The IV World Meeting of Popular Movements (EMMP) in dialogue with Pope Francis, which will be held entirely in videoconference format, will begin in July and September.
The first of these meetings will take place on July 9 with the presence of Card. Peter K. A. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
It will begin at 2 p.m. (CEST Time) and will bring together by videoconference the popular movements and their delegates from around the world to discuss the impact of COVID on the poorest and most marginalized workers and the dilemmas facing humanity today, including the 3Ts: shelter, work and land, the three “sacred rights” set by the discussions with Francisco at the three previous meetings (Vatican, 2014 and 2016; Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 2015), today turned into basic criteria of social justice: “It’s possible to desire a planet which ensures shelter, work and land for all” (Papa Francisco, cfr. Fratelli tutti, 127).
The second part of this meeting will take place in September 2021. This will be the chance to share the work and struggle of popular movements during the pandemic, discuss the conclusions of the meetings held by the popular movements with Pope Francisco, and listen to his message.
It will be broadcast live, simultaneously in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French through the communication media of the popular movements.
Participation
These meetings are a space for fraternity, reuniting representatives of the popular movements from all latitudes across the planet, from different religions and cultures. In this IV meeting, delegates from America (North, Central and South), Europe, Africa and Asia will participate.
They are cartoneros, recyclers, street vendors, tailors, artisans, fishermen, farmers, builders, miners, workers in recovered companies, all kinds of cooperative members, workers in folk trades, Christian workers of varied offices and professions, neighborhood and villa workers who practice the culture of meeting and walking together.
For seven years, poor people, those who are neglected and excluded, coming from the urban, rural and labour peripheries have met at the WMPM in dialogue with brother Pope Francisco to make heard and give visibility to their concerns about the increased injustice caused by the exclusive capitalist system. They meet in order to reflect and to share their social struggles, organised from the community and above all to propose alternative solutions and new ways to fight, in defence of the rights they call for, mainly Shelter, Work and Land.
In this process, this WMPM faces daunting challenges due to the context it is carried out in. It’s held at a historic moment of multi-dimensional crisis, spread across the globe, with a never-before-seen magnitude, created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organising committee
This committee contributes to the organisation and dynamization of the meeting. They maintain the dialogue with the Holy See, through the Dicastery for Integrated Human Development. On behalf of the popular movements, it consists of João Pedro Stédile from the Landless Workers Movement (MST) - La Vía Campesina in Brazil; Juan Graboi, from the Movement of Excluded Workers (MTE) - Union of Workers of the Popular Economy (UTEP) in Argentina; Rouse Molokoane from the National Slum Dwellers Federation in India - Slum Dwellers International (SDI); Charo Castelló, from the Catholic Action Workers Brotherhood (HOAC) in Spain - World Movement of Christian Workers (WMCW); Gloria Morales Palos, from PICO Network in the United States; and Luca Cassarini, from Mediterranean Saving Humans in Italy.