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Social Movements in the South Lecture Tour Series: Mobilizations after Apartheid
Public Lectures and Roundtable Discussions in the Philippines by Dr. Ari Sitas January 24-25, 2011 University of the Philippines Diliman and Adarna Food and Culture, Quezon City
The University of the Philippines (UP) Third World Studies Center (TWSC), together with the South-South Exchange Programme for Research on the History of Development (SEPHIS), the UP Diliman (UPD) Department of Political Science, the UPD Department of Sociology, Focus on the Global South (Focus), and the Labor Education and Research Network (LEARN) organized two lectures and two roundtable discussions (RTDs) as part of its Social Movements in the South Lecture Series. As the theme for this years lecture series was Mobilizations after Apartheid, the lecturer was Dr. Ari Sitas, a prominent sociologist based in the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Dr. Sitas arrived in the Philippines on January 21. On Saturday, January 22, Professor Verna Dinah Q. Viajar, TWSCs Deputy Director, took Dr. Sitas to a welcome lunch in Morato, Quezon City. Afterwards, they went for a short visit to the office of LEARN, where Dr. Sitas spoke briefly with some of the aforesaid organizations board officers and staff members. The next day, January 23, Dr. Sitas was given a day-long tour of Manila to help familiarize him with Philippine history and culture, as well as to give him a first-hand look at the socioeconomic situation of the Filipino people, particularly urban dwellers. Among the places he visited were the remnants of Spanish and American colonization in the Philippines, cemeteries doubling as residences for the homeless, and one of the country's massive "commercial Meccas." Following these preliminary introductions to the Philippines, the lectures and roundtable discussions took place. The January 24, was entitled Rewiring the World Economy: States and Movements in the South. The January 25 lecture was entitled The Mandela Decade (1990-2000): Labor Movements, Politics, and Transformations in South Africa. The first public lecture had 75 audience members that consisted of members of nongovernment and civil society organizations (NGOs/CSOs), and university faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students. Most of the students came from the University of the Philippines and the University
of the East, Manila. Dr. Sitas looked into the role of nation-states in the face of globalization, showing the disparate effects of neoliberalist dominance on Northern and Southern states, critiquing a number of popular notions about globalization along the way, ultimately giving weight to the argument that a rewiring of the world economy has taken place; as a consequence of having been forced into engaging in worldwide trade for the sake of sustained economic growth, a number of Southern nation-statesthe so-called BRICSA (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)are emerging as new economic elites in a worldwide system they are unwittingly helping to sustain. Dr. Sitas then went on to discuss the effects of globalization, both positive and negative, on previously localized social movements. Rene Ofreneo, Professor and former Dean, UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations, gave the reaction to the lecture, largely agreeing with the content of Dr. Sitass discussion, giving emphasis to the necessity of reexamining the role of the state in this age of globalization. He affirmed the tenacity of neoliberalist tendencies in soft states such as the Philippines, thereafter identifying what contents of the lecture would be of use to local NGOs/CSOs to counter rising inequality and injustice. An open forum followed, moderated by Clarissa Militante, Media and Communications Outreach Associate, Focus on the Global South. Among the points raised by members of the audience were the relationship of human rights protection and overseas assistance, the use of technology for class purposes, the socialist alternative to capitalism, and the necessity for any anti-capitalist movement to go beyond motherhood statements to better discredit capitalism. A lunch co-sponsored by Focus and the LEARN was held thereafter at the TWSC office. Over lunch, Dr. Sitas was able to converse with labor leaders and visiting foreign scholars who share his interest in Southern social movements. In the afternoon, an informal roundtable discussion was held with graduate students and faculty members of the UPD Department of Political Science and the UPD Department of Sociology. It was moderated by Jalton Taguibao, Assistant Professor, UPD Department of Political Science. The discussion focused on networking opportunities between the University of the Philippines and the University of Cape Town, as well as social science academic work in the Philippines and South Africa. There were 24 attendees to this RTD. Dr. Sitas then engaged in casual conversation with students of sociology from UP Diliman. They talked about the University of Cape Town and environmentalist movements, among other topics. The second public lecture had 131 audience members that consisted mainly of university faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, as well as a number of NGO/CSO representatives. Dr. SItas
looked into the sociopolitical transitions in South Africa during the Mandela Decade, showing how these upheavals were in no way curative of poverty and inequality in Dr. Sitass homeland, tracing how neoliberalism eventually held sway in South Africa following a time when trade unionists were a sociopolitical force of consequence; ultimately, these discussions allowed for giving points of comparison between democratization efforts in South Africa and social movements in the rest of the Global South. Dr. Teresa Melgar, Assistant Professor, UPD Department of Sociology, gave the reaction to Dr. Sitass lecture, asking the lecturer to elaborate on, among other points, the role of the religious institutions in ending apartheid, the effects of the Cold Wars cessation on the furtherance of the anti-apartheid campaign, and the immediate changes in citizenship rights following the collapse of the apartheid regime. An open forum followed, moderated by Jean Paul Zialcita, Assistant Professor, UPD Department of Political Science. An intimate lunch with members of the TWSC staff, a couple of faculty members from the UPD College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, and Counsellor Hugo Lambrechts, Deputy Head of Mission of the South African Embassy in the Philippines, followed. Counsellor Lambrechts shared his experiences as a career diplomat who served in other Southern countries such as India, while the academics talked about their comparative experiences as educators in different social and discursive milieus. The last roundtable discussion took place that afternoon. The attendees of this RTD were mostly members of trade unions; members of other NGOs were also in attendance. The discussion began with Dr. Sitass critique of the dominant mode of production originating from the United States, with emphasis on the emergence of the precariat class. The discussion then flowed to comparisons of working class experiences and conditions in the Philippines and in South Africa. There were 25 attendees to this RTD. Throughout his short stay, Dr. Sitas was given a number of TWSCs publications to bring home with him, along with memories of his productive discussions in the Philippines. For additional documentation of the lecture, please go to the following post on the UP TWSC blog: http://uptwsc.blogspot.com/2011/01/socialmovements-in-south-lecture-tour.html.