Twenty years after the first European Social Forum, in November 2022 Florence wants to be a further opportunity, along with others taking place in Europe, to foster the convergence of European social actors, organisations and social movements, after a long period of geographical and thematic fragmentation and at a tragic time.
In November 2002, from 6 to 10, the first European Social Forum took place in Florence. The event was one of the biggest, most participated and important moments in the European and global altermondialist movement.
Just one year after the harsh state repression in Genoa, and despite the recurrent attempts to criminalise the movement, it arrived in Florence even bigger, broader and stronger, and it was welcomed by an open, supportive, committed and courageous city. During the ESF in Florence the largest demonstration ever held in the world – the one against the war on Iraq on February 15 2003, was promoted and launched.
Many organisations and activists from all over Europe, took part in the preparatory process and in the event.
The event is not about celebrating the past, but it is about keeping alive a memory that can help us to move toward the future. Florence was a moment of great strength and convergence of social movements and collective actors coming from all over Europe: a similar strength and convergence is very much needed today, in the face of the immense and dramatic challenges of the present, starting from the need to raise a strong and unified voice for peace and against war on a European scale.
The European gathering in Florence can be one of the steps in the process of reconstructing a network of communication, collaboration and possible convergence able to face the tragic times we are living in: war, eco-climatic crisis, exponential increase of social and gender inequalities, democratic crisis.
Overcoming the great geographical and thematic fragmentation that has characterised mobilisations in recent years is now more necessary than ever.
More information on the event can be found on the official website of the event 2022Firenze.
Programme
The first two days of the Forum will be dedicated to the self-organised and self-financed activities put in place by the different national and European networks, also in the aim to involve as many activists as possible from all over Europe and encourage them to come to Florence.
On the 12 and the 13 November, all participants will gather in a plenary European meeting at the Palaffari congress center. The assembly will be divided into three sessions of three hours each. The themes of the three sessions will be transversal:
- Where is Europe going? What role for Europe in the changing world?
- How to move to collective hope?
- Being right is not enough: how to be more effective in the time of emptied democracy?
Each session will have introductions and speeches that ensure geographical, thematic and gender balance, and will be organised in such a way as to encourage real and interesting dialogue.