Human Rights and Welfare not Warfare – Central and Eastern European Webinar

Overview

The purpose of this webinar is to bring together voices from Central and Eastern Europe on the need for welfare and human rights for all instead of warfare and armament in a time of global social and environmental crisis. Speakers address the issue from their perspective while seeking to contribute to a common discussion on the convergence of the issues, struggles, and constructive solutions across borders. Welfare is seen as an issue where rural and urban economies are equally important as bases for wealth creation and the equal distribution of social rights. So are gender and ethnic equal rights challenging misogyny and racism in a world with unequal economic relationships and a historic legacy of colonialism and in its new forms.

This webinar is a regional part of the World Social Assembly of Struggles and Resistances (WSA) activity towards the World Social Forum in Benin 4-8 August 2026. https://fsm2026benin.org.

It is inspired by the Helsinki Final Act from 1975 and its three-layered program for indivisible security, economic and environmental cooperation, and human rights, including such specific demands as equal rights for migrant workers and minority rights.

WSA, together with the International Peace Bureau, World Beyond War, the Belarusian organization Our House based in Vilnius, the Network Peace and Climate Justice, and others, cooperated in the framework of Helsinki+50 People’s Initiative to reawaken the Helsinki Spirit today, calling for detente, a European Peace conference, disarmament to enable solutions to social and environmental concerns and work for human rights without double standards.

You can read more about WSA and WSF in this newsletter here:  https://worldsocialassembly.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WSA-News-spring-2026.pdf  and about Helsinki+50 People’s Initiative here: https://helsinkiplus50.org

PS2 was established in the spring of 2010 at a conference in Prague titled Stop Right-wing Extremism and Populism in a Time of Social and Ecological Crisis with some 100 participants mainly from CEE countries. It came out of the need to strengthen CEE participation in the social forum processes, both in Europe and the world. PS2 has been working consistently since then via Zoom meetings, mostly every second week, initiated actions, and when resources have been available, organized CEE meetings.

Zoom link to the event will be provided when you register at this place (the time is UTC+2 18-20):
Human Rights and Welfare not Warfare – Central and Eastern European Webinar

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