Common Action Forum 2021

Mobilities and mobilisations: a transatlantic prologue to a communitarian, cosmopolitan and connected future
Madrid, Spain | 18 November 2021

CAF2021_ Report
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Multilateral cooperation and regional post-COVID-19 recovery
Thursday, 18.11.2021 | 11:00 hs – 13:00 hs – Casa de América
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We are all aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has been and remains much more than simply a health crisis. Global society, at the peak of its interconnectivity, has come face to face with its most profound faults. These range from the social to the political, simultaneously overlapping with the economic, environmental and technological. At the same time, we have also rediscovered society’s strengths in its cooperation, solidarity and joint vision. The ties that unite transatlantic countries today go far beyond shared history, culture and languages, and in this sense we can and must envision an authentic global panorama with particular regional consequences. The great lessons of this multilevel shock that has put the world in check. At the same time, providing an incomparable opportunity to rethink some of the principles that underpin our way of life, in the form of well-being, labour, cooperation and development policies.

Welcome:
Enrique Ojeda – Wadah Khanfar

Keynote:
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
“The importance of progressive values for post-COVID-19 recovery and to face the challenges of the 21st Century”

Comentator:
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

Participants:
Rebeca Grynspan – Pedro Marques – Cecilia Nicolini

Moderator:
Rafael Heiber

Presentation

COMMON ACTION FORUM 2021
Mobilities and mobilisations: a transatlantic prologue to a communitarian, cosmopolitan and connected future
Thursday, 18.11.2021 | 16:00 hs – 20:00 hs – Casa de México

It took human beings nearly 300,000 years to spread out across the planet. Today, we can travel that distance in just a few hours, and digital communication allows us to cross another 50,000 miles in an instant. This transition has made us just as fragmented as we are global as a species. Today, 500 years after the age of colonization and 200 years after the second industrial revolution, the vast and unknown world is a network of interconnections and shared realities.

Movement has become a principle, norm, and fundamental value, around which everything operates—people, goods, currency, information and data—everything moves, and everything accelerates. With this, our societal models are increasingly reaching their limits, generating mobilities and demanding mobilization. Above all, the most vulnerable are harmed by this uncontrolled and asymmetric dynamism.

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At the heart of this challenge is a social issue. The speed at which different flows move throughout our world has an indisputable role in establishing identities: there are no longer close-knit circles of reproduction. At the same time, the engine of modern culture continues to run on individualism, instead of embracing the other.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of movement in an unprecedented way. Beyond the paralysis of global transport systems or the collapse of commerce, confinement in situations of poverty and violence that most of the world experienced was much more difficult than the state of being confined. In addition, the logistics and global distribution and administration of the vaccine dealt with constant bureaucratic hurdles. As if this were not enough, we have also witnessed how certain countries, which had begun constructing policies with a dangerous mix of both denialism and conspiratorialism, co-opted the crisis to increase their control over the citizenry, or to disperse social protest.

The crossroads between the present and the historical challenges that have brought us up until this point require reimagining the future and considering some of the most pressing needs for change. The Ibero-American axis reflects the processes and conflicts characterizing the world as a whole, and thus serves as a salient starting point for a new civilizational roadmap. It allows for rethinking citizenship, migration, communication and the rest of the flows that characterize the global reality of today and tomorrow, moving towards a truly cosmopolitan and interconnected society.

Welcome:
Ximena Caraza-Campos – Rafael Heiber – Alfonso Zegbe

With distinguished participation from:
Marcelo Ebrard

Sessions

1st SESSION
Trade as peace and migration as conflict: new limits to mobility in the face of increasing environmental and post-identitarian crisis
Thursday, 18.11.2021 | 16:00 hs – 17:30hs – Casa de México

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The climate crisis is upon us, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not only served as a challenge for multilateral cooperation, but as a clear symptom of the ecological imbalance plaguing our planet. The proliferation of extreme meteorological events and increasing inequalities continue to push towards an imminent migration crisis. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist and authoritarian patterns in many countries continue to lead toward advances in securitization agendas and xenophobic and discriminatory policies. Is it possible to stop the flows of people in a world in which goods and capitals operate without borders? Addressing this asymmetry and rethinking freedom of movement and migratory dilemmas reveals we must take initiative towards a new, more sustainable global narrative, especially now at the gates of space exploration.
Participants:
Pedro Brieger – Zenia Hellgren – Rodolfo Pastor

Host:
Felipe Llamas

FILM F0RUM
Viewing and colloquium: migrant humanity?
[«Bridging Borders» – «The Wait»]
Thursday, 18.11.2021 | 17:30 hs – 18:30 hs – Casa de México (Cinema)

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This micro-cycle of audiovisual art reflects on the direct, human experiences of contemporary migration, but also views it as a phenomenon inherent to every ecosystem, underlining the need to change the conceptual framework of this emancipatory debate. This contrasts two short, conceptual audiovisual pieces presented by their authors, by first viewing the films and then dialoguing together. How do we bring the human element back to the center of migration issues? How do we integrate the natural world into the debate?

