Putting Public in Public Services: Research, Action and Equity in the Global South 2014

This MSP conference brought together researchers, activists, labour representatives, development practitioners and policy makers from around the world working to promote progressive public services, with an emphasis on health, water and electricity. It went beyond a mere critique of privatization to showcase promising service provision alternatives (past, present and future), pushing forward our conceptual and methodological understandings of how public attitudes and practices arise, how they are constituted, and how they might be sustained.

While there can be no universal definition of “public”, the conference aimed to improve dialogue and expand global networks on public alternatives, with a focus on Asia, Africa and Latin America. It offered practical alternatives and helped advance debates about public services in South Africa.