World Social Justice Day

Share The World's Resources February newsletter highlights the World Day for Social Justice 2016 and presents a round-up of the latest news, articles and blogs by STWR, including the launch of a new Japanese website and a look ahead to forthcoming publications.

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With 20th February officially recognised by the United Nations as World Social Justice Day, the urgent need to create a more just, sustainable and equal world should once again be at the forefront of public consciousness. As we highlight in our February editorial, there are many ways in which this emerging call for sharing is already being expressed across the globe – including the ongoing advocacy for tax justice, the emergent focus on ‘de-growth’ as a catch-all framing for the great transition that lies ahead, and the urgent need to protect the basic human rights of desperate refugees in order to let “peace and love flow without borders”.

As is often the case in January when the Davos ‘gods’ convene in the Swiss Alps, the growing gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of us has made headline news with the release of Oxfam’s latest set of damning inequality statistics, which make an irrefutable case for sharing the world’s wealth and power more equitably. In a recent blog, we highlight how a diverse group of the world’s largest NGOs and other progressive organisations have responded to this mounting injustice by forming a global alliance to #FightInequality, in a bid to gather the momentum needed to achieve their stated objective of tackling the systemic causes of inequality.  

Meanwhile, the evidence suggests that 2016 will witness an unprecedented escalation in popular protest in both the Global North and South – a trend that is likely to persist for as long as governments ignore the real solutions needed to address pressing crises, such as the devastating impacts of extreme poverty and climate change. The fundamental shift in world affairs that is needed was summarised by STWR during a recent World Goodwill seminar in London: policymakers and the public must recognise that there is only one planet’s worth of resources which must be shared equitably in order to secure basic human rights universally, without transgressing environmental limits. 

In order to communicate this core message and highlight an expanding selection of translated articles and reports, STWR have launched a new Japanese website that will help generate support for our work and activities among citizens and civil society organisations based in Japan. In the coming weeks, we also look forward to publishing new content by STWR’s founder Mohammed Mesbahi, including an interview on climate change and environmental activism, a study examining the increasingly popular concept of the ‘commons’, and an upcoming book version of Heralding Article 25: A people’s strategy for world transformation.

If you have not yet added your name or organisational endorsement, please consider signing up to STWR’s global call for sharing campaign, which highlights how progressive thinkers and advocacy groups are increasingly framing their activities in terms of this universal principle. Lastly, please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues that might be interested in subscribing, and participate in our social networks by following us on our regularly updated Facebook, Twitter and Scoop.it! pages. 

Latest news, articles and blogs from STWR

New Japanese website launched
In February 2016, STWR launched a new website to highlight the growing list of articles, reports and studies that have been translated into Japanese in recent months. Please forward the link to friends and colleagues that might be interested in reading this growing body of Japanese content.

World Day for Social Justice 2016 – Time to share the wealth
Every year since 2009, the United Nations has highlighted February 20th as the World Day for Social Justice in a bid to underscore the glaring inequalities that increasingly characterise the world today – from growing levels of poverty and rising unemployment rates, to various forms of discrimination on the basis of class, race and gender.

The invisible heart: sharing the world's resources
An edited transcript of an interview and audience-led discussion with STWR at the annual World Goodwill seminar in November 2015. The conference featured a series of presentations and talks conducted in London, Geneva and New York and covered a full range of spiritual, political, environmental and social issues.

Editorial February 2016: Letting “peace and love flow” for a world in crisis
Our latest editorial illustrating some of the many and diverse ways in which a call for sharing is being expressed, whether it’s by campaigners, activists, progressive economists, academics or anyone else. This debate is becoming more prominent by the day, although it is often framed in an implicit context without directly acknowledging how the principle of sharing is central to resolving today’s interlocking crises.

Making the case for sharing: the global alliance to #FightInequality
As an unprecedented alliance of campaign organisations combine their efforts in calling on governments to tackle the root causes of inequality, a new opportunity arises to instigate a much needed public debate on why future policy decisions should be guided by the principle of sharing.

A last stand for the Davos ‘gods’?
After yet another Elysian gathering of corporate executives, politicians and celebrities in the Swiss mountains, the Davos elite appear more disconnected from the socio-economic realities facing humanity than ever before, and increasingly deluded about the role they can play in creating a sustainable future.

Where next for the sharing economy debate?
As social and environmental crises continue to escalate, it seems increasingly unlikely that the sharing economy will lead the way to a more sustainable future – unless it actively challenges the power structures that maintain an unjust status quo.

A new era of global protest begins
In line with the steady rise in social unrest over the past decade, it’s likely that we will witness an unprecedented escalation in large-scale citizen protests across the globe in 2016 and beyond.

New translations

Artikel 25: Eine Strategie zur Transformation der Welt
A German translation of Heralding Article 25: A people’s strategy for world transformation, by Mohammed Mesbahi.

Proclamar el Artículo 25: Una estrategia para la transformación mundial
A further Spanish translation of Heralding Article 25: please also help distribute to any of your Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues. 

Support our work
Our research and advocacy work would not be possible without your ongoing support. STWR is funded entirely through private donations from individuals, and we do not receive any funding from governments or other institutions. Nor are we affiliated with any political party or corporate enterprise. Please consider making a small one off or regular donation to support our work by following this link.