Evaluating an event of events such as the World Social Forum is one, proves difficult at times. Therefore the conclusions drawn by the International Council on 12-13 February at its meeting in Dakar can only be ones for the time being. Among the participants of the meeting the unanimous opinion was that the historical dimension
Evaluating an event of events such as the World Social Forum is one, proves difficult at times. Therefore the conclusions drawn by the International Council on 12-13 February at its meeting in Dakar can only be ones for the time being.
Among the participants of the meeting the unanimous opinion was that the historical dimension of the second World Social Forum on African soil is determined by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. Thus the second day of the session was introduced by a report given by Abdeljelil Bédoui, university professor, advisor to Tunisian trade unions and participant in the movement against Ben Ali. Samir Amin and Mamdouh Habashi provided reports about the current developments in Egypt.
A first review of the Social Forum itself was given by Taoufik Ben Abdallah and Demba Moussa Dembele on behalf of the Senegalese Organisational Committee. Up to 30,000 people took part in the impressive and colourful opening march of the Forum, in the course of which Bolivian President Evo Morales spoke to the participants. The strong national and regional mobilisation before the Forum was emphasised. Thus, caravans from Mali, Cameroon, Guinea, Eastern Africa, Niger and Nigeria gathered thousands of participants on their way to Dakar and informed hundred thousands of people about the Forum. An important innovation was “WSF Extended”, which opened up a new space to the process with more than 200 activities being linked up electronically (please refer to: http://openfsm.net/projects/wsf-extended/project-home). This mobilisation eventually contributed to a strong presence of the Forum in Western African media. And indeed, the Forum was very visible in a number of ways in the megacity of Dakar itself.
Serenity, Improvisation, Solidarity
On the other hand the local organisers had to report a de facto breakdown of the Forum’s infrastructure on the very first day. The reason for this was the withdrawal, politically motivated and announced at short notice, of the Cheik Anta Diop University from its commitment to serve as a venue for the event. With African equanimity, extraordinary improvisations and the solidarity of the participants this crisis could be successfully managed and the majority of the scheduled 700 events could take place, partly in tents that were swiftly put up. This also concerned the majority of the seminars, workshops and convergence assemblies prepared by transform! europe.
Therefore Taoufik Ben Abdallah could in the speech he held in the final assembly (“Assembly of Assemblies”) before thousands of participants recapitulate that the World Social Forum gave expression to the maturing process of the African process.
A maturing of the process on a general scale was also the point talked about in the report of the strategic commission during the International Council. So, in the period since the last WSF in Belem (Pará, Brazil) in 2009, more than 55 national, regional and thematic forums have taken place, which identified themselves as part of the WSF-process, thus contributing to its global dimension. Politically speaking, it was remarkable that there was a significant increase of forums in the Maghreb/Mashriq area.
Roadmap until 2013
In the end, the International Council defined the road map for the further development of the WSF-process. The next major mobilisation of the alter-globalisation movement will take place in Paris in May at the occasion of the G-8-Summit. For the same temporal context the next meeting of the IC will be prepared.
In January 2012, the Earth Summit (Rio+20) will take place in Rio de Janeiro, parallel to which the Brazilian social movements will be mobilising for a Summit of the Peoples, in which also the WSF will take part.
Finally, in Dakar, also the debate about the venue of the next World Social Forum which is to take place in 2013 was a point of discussion. The government of Rio Grande do Sul and the municipality of Porto Alegre announced their invitation to host the Forum. At the same time, representatives of the Brazilian movements suggested the next World Social Forum to take place in Europe. However, the suggestion meets with currently unconquerable obstacles due to the visa-regime prevailing in Europe. Moreover, also political objections were uttered to moving the Forum to the North.
In the weeks to come the debate will be summarised, to be continued at the Paris meeting of the International Council.
For further information, please refer to: http://fsm2011.org/ and www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/
Activities at the WSF hosted, co-organised or supported by transform! europe
■ 7 February 2011
What does Development Mean and What is the Future of Development Cooperation?
