O-Change :

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that things can change

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Rethink the world on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
in an open, young, popular process,
a playful, educational, festive, participative coopetition
based on each of the Articles.
Generate a feeling of global citizenship respecting local diversity.
Provide a spring-board for a new political space between the actors of globalisation in all their diversity.
Bring all the disparate initiatives together under one roof.
A virtual platform – a real construction.

> Premices and Outcomes

 

“What does O-Change mean ?”

O-Change stands for Olympiads for Change

“What does this have to do with the Olympics?”

The Olympics is a “movement… to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”(1) It engages people around the world like no other event. The Olympiads for Change takes core elements – movement, better world, youth, mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity, fair play – and applies them to the challenge of building global citizenship. O-Change aims for the same scale of global engagement and a similar four-year “Olympiad” time span.

“It's just another process of competing with others”. It is not.

O Change plans to be a high-visibility umbrella for many other existing and potential initiatives to create a better world. It is indeed a competition, but a creative one, open to all. Around the world, the youth (and beyond) is invited to take part. O- Change wants to be a space where every person can express his or her voice, build projects in co-operation with others and be listened to by the existing Powers That Be. A sort of “social network” for global and local citizenship.

“You are just virtual then?” No, we are not.

O-Change combines a Virtual Platform (http://o-change.org) that is a permanent face for the ever evolving process – with a series of local and global events and actions. Anything having related to O-Change would have to embrace the “DNA cell” – the principles and criteria guiding any competition in its name. From educational circles to socially active groups, the overall map and timeline of the Olympiads for Change would physically grow “outside the current box” of Public Affairs. But, by being festive and dynamic at every stage, it would generate its own agenda and convening power through the Public Sphere, under more creative grounds. 

“Oh, yet another outreach campaign”. It is not.

 We have nothing specific to promote, other than an empowerment exercise through which any of us could feel we are playing a meaningful role in the emerging global Future. How do we plan to do that? How do we “generate” a true bottom-up approach? A mass phenomenon through which the Small influences the Big, instead of seeing the Big ignore the Small.  How can we allow recognition and inclusion of as many people as possible? How can people feel encouraged to act as global citizens whose local lives are so diverse? In 2008, we find that the most useful tool to achieve this goal remains the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its 30 Articles.

 

“Human Rights, yes of course, the UN thing?”. So what?

This is an entry point into all the walks of life. The declaration is a platform for development of global citizenship, based in local realities. It is a meeting point between the claims of organized civil society and a so-called “international community” any self-respecting international community. It is an “ideal” framework to bring individuals to adopt, transform, use, share, create and build global-local citizenship. O-Change will move us beyond an historic vision dating back to the end of World War II, into a contemporary and truly global one. Rather than simply have national representatives discussing articles in a remote location as occurred in 1948 with the Declaration of Human Rights, O Change will create a globally dispersed conversation grounded in actions and local realities.

“I still don’t get it . You want people to run for human rights?“ Absolutely not.

The Olympiads for Change uses the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the starting point and original framework for the competition.

 Across the Planet, teams form to compete in five disciplines – a « Pentathlon » – through which they illustrate, give life, adapt, (revise ?) the Articles into a real practice and possibly a final document of global citizenship. They aim to represent the duties and responsibilies and rights of each person. Eventually, they come up with a new framework.

Those five disciplines could very well be : - a short film or play ; a song, a poem or a painting ; a simple speech ; a kind of physical performance ; and the quality of an educational project proposed by the team.`

But it will be up to the Listening and Orientation Committee to finalize the disciplines and the criteria.

 

“Why now?” Why wait any longer?

We have already waited far too long. Consider the number of global scale crises, concerning among others finance, climate and food. O Change can develop unity in ways forward by engaging local citizens, the opposite of global talk-fests that seem paralyzing. Governments bargain, international institutions mumble, civil society organizations stay at the door and the media adds to the panic. A sense of hopelessness is thus conveyed to those who had lost any trust in the international community or those who never had it...

 

“Who are you to undertake such an enormous initiative?” We are a network of possibilities.

This initiative is being launched by Bridge Initiative International – a Paris-based NGO with a history of bringing together parties such as the World Economic Forum of Davos and the World Social Forum of Porto Alegre and globalization stakeholders in conflict.. From organizing OPEN UN, a civil Society Forum during the 2005 Millennium Summit, to being part of the development of the madmundo participatory digital platform which places itself at the service of citizens , Bridge Inititative is a network of relationships that has built this vision in conversation with partners at the World Social Forum , the UN, and other international institutions and in the media.

 “Let’s do it”

Practically and theoretically, there are many reasons to think twice or delay. Yet, we feel the opposite: deadlines force delivery. And Change can’t wait for another Olympics to take place or another World Cup to attract popular participation to a serious process.

The Olympiads for Change are intended to last at least four years – the time of an Olympiad – between the Beijing Olympics and the London Summer Olympics with a possible peak in the middle, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics which have themselves adopted a mandate of sustainability for the Planet.

“En route”, Bridge Initiative International (together with its partners) would bring to the Olympiads’ Table interested personalities and players. It might even have the capacity – when and if need be – to have the O Change Platform and the Olympiads Process become a reference and a leverage for the evolution of the official agenda and policies.

 

And the Outcome would be: Change.

Positive Change

(1) From the Olympic Charter

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