A profound economic, environmental, financial and ideological crisis marks the global conjuncture amid which the Commonwealth People’s Forum 2009 is being planned. In coming to grips with these crises civil society has been recalling basic questions out of retirement and challenging anew the free market paradigm that brought dazzling wealth to a few while creating abject misery for the majority of the earth’s peoples. Caribbean civil society sees a unique opportunity to propose real alternatives for addressing regional needs during this time of crisis by revisiting the development model that has brought us to this state of affairs. In the current crises millions of people worldwide have lost their jobs as major economies fall into recession. In North America thousands have lost their homes and in developing countries trade and financial shocks from these crises are leading to stress in the overall balance of payments, fall in foreign reserves, and decline in net capital flows from Foreign Direct Investment. All this together threaten the ability of developing countries to service debts and avoid default. At March 2009 the IMF had already received requests from 10 developing countries for emergency loans. In the Caribbean Jamaica has already experienced depreciation of its local currency, across CARICOM remittances to families have spiralled downward by 6% and tourist arrivals are forecasted to fall by one third according to the World Bank. These declines in GDP will impact food availability, reverse gains in poverty eradication, and slow down social development. ILO has already predicted that women will be disproportionately impacted as the majority are in a weaker position than men to weather this crisis. The staggering US$1 trillion stimulus package approved for the economies of the UK and US by the G20 meeting in London at the end of the first quarter of 2009 is in sharp contrast to the Nov. 2008 Financing for Development review, which stressed national ownership of development strategies, comprehensive review of the international financial systems and institutions, an strengthened international cooperation on tax matters. The bailouts to financial institutions are subsidies which together with agricultural subsidies imply responses by developed countries that will impose fiscal contraction on developing countries. The seminar theme “Partnerships for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future” provides the opportunity to reflect on and evaluate the crisis in the region as well as to share information on the various responses at the levels of civil society, public, and private sector. Special challenges for the region include the management of health services, social justice for persons with disabilities, respect and guarantee of human rights, debt servicing, care and prevention for HIV/AIDS, issues of gender inequality, and environmental governance. Discussions will focus on how we may renew and/or design new modes of partnerships especially among the various strands of civil society in order to survive the crisis and particularly the role of Caribbean culture in pointing the ways to long-term and balanced development. The regional seminar therefore has four main objectives: 1. To identify the manifestations and impacts of the economic and financial crises in the Caribbean 2. To share information on climate change initiatives to cope with threats such as food security 3. To revisit and propose alternatives to the ideological underpinnings of current models of development To forge partnerships based on common goals and complimentary resources as a basis for long-term development in the Caribbean