upheaval, economic conflict and social tension were sweeping through the planet. Increasing numbers of activists for the defense and protection of the environment have been warning about an escalating climate crisis.
CAF 2019
A new path to development
Mexico City, Mexico | 13 – 14 October 2019
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While development in past centuries has took the form of a linear, promising process that shattered physical, spatial and technological boundaries, a supposedly beneficial, limitless economic growth has given way to a landscape of social inequality, financial unease and stretching of ecological limits as never before.
The global citizenry and the intellectual, political and economic elites must invariably obtain a new regenerative heterotopia that goes beyond reformism to change conceptually how we think, act and exist.
CAF 2018
Global racial polarization and right-wing politics
Johannesburg, South Africa | 10 – 11 November 2018
@CommonActionCAF #CAF2018
The Forum addressed how societies are increasingly antagonistic towards immigrants and minorities for reasons ranging from sociopolitical to economic and beyond, and examined the accompanying rise in radical anti-immigration and right-wing movements in Europe and throughout the world.
In this vein, the event explored the tribal tensions threatening development in Africa, the consequences of the refugee plight in Syria and how geographical borders are redrafted in a manner that leave countless internally displaced and without relief.
CAF 2017
The limits to inequality: seeking a sustainable society
Madrid, Spain | 3 – 5 November 2017
@CommonActionCAF #CAF2017
The ensuing decades heralded the era of the information. Growth unavoidably encroached on territorial and ecological boundaries, and moreover expanded into financial and virtual realms, disposing of metanarratives.
Currently on a path that inevitably will reach the planet’s limit in terms of material resources and the volatility of the virtual ones, our societies now face inequality as the most imminent threat against both establishment and marginalized groups. This reality is not simply confined to economic considerations, but affects fundamental aspects of everyday life.
CAF 2016
The rise of global fear: why is the world becoming less tolerant and more radical?
Madrid, Spain | 5 – 6 November 2016
@CommonActionCAF #CAF2016
The 2016 Common Action Forum sought to address emerging trends that threaten a cosmopolitan, international society united in solidarity. Events over the course of the year pointed to increased visibility of nationalisms, and a rhetoric of fear, on a global scale.
The Forum focused on the challenge of humanitarian crises and the policy and debate surrounding current migration flows, with examples from the North American, South American, European and African continents.
CAF 2015
Steps of progress in times of crisis
Madrid, Spain | 5 – 6 December 2015
@CommonActionCAF #CAF2015
The 2015 Common Action Forum was held for its first time in Madrid intending to become a reference annual round-table event.
Six sessions served to address the structural change in the international system, analysing the reasons why global economic and political organizations have failed in the equitable sharing of resources and governance, resulting in the increase of the rate of poverty and marginalization worldwide as well as a pervasive feeling of injustice and exclusion.