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FOGGS Update - May 2025

 

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FOGGS Update: May 2025
Next Open Consultation Monday, Call to Recommit to the UN Charter, Upcoming Democracy Talk, Sadistic State, Katoikos articles, podcasts & more...
FOGGS Open Consultation Monday #9 on 2 June 2025 dedicated to FFD4 preparations


This Open Consultation is in preparation for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development - FFD4, Seville, Spain, 30 June–3 July 2025. Despite decades of negotiations and financial commitments, developing countries still face debt burdens and structural vulnerabilities, hindering progress toward the SDGs. A new paradigm is needed—one centered on local capacities, resilience, and true empowerment of developing nations. This online event will spark dialogue on key elements of that paradigm, including aid, trade, and domestic resource mobilization. It builds on previous FOGGS consultations on topics like peace, decolonization, and citizen engagement.

For more information on the focus of this consultation and to register to attend 👉 bit.ly/foggs-open-consultation-mondays-9

The video recordings and summaries of all previous Open Consultations can be found here: https://www.foggs.org/foggs-open-consultation-mondays/
A Call to Renew Commitment to the UN Charter
In response to mounting concerns on the state of our world, multilateralism and the UN, a Call has been prepared on the occasion of the upcoming 80th anniversary of the UN Charter, calling for a return to the Charter’s purpose. The text of the Call and the list of signatories, which for now number some 200 former UN system officials and international civil servants, can be found here.
Join the Call - support the UN Charter:The final lists of signatories will be released on 26 June 2025, marking the actual 80th anniversary of the UN Charter.
Upcoming Democracy Talk
The video recordings of previous Democracy Talks can be found here: https://youtube.com/@DemocratHorizon


What is a Sadistic State and how can it be countered?
Reflecting on what is happening in the US since the (second) Trump inauguration on 20 January 2025, people say it is becoming an authoritarian state, a corrupt state, an anti-immigrant state, a human rights crushing state, a white nationalist state, an oligarch-controlled state, and a state that is chaotic by design. It is certainly a state, where the President seeks to ‘rule’ over the co-equal institutions of the government, the Legislative and the Judiciary. While all of these explain an aspect of the Trump (and, to be analytically honest, also the Hungarian) state, this is actually a new form of post WWII governance arrangement in the West, an arrangement best technically described as a Sadistic State (SS).

Read the full op-ed by Harris Gleckman on Katoikos.world
From Our Partners
Essay competition | "The Global South, Africa and the G20 Nexus"
FOGGS partner Inclusive Society Institute (ISI) of South Africa is co-hosting a G20 essay competition with a 30 June 2025 deadline. Those interested do submit your essay on the theme "The Global South, Africa and the G20 nexus", as per the specifications provided in this announcement.

Recent Articles, Podcasts & Art
In Neutral Switzerland, Austria Wins Eurovision 2025 as Israel Briefly Unites Europe
Korinne Algie, 28 May 2025
As the curtains rise on the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, the picturesque landscapes of Switzerland serve as a reminder of the contest’s origins and its enduring mission to unite Europe in harmony (pun intended). Walking through the host city Basel, Switzerland’s cultural capital, there is a buzz in the air. Eurovision brings together artists and audiences from across Europe for a celebration of music, culture, and unity...

Read this article here.
Gaza: Starving the Innocent, Starving the Conscience of Humanity
Sudha S. Reddy, 21 May 2025
“Fourteen thousand babies could die in the next 48 hours in Gaza.”
– United Nations, May 20, 2025

When I read this line, something ruptured deep inside me. Fourteen thousand babies—not numbers, not statistics, but breathing, crying, nursing newborns—are being consigned to death in the very first hours of life. How does one carry that unbearable weight in their chest without collapsing?...

Read this article here.
#31 The Roma Experience & the Power of Art
with Avraam Goutzeloudis & Eleni Tsetsekou, 17 May 2025
What is it like to grow up Roma in Europe? What prejudices do Roma people still face on the daily? How can arts-based activism change our minds and hearts to foster empathy? Tune into our latest interview to find out first hand from Avraam Goutzeloudis, actor in ROMALAND, a theatrical documentary play about the lives and stories of Roma people from Greece, and Eleni Tsetsekou, head of the Roma and Travellers division of the Council of Europe...

Listen to this podcast here
Contribute your own article to Katoikos!
We invite anyone who is interested in being a part of the Katoikos community to submit articles or artistic content for publication. We are looking to provide a platform for people to raise their voice and participate in an ever-evolving discussion on how to improve the world we share. 
Click here for further details.
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We have been communicating for years, thank you for your enduring support. Time for us to listen to you too, what your profiles and interests are, and what you expect from these Updates.

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The FOGGS Team

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