The International Civil Society Forum (FISC, for its Portuguese acronym) is a global event that will be held in Belém, capital of the state of Pará, Brazil, from November 28th to 30th, 2009 to prepare the participation of civil society at the official International Adult Education Conference (CONFINTEA VI) and also to articulate with other movements, networks and civil society organizations that have been working on the right to Youth and Adult Education.

CONFINTEA is the most important international event in the Youth and Adult Education field, and is coordinated and organized by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning every 12 years. This sixth edition will take place in Belem, from December 1st to 4th and it is the first time that this conference is held in the southern hemisphere.

These International Adult Education Conferences (CONFINTEA) gather UNESCO member states, represented mainly by their education ministries, and they intend to establish international guidelines for education policies in the youth and adult education field. Civil society organizations try to do advocacy in the different stages of this process, with a view to exert influence on the final document and the commitments assumed by governments in this space.

In this sense, the International Civil Society Forum (FISC, for its portuguese acronym) appears as an open space where different people, entities, civil society organizations and movements, from different countries, gather to make further reflections, hold democratic debates of ideas, formulate proposals, freely exchange experiences and articulate effective actions for youth and adult education.

As a plural, non-denominational, non-governmental and non – partisan space, which is open to diverse identities and individuals, involved in practices of Youth and Adult Education, it promotes the respect of human rights, through the practice of a participatory democracy and a development model that is sustainable and preserves diversity, through egalitarian, solidarity and peaceful relationships among individuals, peoples, and different gender and ethnic groups, condemning all forms of domination and subordination of one human being to another.

To see the Charter of Principles, click here.