Report on August 2 Plenary

"Women & Globalization" Conference
Final Business Meeting Report, August 3, 2005
[Compiled from notes of Ann Ferguson, Bob Stone and Cliff DuRand]

DECISIONS:

Conference site: San Miguel de Allende in 2006; possible other sites for 2007: Nicaragua, Cuba, South Africa (Ann Ferguson will investigate possibilities.

Conference theme: Another World is Necessary: Justice, Sustainable Development, and Sovereignty.

Program Committee: Graciela Monteagudo, chair., Octavio Bernal, Betsy Bowman, Olivia Canales, Cecilia Castro Garcia, Mitch Cohen, Ted Dobbs, Silvia Elguea, Emilia Reyes, Peggy Rivage-Seul, Kathryn Swan

Coordinating Committee
New members: Olivia Canales, Silvia Elguea, Milton Fisk, Ligaya Lindo McGovern, Nancy Soles, David Stea, Raquel Zepeda [Gregory Diamant's name has also been added since this meeting, as he is de facto participating in the leadership of the Center in San Miguel de Allende]
Continuing members: Sarah Begus, Betsy Bowman, Cliff DuRand, Nancy Lopez, Steve Martinot, Yolanda Millan, Graciela Monteagudo, Mike Rivage-Seul, Holly Yasui
Coordinating Committee, old members ending service: Emilio Duharte, Ann Ferguson, Olga Fernandez, Miguel Limia, Dana Silverman, Mario Saenz

All remaining agenda items are referred to the Coordinating Committee for decision.

DISCUSSION:

Conference site:

* SMA is an expensive, gringo town that many Mexicans will shun.

* SMA is a progressive gringo town with a lot of support for this conference, making it cheap for conference guests.

* We have more Mexican participants (both academics & activists) than last year.

* Barbara Larcom invited conference to Managua, Nicaragua where there are facilities

* local infrastructure needed to support a conference.

* concern about political repression in Mexico during an election year.

* need to have more site visits with local activists.

VOTE: SMA 25, Nicaragua 3, abstain 3

Conference theme: There were many themes suggested and discussed.

Globalization and the Environment

Globalization and Racism

Globalization: Racism, Ethnicity & Nationalism

AlterGlobalization: Cooperatives & Local Development

Globalization: Class, Race & Gender

Globalization & Poverty

Globalization & Resistance: Race, Class & Gender Justice

Social & Autonomous Movements: Strategy for Power & Relation to Power

State, Power, Autonomy & Resistance

Globalization & Subsistence Perspective

Globalization & Development

AntiGlobalization: Another World is Possible & Necessary

VOTE to refer them to Coordinating Committee: yes 12, no 16.

In the end we settled on "Another World is Necessary: Justice, Sustainable Development, and Sovereignty", thinking that most of the themes suggested can be encompassed under it as commissions. So in one way or another, they can be included in the Conference Call.

Amended Financial Report:

A preliminary Financial Report on the conference was given by Cliff DuRand, Treasurer. It showed a substantial deficit. Now with more complete information, an amended report shows a more rosy picture. Note, all figures are in USD, converted from Mexican pesos at the exchange rate of $1 USD = 10.6 pesos. No effort was made to calculate the monetary value of donated materials, services or time. All figures are actual cash amounts.

Total income: $18,266	Total expenses: $19,103	Deficit: $837
Subtotals of select income items:	Subtotals of select expense items:
Registration $13,000 Donations $3,360	Scholarships $8,743 Salaries $4,762 Fotocopies $292 Meals $961