Brussels, 11/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - As part of the Barcelona 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures to be held in Barcelona on 9 May- 26 September 2004, the European and international union movement will be organising a conference on 28 June - 1 July 2004 on the theme of "Work cultures". Former president of the European Commission Jacques Delors will make a contribution at the conference, which will be chaired by former General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Around 1500 participants from the whole world (worker representatives, experts from the world of work, citizens interested in this dialogue, company bosses will all be attending this conference, whose objectives are: to try and respond to the questions raised by the uncertainties created by economic globalisation; elaborate a manifesto in favour of a sustainable culture of solidarity in the whole world, a culture open to different traditions and practices of workers.
Emilio Gabaglio informed the press in Brussels, that, "We wanted to create the conditions of a different globalisation in a peaceful context, within a world that is changing fast and where we thought work was in danger of being marginalised". Gabaglio asked what the perspectives for employment in this globalised world were. He also stressed, "We wanted to highlight work and the collective union actor". The dialogue will be divided into 16 workshops focusing on themes such as work values, new forms of work, women and employment, women and poverty, relocation of production and services, the role of the public authorities, sustainable development etc. "Our ambition is to make the themes of work become part of people's lives and the concerns of different countries and regions in the world. We are insisting on the centrality of the value of work in our future societies", concluded Emilio Gabaglio.
The Universal Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004 is an international initiative which will bring together representatives from organisations from throughout the world for an open dialogue on the notions of "'cultures of peace and diversity", which will allow a sustainable globalisation that respects ethical values to be accomplished. (Info: oriol.homs@cirem.org).