The challenges facing the Global South are vast and interconnected, ranging from environmental degradation and climate change to social disruption, demanding a new approach to development and international cooperation. It is in this context that the Organisation of Southern Cooperation (OSC)’s ConGreS, or Congress of the Greater South, emerges to chart a new Third Way of Development.
This week, the OSC hosted consultations with youth groups, academics, artists, and representatives of civil society groups and other sectors, for in-depth discussions to develop a collective plan of action for a redefined paradigm in multilateralism. This paradigm shift focused on endogenous knowledge and how to bridge the knowledge gap between and among countries of the Global South; interculturalism, balanced and inclusive education, and leveraging the collective capacities and resources of OSC Member States to reduce debt burdens and secure more favourable financing terms.
The consultations on 15 to 16 May, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, aimed to devise innovative ways for a more inclusive future model of development for developing countries – a Third Way of Development. Participants during the Kenya sub-consultation engaged with visionary ideas, addressing global challenges, to promote a new multilateralism, the first in a series of such discussions, which will also be rolled out in the Pacific and Caribbean, Latin America, Middle East, and Southeast Asian regions.
More than just a forum, the ConGreS is a platform for collective action visionary thinking, and actionable execution. By bringing together diverse stakeholders from across regions and sectors, ConGreS seeks to forge a path toward shared prosperity and human dignity.
At the end of the regional sub-consultations, delegates would have articulated a collective plan of action that will inform the next series of discussions with government representatives and policymakers.
