Press 2009

PRESS ADVISORY - Social Watch Report 2009
Social investment is the key to a just and effective solution to the current economic crisis, says citizens' alternative report
PITTSBURGH, USA (September 23): Robust social investment programs should be enacted in order to effectively stimulate the global economy and mitigate the impacts of the financial crisis on workers, women and the poor, concludes the international civil society network Social Watch in its 2009 Report.  This will not only satisfy criteria of social justice but also is sound economic policy, states the Report, titledPeople First. The report will be launched today, September 23 at 12 noon at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel (107 6th Street) in the run-up to the G-20 summit.  People First includes dozens of in-depth reports from grassroots civil society organizations, which prove that the poorest countries played no part in causing the crisis, yet they are experiencing its worst effects.  The exclusion of these countries from forums such as the G-20 creates a further obstacle to implementing socially just policies.