CIDEFE, FMA, Jubilee South, Global Social Justice, Réseau international Frantz Fanon, Espaces Marx
Yash Tandom, Odile Ndaumbe Faye, Dembe Moussa Dembele, Catherine Margaté, Carla Luis, Wilfried Telkämper, Bernard Founou, Marie Christine Vergiat, Francine Mestrum, Lysiane Alezard
How to Analyze Post-Colonialism 50 Years after the African Independence Process
Réseau international Frantz Fanon, Tunisiennes des deux rives
Daniel Voguet, Victor Permal, Demba Moussa Dembele, PK Murthy, Pierre Laurent, Jacques Fath, Bahija Ouezini, Delmas Chantal, Hervé Fuyet
■ 8 February 2011
South-South-cooperation or North-South-Cooperation: Alternative or Complementary Concepts? How Relevant Are these Axes to Conceive the Future?
FMA, Mémoire des luttes
Francine Mestrum, Samir Amin, Jacques Fath, Obey Ament, Elisabeth Gauthier, Mika Rönkko, Bernard Cassen, Willy Meyer, Walter Baier
The Role of Gobal Financial Institutions (IMF, world bank, G8, G20) and the Austerity Measures Imposed on the Peoples: How to Create a New Convergence between the South and the North?
Mémoire des luttes, FMA, CADTM
Christine Mendelsohn, Teivo Teivanen, Helmut Scholz, Pedro Paez, Eric Toussaint, Elisabeth Gauthier, Christophe Ventura
How to re-construct the Left in North and South?
Mémoire des luttes, FMA
Edgardo Lander (tbc), Pierre Laurent, Bernard Cassen, Walter Baier, Martine Billard, Elisabeth Gauthier
■ 9 February 2011
Need of Egality Men and Women for Democracy and Development: Point of View from African Women and from Worldwide
Sylvie Jan, Marga Ferre, Karla Lata (tbc), Carla Luis
Relation between Social Movements and Politics in Times of Crisis: Do Social Movements only Have to be Counter-Powers or do They Have to Contribute to the Construction of an Alternative Political Space?
Mémoire des luttes, FMA
Valter Pomar, Eric Toussaint, Gabi Zimmer, Emir Sader, Demba Moussa Dembele, Thomas Händel, Uli Brand (tbc), Bernard Cassen, Chantal Delmas, Obey Ament, Gus Massiah, Patrice Cohen Seat, Christophe Ventura
Crisis of Civilization: Interpretations and Alternatives from Christian, Interreligious and Marxist point of views
Foculare Movement, New Humantity
Walter Baier, Jean Bernard Ouedraogo, Peace Eklunatey, Franz Kronreif, P. Celso Corbioli, Raffaela Bollini (tbc), Moderation: Catherine Belzung
“Africa – Europe – World: Let’s Build a Global, Undecayed Economy. Sustainability, Equity and Solidarity to Save the Rights of Labourers, Environment and Democracy”
Cooperation Seminar: CGIL, ARCI … | Seminar of convergence
In co-operation with the Network Frantz Fanon
■ 7 February 2011
Actuality of Frantz Fanon in Africa of nowadays
Réseau international Frantz Fanon, ADEN
Maurice Fahé, Dembe Moussa Dembele, Aminata Traouré, Fofana Bakary, Maurice Vahé, Serge Guichard, Boubacar Diop
Actuality of Frantz Fanon in the Caraïbe
Réseau international Frantz Fanon, ADEN, Cercle Frantz Fanon Martinique
Marie Christine Astegiani, Victor Permal
■ 8 February 2011
Racism and Caste system / Stake of Citizenship for Nomade Peoples, Roumanian, Touareg, Innuits…
Réseau international Frantz Fanon
P. K. Murthy, Serge Guichard, Serge Guichard, Birgit Daiber
Migrants and Damned of the Earth. The Actuality of Frantz Fanon as a Psychiatrist – Des-Alienation and Re-Symbolisation
Réseau international Frantz Fanon, CEDRATE, Espaces Marx
Alice Cherki, Conception Doray, Bernard Doray