caf 2015 | caf

Common Action Forum 2015

Steps of progress in times of crisis
Madrid, Spain | 5 – 6 December 2015

CAF 2015 Report.pdf
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Presentation

More than 50 intellectuals, experts, activists, journalist and politicians gathered for the launch of the Common Action Forum, aimed at providing a research and development platform for ideas and practical steps to make political and international systems fairer and more equal. Forum participants in the opening session noted the rapidly changing contemporary international order, observing how economic and political systems have failed to keep it up. The result has been an increased rate of poverty and marginalization worldwide, as well as a pervasive feeling of injustice and exclusion.

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In the Forum’s opening statement, Chairman Wadah Khanfar observed how «all of us acknowledge that the global economic systems and intellectual political systems have been unable to cope with the equitable sharing of resources and governance. In the last two decades alone, this unprecedented change has left so many behind. The time has come to move from criticism of these global systems toward practical steps to achieve real reforms. The Common Action Forum will be the platform for gathering intellectuals, experts, and politicians who believe in the necessity of this transition.»

Sessions

OPENING SESSION

Speakers:
Wadah Khanfar

Juan Luis Cebrián

1st SESSION
The paradigms of international politics in a turbulent globalization

Keynote:
Javier Solana

Speakers:
Alberto Mayol

Matías Bianchi

Taha Özhan

Moderator: Sami Zeidan

2nd SESSION
To live without hope is to live without fear: time, politics and affection

Keynote:
Vladimir Safatle

Speakers:
Khalid Hajji

María Navarro

Romualdo Días

Moderator: Clayton Swisher

3rd SESSION
New principles of universal jurisdiction for economics and environment

Keynote:
Baltasar Garzón

Speakers:
Eduardo Barcesat

Mehmet Asutay

Fátima São Simão

Moderator: Miguel Jiménez

4th SESSION
Post-political governance: networks, cities, citizenship and micropolitics

Keynote:
Emad Shanin

Speakers:
Bernardo Gutiérrez

Intissar Kheregi

Jamal Khashoggi

Martin Gegner

Moderator: Ramzy Baroud

Participants

Wadah Khanfar
OPENING AND CLOSING SESSIONS

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.

Juan Luis Cebrián
OPENING SESSION SPEAKER

Juan Luis Cebrián is a Spanish writer and journalist, who serves as the Executive Chairman of PRISA. He is also editor in chief of El País and a member of the board of French newspaper Le Monde.

Javier Solana
1st SESSION – KEYNOTE

Javier Solana is former EU High Representative for the Common Foreign & Security Policy, Secretary General of NATO and Foreign Minister of Spain.

Sami Zeidan
1st SESSION – MODERATOR

Sami Zeidan is a Senior Presenter with Al Jazeera English. He has covered conflict zones and several seats of power including the United Nations, the White House and the European Commission.

Alberto Mayol
1st SESSION – SPEAKER

Alberto Mayol is a Chilean author, sociologist, political analyst, Professor at the Santiago University. He is a researcher and wrote several works on Social Sciences, Politics and Culture.

Matías Bianchi
1st SESSION – SPEAKER

Matías Bianchi is a political scientist with a PhD from the Institute d´Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). He is the Founder and Director of the think tank Asuntos del Sur.

Taha Özhan
1st SESSION – SPEAKER

Taha Özhan Head of Foreign Relations Committee at Grand National Assembly of Turkey and former president of SETA Foundation at Ankara. He is an academic, writer and columnist for Daily Sabah, The Middle East Eye, among other international media.

Vladimir Safatle
2nd SESSION – KEYNOTE

Vladimir Safatle is a Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at University of São Paulo and a writer. Fellow of Stellenboch Institute for Advanced Studies (South Africa).

Clayton Swisher
2nd SESSION – MODERATOR

Clayton Swisher is an American journalist and author, currently working as the Manager of Investigative Journalism for the Al Jazeera Media Network in Doha (Qatar).

Khalid Hajji
2nd SESSION – SPEAKER

Khalid Hajji is an academic researcher, author and Professor in the Department of Anglo-American Studies at Mohamed Premier University in Morocco. He is also a founding member of Al Jazeera Centre for Studies.

María Navarro
2nd SESSION – SPEAKER

María Navarro is a philosopher, professor at the University of Madrid, and researcher at the CSIC-Spain. She has written several works on Philosophy, Hermeneutics and Argumentation theory.

Romualdo Días
2nd SESSION – SPEAKER

Romualdo Días is a sociologist, philosopher, writer and professor at the São Paulo State University. He has experience in the area of Pedagogy, Political Philosophy and Psychoanalysis.

Baltasar Garzón
3rd SESSION – KEYNOTE

Baltasar Garzón is a Spanish jurist, expert on crimes against humanity. He formerly served on Spain’s central criminal court for 10 years. Currently, Head of Julian Assange’s legal team.

Miguel Jiménez
3rd SESSION – MODERATOR

Miguel Jiménez is Deputy Director of Information of the Spanish newspaper El País. He is specialised in Law and Economics, Business Administration, and Political Science.

Eduardo Barcesat
3rd SESSION – SPEAKER

Eduardo Barcesat is an Argentinian jurist, UNESCO expert on Human rights, Professor at the University of Buenos Aires. He is also a founding member of the American Association of Jurists.

Fátima São Simão
3rd SESSION – SPEAKER

Fátima São Simão is the public lead of Creative Commons in Portugal and Executive Coordinator for the Creative Industries Centre of the University of Porto’s Science and Technology Park.

Mehmet Asutay
3rd SESSION – SPEAKER

Mehmet Asutay is a Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Political Economy & Finance, MSc Islamic Finance Programme Director in the Business School at Durham University.

Emad Shahin
4th SESSION – KEYNOTE

Emad Shahin is a visiting Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the editor in chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics.

Ramzy Baroud
4th SESSION – MODERATOR

Ramzy Baroud is an US-Arab journalist, writer, internationally-syndicated columnist, Editor of Palestine Chronicle and former Deputy Managing Editor of Al Jazeera online.

Bernardo Gutiérrez
4th SESSION – SPEAKER

Bernardo Gutiérrez is a Brazilian-Spanish journalist, writer, and researcher on networked practices, hacker culture and tecnopolitics. He is the founder of FuturaMedia.net

Intissar Kherigi
4th SESSION – SPEAKER

Intissar Kherigi studied Law at King’s College, Cambridge, then specialised in human rights at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights, London School of Economics. She has worked in the House of Lords, the United Nations in New York, and the European parliament in Brussels.

Martin Gegner
4th SESSION – SPEAKER

Martin Gegner is an academic researcher at the WZB in Berlin and an associate-professor in the Turkish-German University of Istambul. Political Sicences graduate and PhD in Sociology, he is author of The Heritage of War, an interdisciplinary study of the ways in which heritage is mobilized in remembering violent conflicts.

Jamal Khashoggi
4th SESSION – SPEAKER

Jamal Khashoggi is a Saudi journalist and author. Former editor-in-chief of the Al-Arab News Channel. After a self-imposed exile from his homeland, Khashoggi has been a renowned columnist for The Washington Post. He also served as editor for the Saudi newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for arabic progressivism.

Rafael Heiber
CLOSING SESSION

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.

Photo gallery CAF 2015