In a rapidly evolving globalized world, citizens increasingly experience the consequences of issues that transcend borders. The climate crisis is becoming more visible in our daily lives, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic paralysed the world for over three years. These challenges not only impact the environment and our well-being, but also have significant economic and social consequences, increasing poverty and worsening the lives of not only the most vulnerable but also the middle class.
At the same time, the far right and authoritarian regimes feed on people’s fears, making them feel powerless to change their destiny. To increase their influence, these regimes use disinformation, misinformation, digital propaganda, and bots.
To combat this, we must link the global to the national and reflect this in our local programmes and policies. We must adapt our programmes and vocabulary to the world of tomorrow, and we must utilise technology and AI to reduce inequalities.
These were some of the main issues discussed at the Socialist International ad hoc Committee Meeting on “Progressive Responses to Global and Local Challenges” in Ankara on 7-8 September 2024, hosted by our Turkish member, CHP, on the occasion of their Extraordinary Congress.
At the opening of the Committee Meeting, Chantal Kambiwa, SI General Coordinator, thanked the host party for their hospitality and praised their initiative of including a 50% “women’s participation quota” in their party bylaws to ensure equal representation for women in the decision-making bodies of the party, as well as for initiating an innovative process for drafting their new party programme.
The leader of CHP, Özgür Özel, thanked the Socialist International for the excellent collaboration in organising the ad hoc Committee to highlight the urgency of adapting policies and practices to the challenges of our time.
CHP Secretary-General, Selin Sayek Böke, explained in detail the important changes in the party bylaws and described the participatory process that will lead to the elaboration of a new party programme.
Paulina Lampsa, Socialist International Executive Vice-President, moderated a very fruitful exchange of views between the participants of the ad hoc Committee and members of the CHP leadership, as well as CHP mayors and members of Parliament.
Within the framework of this participatory process, on the second day of the meeting, Socialist International ad hoc Committee participants exchanged views with Congress delegates on how to integrate global issues into party policies and the party programme. These views were included in the Ankara Declaration, which was later adopted by all the delegates of the CHP Congress.
For the Socialist International, this declaration constitutes a step towards extending this conversation, and we aim to include all our party members on all continents in this process.
