PRESENTATION OF SITE
welcome /
action now/
news /
messages /
agenda /
library /
documents /
addresses /
books /
links
ITS HISTORY AND AIMS
Welcome to the Web site For Dignity in Labour, created by the Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo after the Conference "South/North: New alliances for Dignity in Labour", held in Pisa (Italy) from 1-3 October 1995.
The aim of the site is to facilitate the activities of groups wishing to work in favour of the workers' human and trade-union rights in the Southern Hemisphere and Eastern Europe in the agricultural and industrial sectors producing for export, with particular reference to bananas, tea, coffee, cocoa, textiles, footwear, toys and electronic goods.
Fundamental to the creation of the site is the conviction that co-ordinated action on a worldwide scale is essential in order to obtain results, backed-up by rapid and up-to-date information.
The site, therefore, proposes:
1. to supply useful information to groups working in defence of human and trade-union rights;
2. to circulate information on the campaigns and activities organised by the various groups attempting to modify the conduct of the enterprises;
3. to facilitate the organisation of public opinion pressure campaigns which must be co-ordinated on a worldwide scale to be fully effective.
INFORMATION AVAILABLE: WHERE AND HOW TO CONSULT IT
We regret to say that the documentation is all in its source language. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer more than this. Only brief summaries (translated) of the information contained are available.
The information is collected in six sections:
1. Noticeboard, which includes urgent appeals and draws attention to facts and campaigns of topical interest.
2. Agenda , which shows the Calendar of Events.
3. Library Documents, where information and documentation for further examination are classified under subject-matter headings.
By consulting the Index it should be easy to pick out which section contains the information requested. However, should any problem arise, we would advise proceeding through the section Research of documents. After having used the mouse (click) to have access to this section, you will find a search command in which to insert the key-words. Once the search order has been given, an HTML page will appear with the linkages to the documents that contain the keywords: the linkages must then be followed to gain access to the documents requested.
4. Action Now which gives up-to-date news of particular interest. This will maybe necessitate action on your part.
5. Research which contains special engines to gain access to an Address list of institutions, associations and magazines, to an Index of books and to the documents stored in this website. The search procedure for addresses is the same as previously described for documents. Once inside the Address list the search is made according to country of origin and theme in question. In a similar way books and reviews can be searched for under headings, title, author or key-words.
6. Links, which contains the addresses of other web-sites and mailig-lists interested in the "Dignity in Labour" theme. Click to open the web sites directly. To contact a mailing list, however, the address must be copied and an e-mail message sent separately.
WHO MANAGES IT
This site is managed by the Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo, a small Italian NGO which functions mostly on a voluntary basis.
The address is: Via della Barra 32 - 56019 Vecchiano (PI) Italy - Phone +39-50-826354 Fax +39-50-827165 e-mail coord@cnms.it
At the centre the permanent managers of the site are: Francesco, who co-ordinates and selects the material to be inserted, Michela, who transcribes and inserts the data into the site and Giorgio, who looks after the tecnical side of things. The team is completed by Monica and Cesare that intervene for specific matters.The centre whishes to thank each and everyone of them for all thier work, which is mostly voluntary.
However, one problem remains unsolved: translating. At the moment most translating is done by the members of the centre but we would prefer the services of source language translators. So we would ask all those groups abroad who are able to translate from Italian to Spanish and French and from Italian into English, to let us know if they can be of any help with small amounts of translating work.
In actual fact, the site is on the server of the association "La Città Invisibile", based in Bologna. The centre would like to thank "La Città Invisibile" and its operators for the hospitality and services offered, wholly free of charge.
WE NEED INFORMATION FROM YOU
Most of the information contained in this site comes from reviews, trade-unions reports and enquiries held by governments and international institutions. However, these sources of information are not wholly satisfactory because they are not always complete and updated. So we would ask all groups, worldwide, to contact the site with any information in their possession, with details of their actities, with their ideas and suggestions.
To contact us, send an e-mail by clicking Messages. The appropriate space will appear for the message. Should you wish to send us lengthy documents, please enclose them with e-mail, using the standard codes, if possible.
WE ALSO NEED FUNDS FROM YOU
On the financial side, the needs of the site are not great, expenses being limited to payment for a few technical services, telephone bills, review suscriptions and purchasing of books. Our total annual expenditure is set at 12.000 US$. For 1997 this sum is guaranteed, thanks to a contribution from the European Community and from other friends. In the future we are not sure of obtaining other public funding. So we would ask all those who are convinced of the validity of the site to contribute towards expences by making a donation to the Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo, with specific reference to the management of the site. Payments can be made into the Post Office Current Account No. 14082564 made out to Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo, via della Barra 32, 56019 Vecchiano (PI), Italia, or to Current Account No. 76/58 at the Banca Toscana, filiale di Vecchiano ABI 03400 CAB 71200, made out to Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo.
We would like to thank, here and now, all those who, with their financial support and information, will help to make the site a highly-qualified means of information, thus allowing all the groups to organise their battles for Dignity in Labour with rapidity.
