How currently marginalised voices might best use ethical dialogue to shape the local, national and international development agendas

This report examines the nature of dialogue as a method of communication/decision-making and in particular the role of ethical dialogue in helping the voices of the marginalized to be properly heard by other parties. The importance of poor/marginalized communities seeking allies with each other in trans-societal solidarities and with ‘outsiders’ such as NGOs and sympathetic individuals is emphasized. The effectiveness of dialogue at the local level is seen to partly depend on the acceptance of an appropriate global ethic – itself partly the product of dialogue and consensus-building. This report recommends the Earth Charter as providing such a suitable global ethic, in contrast to other dominant global ethics in vogue at present.