CI today
A quick glance at the work of CI today shows how much we
have built on the aims and objectives of the five founding
organisations.
CI President,
Jim Guest
An international force
We currently have offices in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America;
and project coordinators in Argentina and the Caribbean.
Our coordination of the TransAtlantic Consumer
Dialogue gives us unique access to Brussels and Washington,
whilst our formal status with global governing bodies such as the
World Health Organisation, the World Intellectual Property
Organisation and the UN Commission on Sustainable Development puts
us right at the heart of some of the most important consumer issues
of the day.
Our global campaigning and policy work also reflects the
changing scope of our role, building on the early days of mere
information exchange on product testing.
Financial services
Today CI's view is sought on the critical consumer issues of the
age. In response to the current uncertain economic times, CI in
2010 submitted recommendations to the UN's high-level committee on
the financial crisis and launched the associated
campaign for World Consumer Rights Day 2010 under
the banner 'Our Money, Our Rights'.
Climate change and energy
Our policy framework on climate change will inform our campaign
of climate
change and sustainable access to energy in the coming years,
placing consumer demand for low-carbon, sustainable goods and
services at the heart of the debate.
Pressuring corporations
Holding corporations to account is also central to what we do.
We continue to put direct pressure on major corporations by
researching and reporting on their business practices, most
recently pharmaceutical and food companies.
Social responsibility
Alongside programmes on ethical trade that took place in 2010
and beyond, we also celebrated the culmination of years of tireless
CI campaigning on ISO 26000. This has seen the start of the
ability to give consumers an unprecedented opportunity to measure a
company's behaviour against an internationally recognised standard
of ethics.
Access to Knowledge
We are also breaking new ground in other areas such as
intellectual property and copyright law where consumer privacy and
access to knowledge have become
crucial consumer rights issues in the digital age.
Membership
Our membership continues to develop as we
help build long-term capacity - in infrastructure, campaigning,
communication and advocacy - in organisations across the world.
Whether this is through project participation, capacity building
workshops, or information exchange, we are working to maximise our
members' potential, both nationally and as part of the global
movement.
Behind the scenes
Our achievements are often behind the
scenes - influencing consumer protection
laws, pushing for consumer-focused legislation, arguing vital
details in international committees, and ensuring consumer groups
are consulted as stakeholders where their voice matters.
The future
We have spent over 50 years helping our members stand up for the
rights of consumers and fighting to give those rights due
prominence on the international agenda. We hope to spend the next
50 doing more of the same.
Best wishes to all our members and
supporters,
The Consumers International team