Press Release: G20 Summit and Counter summit in Saint-Petersburg

(Moscow) - On the 3-4th of September in St. Petersburg a counter-summit, a large-scale international event that aims to be an alternative to the September G20 Summit and to develop new principles of economic and social policy that are not based on the "Washington Consensus" will be held. The international counter-summit organised by the "Post-globalization" initiative will bring together world-renowned experts, politicians, economists, social scientists from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. In the frames of the counter-summit panel discussions, seminars and public lectures will be held.

Counter-summits have their own tradition. These large-scale international democratic events are held in response to the elite G20 and G8 summits and represent alternative points of view on many important issues for the society. In the context of the ongoing global economic crisis the St. Petersburg counter-summit is especially important. It will suggest ways to solve the problems associated with the crisis of the U.S. hegemony, "free trade" and the WTO.

Since the 1980s, a neoliberal (neoconservative) ultra market oriented policy is implemented in the world, the directives of which are largely determined by the G20 and the G8. However, the outbreak of the 2008 crisis showed the historical limits of neoliberalism: global capitalism has lost effectiveness. The peoples face the task of implementing new economic policies and approaches in the social sphere. The counter-summit is designed to help the society make a decision, take a step from criticising neoliberalism to pursuing radical change. A transition from a weak to a strong state, from non-intervention in the economy to regulation is maturing. Qualitative policy change is require, based on the recognition of the priority of social, cultural, scientific and technological progress.

The counter summit sets the task of defining an alternative strategy that would rely on the new reality of a multipolar world economy, free from U.S. hegemony and dominance of transnational corporations. The relevance of these issues for Russia is all the more evident after the accession of our country to the WTO since the issue as to whether the domestic economy is to develop in line with the recommendations of the Western trade and financial institutions, or to focus on its own priorities, comes to the fore once again.

The counter summit agenda includes: problems of financial markets, the policy of the IMF and the World Bank, the global economic crisis, the debt problems and budget savings. The issues of economic regulation, food safety, environmental protection, labour and social rights, changes in the energy field and the role of government in the economy will be discussed. Contrary to the liberal politicians the counter-summit participants consider that the answer to the crisis should be a welfare state and not the commercialisation of public goods. They are convinced that the neoliberal era is coming to an end.

The counter summit in St. Petersburg will be attended by dozens of scientists and public figures from around the world, such as the Egyptian economist Samir Amin, the American activist Kevin Danaher, the sociologist Edgaro Lander from Venezuela, the Canadian political scientist Pierre-Yves Serinet, the head of the Anti-Monopoly Service of Ecuador Pedro Paez. Major international organizations will take part in the counter-summit, organisations such as: Focus on the global south, Global exchange (USA), ATTAC France, Via campesina, Institute for agriculture and trade policy (USA), Our world is not for sale (OWINFS), Tax Justice Network, Latindadd, Brazilian Network on Peoples Integration (REBRIP), Committee for the abolition of world debt, Campagna per la riforma della Banca mondiale, Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo (PIDHDD) from Latin America, Centre for Civil Society (South Africa), Globalization monitor (China), Institute of Globalisation and Social movements (Russia), Indonesia for For Global Justice, Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (INESC, Brazil) and many others.

The initiative «Postglobalization» was formed on the 30th of April in Moscow with the participation of the Institute of globalisation and social movements (IGSO), the Transnational institute (TNI), Focus on the Global South, ATTAC FRANCE and other international institutes. The international Postglobalization initiative aims to find new ways to recover the economy that suffers from the failure of the neoliberal project. The experts of the initiative are convinced that in 2008 a new era began. The crisis signaled the end of the financial globalization (1982-2008) and paved the way for a development based on new economic and socio-political principles.

The Press service of the Postglobalization Initiative
Contact person: Alexandra Turchaninova
tel.: +7 962 951 44 00
e-mail: info@pglobal.org