Nyéléni Global Forum

Nyéléni Global Forum
Name	Nyéléni Global Forum
Formation	2007
Founder	Via Campesina; Food Sovereignty
Type	Network
Headquarters	Sélingué, Mali

Nyéléni Global Forum The Nyéléni Global Forum is an international gathering associated with La Via Campesina, Rural Advancement Foundation International, La Vía Campesina, International Fund for Agricultural Development and regional peasant, indigenous and fisher organizations that promotes Food Sovereignty and agroecology. Convened first in 2007 in Sélingué near Bamako, the forum brought together activists linked to World Bank policies, United Nations agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization, and grassroots networks such as International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty and Friends of the Earth.

Overview

The forum functions as a transnational convocation connecting peasant movements, indigenous organizations, fisher collectives, and allied NGOs like ActionAid, Oxfam, Bread for the World, and Sustainable Development Goal advocates. It foregrounds alternatives to models promoted by institutions such as the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and multinational agribusiness firms including Cargill, Monsanto and Syngenta. Stakeholders include representatives from continent-wide platforms like African Union, Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Asia Pacific Farmers Forum, European Coordination Via Campesina, and networks tied to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

History and Origins

Roots trace to mobilizations around Seattle WTO protests and the rise of La Via Campesina in the 1990s, with conceptual links to the Campesino a Campesino movement and policies debated at the World Food Summit and World Social Forum. The 2007 meeting at Sélingué invoked the 14th-century Malian legendary figure Nyéléni as a symbol, resonating with histories of the Mali Empire, the city of Timbuktu, and regional movements including Confédération paysanne and National Federation of Agricultural Producers. Subsequent forums connected with policy discussions at the UN Committee on World Food Security, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, and debates involving Green Revolution proponents and critics like Norman Borlaug.

Objectives and Themes

Primary objectives align with the Declaration of Nyéléni principles emphasizing local control, seed sovereignty, land rights, and agroecology education popularized by networks such as Slow Food, La Via Campesina, and Agroecology Europe. Thematic priorities engage with land tenure struggles involving actors like Landless Workers' Movement (MST), water rights contested in regions influenced by China-Africa relations infrastructure projects, and food policy dialogues intersecting with Codex Alimentarius Commission, Common Agricultural Policy, and trade regimes shaped during Doha Round negotiations. Campaigns often reference legal instruments like the Tenure Guidelines endorsed by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Organization and Governance

The forum operates as a decentralized network without centralized secretariat, coordinated through assemblies and working groups drawn from organizations such as Via Campesina, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, and regional coalitions like Pan-African Farmers Union. Governance mechanisms borrow from consensus models used by the World Social Forum and incorporate thematic committees reflecting expertise from International Labour Organization constituencies, indigenous rights lawyers tied to International Indian Treaty Council, and agricultural researchers from institutions such as CIRAD and CGIAR. Funding and logistical support come from solidarity NGOs including Progressio and philanthropic entities like Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation in some instances.

Major Forums and Outcomes

Key gatherings after 2007 include regional and thematic meetings that shaped campaigns on seed laws, land grabs, and trade. Outcomes influenced advocacy at the UN Human Rights Council, submissions to the Committee on World Food Security, and mobilizations against land acquisitions linked to investors like Blackstone Group and state actors via Foreign Direct Investment. The forum contributed to the diffusion of the Declaration of Nyéléni and catalyzed networks that supported initiatives such as community seed banks modeled on practices promoted by Navdanya and MST agrarian reforms seen in Brazil and Venezuela policy debates.

Participants and Networks

Participants span grassroots activists from organizations including La Via Campesina, MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra), National Farmers Union (UK), All India Kisan Sabha, fisherfolk groups like World Forum of Fisher Peoples, indigenous federations such as Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin, and allied NGOs like GRAIN and Transnational Institute. Academic and research contributors come from University of Wageningen, University of California, Davis, Institute of Development Studies, and CGIAR centers including International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. Networks forged at the forum intersect with campaigns run by Friends of the Earth International, International Food Security Network, and regional assemblies like African Food Sovereignty Network.

Impact and Criticism

Impact includes increased international visibility for food sovereignty, influence on policy dialogues at the Committee on World Food Security, and the spread of agroecology praxis in civil society and some state programs. Critics argue the forum's consensus model limits engagement with market-oriented stakeholders, parallels critiques leveled at World Social Forum, and faces challenges integrating with multilateral institutions like the World Bank or private sector actors such as Unilever and ADM. Debates persist over scalability of agroecological alternatives championed by Nyéléni-linked movements versus technological intensification promoted by entities like CGIAR and corporate research arms.

Category:International conferences