Participants:
Minerva Cuevas – Sonia Guggisberg

Moderator:
Anabella Salem

2nd SESSION
Here lies the leviathan: democratic challenges in a digital age
Thursday, 18.11.2021 | 18:30 hs – 20:00 hs – Casa de México
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The information flows inherent in all our interactions are mediated by a common factor: technology. The enormous speed at which technology intertwines into our lives makes it difficult to regulate it or understand its consequences, both for our quotidian life as well as for our communities. Transnational technology conglomerates have crept into our living rooms and pockets, taking on leading biopolitical roles. The financial market has rolled out the red carpet for the average citizen to participate in its global casino, justifying disappointments related to the material economy with promises. Knowledge has begun to resemble noise and misinformation. New forms of participation flourish at the same time in the shape of post-truth, trivialization of politics and digital divides. Data connects us, floods us, guides us, and confuses us; at the same time, it also shapes us. How do we confront these risks? Is it possible to safeguard autonomy and ethics in the age of Big Data? The global situation requires a mobilization capable of responding to the great questions of our time, but also a new way of enacting change, from the point of view of a diverse rather than segregated reality. The first great step towards this contemporary challenge is addressing new social and community dynamics in a time marked by precarity, and understanding how they move and shape us.

Participants:
José María Lassalle – Solana Larsen – Juan Carlos Monedero

Host:
Renata Ávila

SYMUN

Spain Youth Model United Nations
Friday, 19.11.2021 | 17:00 hs – Universidad Carlos III Madrid –

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Spain Youth Model United Nations (SYMUN) is a project co-organized by the Common Action Forum and the United Nations and International Law Association (ANUDI) at Carlos III University of Madrid. It aims to empower young students, to bring them closer to public institutions, to foster their critical thinking, to promote sustainable values and to enhance dialogue and cooperation as a means to confront contemporary challenges. Within the Model United Nations (MUN) framework, a simulation where students from all over the world come together to step into the shoes of diplomats from the UN member states, SYMUN will bring together around 400 young and bright high school students from diverse backgrounds and allow them to debate the dynamics of international relationships in a thoroughly multicultural environment.
Keynote:
Efraín Guadarrama

Participants

Wadah Khanfar
WELCOME – CASA DE AMÉRICA

Wadah Khanfar is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Common Action Forum. Former Director-General of the Al Jazeera Network, he was named one of the «Young Global Leaders» in the 2008’s World Economic Forum and was first in Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2011.

Enrique Ojeda
WELCOME – CASA DE AMÉRICA

Enrique Ojeda Vila is a Spanish diplomat and current Director General of Casa de América. He has served as Spanish Ambassador to Chile, Bolivia and El Salvador, as well as Spanish Consul in Guatemala, Secretary General for Foreign Action of the Government of Andalucía, and Director of the Fundación Tres Culturas del Mediterráneo.

Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva
KEYNOTE SPEECH – CASA DE AMÉRICA

A union worker and union leader, Lula da Silva served as President of the Republic of Brazil for eight years, and is a founding member and former President of the Workers’ Party (PT). He received an honorary doctorate from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) for his “contribution to economic and social development in his country.”

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
COMENTATOR – CASA DE AMÉRICA

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero served two terms as President of Spain, and also served as Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE). Milestones of his administration included ETA’s disarmament and the international promotion of the UN’s Alliance of Civilizations.

Rebeca Grynspan
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE AMÉRICA

Rebeca Grynspan currently serves as Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development. She is a Costa Rican economist and politician, former Vice President of Costa Rica, and has served as both Ibero-American Secretary General and Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme.

Pedro Marques
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE AMÉRICA

With an MA in Economics, Pedro Marques serves as a deputy for Portugal in the European Parliament, and is Vice President of the Parliament’s Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. He previously held positions as Minister of Planning and Infrastructure under Prime Minister António Costa’s administration, as well as Secretary of State for Social Security.

Cecilia Nicolini
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE AMÉRICA

Cecilia Nicolini, with a degree in Political Science, is currently a researcher at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She forms part of the President of Argentina’s Advisory Council, where she contributes her experience in political communication, international relations, technology and innovation.

Marcelo Ebrard
DISTINGUISHED PARTICIPATION – CASA DE MÉXICO

With a degree in International Relations, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón currently serves as Mexico’s Secretary for Foreign Relations. He formerly served as Head of the Mexico City Government, and as Secretary of Social Development and Public Security. In December of 2010, the World Mayors Project recognized him as World’s Best Mayor.

