[CSWCD Update] CSWCD GAD Committee holds Safe Spaces and Anti-Sexual Harrassment Forum

Any election is defined as an exercise of rights and power of the people in forming the government that carries their mandate and implement their decision. This is the reason any electoral exercise has always been considered as a sacred act.
Yet this definition is far and even runs counter in practice and reality of our elections where the obligation to elect is significantly narrowed down by our choices among the candidates. The electoral landscape and the hold of power at various levels are painted by a dynasty rule of families and clans in the form and essence of feudal patronage politics. Positions from the local to the national level has been regularly shifting within members of families and among relatives of traditional politicians and have been reduced into political fiefdoms where the rule of the governance is amassing wealth in the name of public service. Together with the conditions and institutions, culture and mindset that support and promote it, feudal patronage politics prevents the realization and conscious engagement of the people in their democratic rights and freedom to decide and ensure the realization of their decisions. Consequently, what we have today is elite democracy instead of people’s democracy.

Social development practitioners, academics, civil society organizations, institutions, and humanitarian organizations from Asia-Pacific will gather at the University of the Philippines on 23 to 24 October 2024, for the 10th International Consortium for Social Development-Asia Pacific Biennial Conference. The overall conference theme is The Fifth Industrial Revolution Amidst Multifaceted Disruptions: Harnessing the Power of Social…