ANWAR FAZAL - URBAN GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY EMPOWERMENT

"In a world that is increasingly violent, wasteful and manipulative, every effort at developing islands of integrity, wells of hope and sparks of action must be welcomed, multiplied and linked..." - Anwar Fazal

We need to create a new paradigm of development and happiness that can generate a three-dimensional peace - peace with ourselves, peace with other people and peace with mother earth. Little people doing little things in little places everywhere can change the world"…Anwar Fazal

WHO IS HE?

Anwar Fazal is a leading international civil society person who has contributed much to our society in areas of consumer, health environment, human rights and social ethics. Deeply concerned about the social injustices, especially those unconscionable marketing practices by the transnational corporations in developing countries, he has strived to and has succeeded in bringing these to international attention way back in the 1970s. Anwar Fazal, born in 1941, first became associated with the consumer movement in 1968 when he founded the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and later worked on consumer affairs for,among others, the Government of Mauritius, the Hong Kong Consumer Council and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. In 1978 he was the first person from the Third World to become President of the International Organisation of Consumers Unions (IOCU), an independent, non-profit group which links the activities of consumer organisations in over half the countries of the world. IOCU, which has since changed its name to Consumers International, promotes international cooperation in consumer protection and education, represents the consumer interest at the global level and facilitates the comparative testing of goods and services.

WHAT IS CONTRIBUTION TO THE IDEA OF URBAN GOVERNANCE?

The issues, ranging from consumer, health, environment to corruption and integrity are all a mark of his persona on the international scene. This website contains a selection of his speeches, presentations and articles is a tribute to Anwar Fazal's contribution to the many social movements he is involved in.

1. Civil society and the culture of integrity
2. Building Partnerships For Good Governance
3. Building The Culture Of Integrity
4. Good Governance - Better Human Development
5. The Governance and Management of Urban Communities - Challenges for the 21st Century
6. Building The Culture Of Integrity - The Spiritual Fundamentals
7. International Governance: Government, Ngos And The Citizenry - Their Synergistic Role In A Global Village
8. Fighting the Twin Terrors - Peace By Peace
9. Challenges to Human Security In The New Age
10. The Death And Life Of Asian Cities -The Challenge of Good Governance
11. The Future Of Cities

WHAT ARE HIS MAIN IDEA ON URBAN GOVERNANCE?

People must have a new conception of space. More and more issues are ceasing to be associated with political boundaries: the environment does not respect political boundaries, the transnational companies are not concerned with political boundaries--except when it benefits them. In communications, we are moving toward a global village; products and services are becoming homogenized. So we will have to understand space in a new way--we will have to think of space at all three levels because all three--local, national, global--impact on you. And we have to develop systems whereby groups can act locally, nationally and globally. Different groups can work at different levels, but with vertical and lateral links. If we have these vertical and lateral linkages, then we can make use of people's power that will be inclusive and can make transformational change to produce a more just and fair world.

The challenge of urban governance is to have people who take their civic responsibility beyond the personal self and who see that inclusiveness and bringing groups together is critical, who understand that there will be differences in tactics and even in visions; some people think for the summer, others think for a year, others might think for a decade and others will be thinking generations ahead.