Background


The “Just World Conference: Whose Resources?” will take place in Johannesburg from the 29th to the 31st of October 2012.

Ample richness in natural resources has failed to materialise in development for local communities in many sub-Saharan African countries. Despite the so-called resource curse, the existence of abundant natural resources can be turned to a blessing, and can provide resources for enhanced development. The conference will explore two main areas. Firstly the impacts of extractive industries on local communities, gender relations and the environment will be examined. Secondly, different models for ownership of natural resources will be discussed, based on the experiences of a range of different countries. This will include the Zambian experience with copper, the experience of Botswana with diamonds, the South African experience with mining and the Norwegian experience with oil.

Aims
The main aim is to bring together academics, policy makers, NGOs, representatives of local communities, traditional leaders, as well as mining companies, to share and gain more knowledge about ownership of natural resources and the effects of extractive industries.

This knowledge should provide the basis for both advocacy work at the national level, and for building local awareness of these issues. We hope that the outcomes of this conference will influence policy-makers and show the wide range of policy-options available to ensure that the benefits of natural resources are shared by the population as a whole. In holding the conference in South Africa, we also hope that it can feed into the on-going debate on nationalisation of the mines. Instead of the polarized approach for or against nationalisation, the presentations in the conference will aim to show the variety of different models available for ownership of natural resources, and opportunities and challenges with each of these.

We aim to ensure that the conference is linked to work that is already going on in local communities and organisations on these issues, and that the conference provides a veritable space for communities to speak out on the effects of extractive industries.

Presenters
The keynote speaker for the conference is Professor Ben Turok.

Academics have been invited from a variety of universities to present on the different models of ownership of natural resources. This includes Dr Gavin Capps from UCT, Dr. Mathias Mphande from the University of Zambia, Dr Onalenna Selolwane from the University of Botswana, and Dr Bjørn Letnes who is a Norwegian researcher.

Representatives from local communities in various countries have also been invited to present on their experiences of the effects of mining. Key speakers will also be coming from the Bench Marks Foundation’s Community Monitors School. A range of international NGOs will be presenting at the conference, including Mr Shamiso Mtisi from ZELA in Zimbabwe, Mr Silas Olang from Tanzania Revenue Watch, and Mr Yao Graham from Third World Network.

Target groups
Key policy-makers and government departments have been invited to participate in the conference and we hope that the conference provides a space for engagement between civil society and government.

Key mining companies have also been invited to listen to the testimonies of representatives of the local communities and participate in debates.

A range of both international and South African NGOs have been invited to both participate and speak at the conference.

Program overview
The two first days of the conference will be focused on testimonies from community representatives and academic input on different countries' experiences with a variety of models for ownership of natural resources. The different sessions will start with representatives from affected communities giving testimonies on the different effects of mining. Academics will then be asked to both respond to the testimonies they have heard, and to give presentations on different country experiences with different models of ownership of natural resources. The purpose of such a set-up is to ensure that the experiences of communities and the knowledge offered by academics are brought together to see what can be learnt in terms of good policies for ownership of natural resources.

A debate on nationalisation will take place on the evening of the 29th of October, and will include representatives from the unions, government, business, academia and civil society.

On the third day of the conference, the Bench Marks Foundation will launch the “Church Leaders´ Call for Responsible Investment.” This is a statement signed by church leaders across the African continent, demanding that multinational companies ensure that their investments are ethical.