22 September marked the start of the 25th anniversary conference of the European Trade Justice Coalition (ETJC), previous Seattle2Brussels (S2B). This is a European coalition of a diverse group of civil society that has been pushing back on neo-liberal trade agreements to promote an economic system that works for all people and the planet.
WIDE+ was present with Edmé Dominguez, chair of the European Gender and Trade Working Group, Gea Meijers, also a member of this group, Masseni Keita and Francesca Maddii, young professionals who are supporting WIDE+ in Brussels at this moment.
“Unstoppable” could be one word to describe the movement. The day provided space to reflect on its history. Over the decades, there has been an ebb and flow in activism and attention. It started with a bang following the big demonstrations in Seattle around the World Trade Association. There were highlights of stopping specific negotiations, and disappointments that not more was achieved.
The role of feminist groups in the trade justice networks was acknowledged several times, including in the history of the ETJC. WIDE+ has, since its inception, been working on trade issues from a feminist perspective, and its predecessor WIDE was from the beginning with S2B. WIDE+ is currently part of the ‘Stop Mercosur trade agreement’ and ‘Stop toxic trade’ alliances.
With many movements under attack or in crisis, given the ongoing proliferation of the far right, this first day aimed to reflect on the current strategic stance of the network: ‘should we reach out to other groups, with other kinds of messages and employ new strategies?’. These questions were addressed in plenary and through small group discussion.
One thing stood out: the European Trade Justice Coalition seems to be preparing itself for another 25 years of activism. Key take-aways for the future were: reaching out to new groups, such as young people, migrants, precarious workers; developing concrete recommendations for the trade frameworks that we do want; embracing diversity and investing in community outreach; including our own online spaces; and (re-)connecting with our siblings in the Global South. There was an urgency felt that we need to redevelop the narratives around trade justice to be able to explain to people in Europe why another trade model would work for them as well.