Rafael Heiber
MODERATOR – CASA DE AMÉRICA – WELCOME – CASA DE MÉXICO

Rafael Heiber is the Co-Founder and Deputy-Chairman of the Common Action Forum. Geographer and Climatologist with a MSc in Territorial Planning and a PhD in Sociology, his expertise includes the political links between technology, space and citizenship. He participates in academic activities and publishes in the international media.

Ximena Caraza-Campos
WELCOME – CASA DE MÉXICO

Ximena Caraza is a Mexican diplomat and currently Director General of Casa de México in Spain. Previously she served as economic advisor to the Mexican Embassy in Spain, and as Regional Director as well as Director of Local Representation for ProMéxico. She is former Mexican Consul for Milan.

Alfonso Zegbe
REPRESENTING SRE

Alfonso Zegbe currently heads the Strategy and Public Diplomacy Unit at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is an expert in Environmental Law and International Relations, and has worked on energy and environmental diplomatic agendas for Mexico City, Washington DC, Ottawa, Paris, Brussels and the OECD. Between 2017 and 2019 he was Mexican Ambassador to Iran as well as served as ambassador in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Felipe Llamas
HOST – CASA DE MÉXICO
1st SESSION

Felipe Llamas Sánchez is a Professor at the Social and Juridical Sciences Faculty of Carlos III University, Madrid. He has worked on the World Forums on Urban Violence and Education for Coexistence and Peace I and II. A founding partner of PHARE Territorios Globales, he is an expert in participatory governance and international collaboration among local governments.

Pedro Brieger
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE MÉXICO
1st SESSION

Pedro Brieger is an Argentinian academic and journalist with expertise in international politics. He is Professor of Sociology of the Middle East at the University of Buenos Aires. A writer, commentator and producer of various radio and television programs, he has authored various books, and currently serves as Director of NODAL, a web portal for Latin American and Caribbean News.

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Zenia Hellgren
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE MÉXICO
1st SESSION

Zenia Hellgren holds a doctorate in Sociology and is Professor of Political and Social Theory at the Pompeu Fabra University, as well as principal investigator on the AGREP (Action Program for the Effective Denunciation of Anti-Gypsyism and Discrimination). Her main areas of research include migration, diversity, inclusion and exclusion, with special attention to discrimination and strategies to combat it.

Rodolfo Pastor
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE MÉXICO
1st SESSION

Rodolfo Pastor de María y Campos is a Honduran-Mexican political scientist, diplomat and politician. Former Minister of Political Affairs and Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Honduras in Washington, D.C.; he currently works as Information and Strategic Analysis Director in the Executive Directorate of Strategy and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) of Mexico.

Minerva Cuevas
PARTICIPANT – FILM FORUM

Minerva Cuevas is a Mexican conceptual artist. She studied Visual Arts at UNAM and is known for her projects based in social research and multidisciplinary practices. Her work forms part of public collections in the Tate Gallery, the Georges Pompidou Center and the Guggenheim Museum, among others.

Sonia Guggisberg
PARTICIPANT – FILM FORUM

Sonia Guggisberg is an artist, videographer and researcher, participating in solo and group shows, lectures and workshops both in Brazil and abroad since the 1990s. She holds a PhD in Semiotics and Communication from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and a Masters in Fine Arts from UNICAMP.

Anabella Salem
MODERATOR – FILM FORUM

Anabella Salem is co-founder of El Fantasma de Heredia, a design studio that has received multiple awards for its social and cultural projects. She is Professor at the University of Buenos Aires and has served as President on the jury of the Biennale Warszawa, as well as various other competitions.

Renata Ávila
HOST – CASA DE MÉXICO
2nd SESSION

Renata Avila is an international lawyer and expert in human rights and technology. She forms part the legal team that advocates for the freedom of Julian Assange and Wikileaks, as well as iss a member of DiEM25. She serves on several Boards, including Progressive International, Article 19, Creative Commons and CAF. She is currently CEO of the Open Knowledge Foundation.

Solana Larsen
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE MÉXICO
2nd SESSION

Solana Larsen is a journalist and activist with expertise in leveraging the Internet for global dialogue. She is editor of the Internet Health Report of the Mozilla Foundation. She previously served as editor of the global politics website openDemocracy.net, and managing editor of Global Voices.

José María Lassalle
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE MÉXICO
2nd SESSION

José María Lassalle is Director of the Forum for Technological Humanism at ESADE. He holds a doctoral degree in Law, and formerly served as Spain’s Secretary of State for Culture and the Digital Agenda. A professor and researcher at several universities, he also directed the Carolina Foundation. He is a patron of Spain’s National Library and has authored numerous essays.

Juan Carlos Monedero
PARTICIPANT – CASA DE MÉXICO
2nd SESSION

Juan Carlos Monedero is a Spanish politician and professor. He holds a doctorate in Political Science and founded the political party Podemos. He currently directs the Instituto República y Democracia, a foundation dedicated to analysis, training and political and cultural creation. He also directs the television program En la frontera, and has authored several books.

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