World Social Forum
The World Social Forum is an annual meeting of globalization critics . The first event took place in 2001 in Porto Alegre , Brazil .
Goals and participants
The motto of the meetings is: Um outro mundo é possível (Another world is possible)
The movement emerged from the initiative of various international organizations, which in turn emerged from the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas (Mexico) in 1994. Indigenous people in this region rebelled against new forms of oppression associated with globalization. The new organizations and movements (e.g. People's Global Action ) wanted to continue the struggle of the Zapatistas and raise their demands internationally.
One of the aims of the worldwide meetings is to show alternatives to neoliberalism and to promote their development. On the level of symbolic politics , it is intended to express that there is also another globalization that moves apart from the WTO and G8 summits . The networking of socially committed people and organizations should also express that globalization - instead of deregulation for the benefit of the stronger - can also mean responsible thinking and acting for the good of the whole world. The World Social Forum is shaped by people with different worldviews. For example, Franciscans have been involved in the World Social Forum from the very beginning and sent worldwide Franciscan delegations as a sign of solidarity and common struggle.
The World Social Forum should not decide on specific measures or adopt resolutions, but rather serve the purpose of coordination and the exchange of experiences. In the opinion of the organizers, the wide range of different groups opens up the opportunity for different perspectives and a broad exchange of interests. Many of the participants, especially from the so-called developing countries , are not interested in ideological trench warfare, but rather demand a pragmatic policy. Many support an opening of the world market, but criticize distortions of competition e.g. B. through subsidies in industrialized countries. These participants tend to represent neoliberal positions.
The Charter of Principles from 2001 defines the identity of the World Social Forum (WSF):
"1. The World Social Forum is an open meeting place for reflective thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and connecting for effective action, by and by groups and movements of civil society that are committed to neoliberalism and domination of the world by capital and oppose every possible form of imperialism, and engage in building a planetary society that engages in fertile relationships within humanity and between this and the earth. "
In their declaration of the 2009 meeting, the view is expressed that the global crisis can no longer be overcome with the means of capitalism . The measures taken so far would only result in a socialization of the losses. On the other hand, they advocate nationalization of the banking sector without compensation and working time reductions without wage cuts. Public, cooperative, communal and collective forms of ownership are to be promoted.
Venues
First World Social Forum
The first World Social Forum (WSF) met from January 25 to January 30, 2001 in Porto Alegre (Brazil). Around 12,000 people and more than 1,000 organizations from all continents took part. A total of 16 plenary and around 400 individual events took place.
Second World Social Forum
The second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre (Brazil) took place from January 31st to February 5th, 2002. 60,000 people from all continents took part.
Third World Social Forum
The third World Social Forum took place from January 23-28, 2003 in Porto Alegre . More than 100,000 people attended, including delegates from 5,717 different organizations. In 2003, the focus was on the US threat, realized shortly afterwards, to occupy Iraqi territory. The forum became the starting point for the largest mass demonstrations in human history in favor of peace.
Fourth World Social Forum
At the fourth World Social Forum from January 16 to 21, 2004 in Mumbai / India, between 80,000 and 100,000 people were present. The discriminatory function of the Indian caste system was discussed.
Fifth World Social Forum
The fifth World Social Forum took place from January 26th to 31st, 2005 in Porto Alegre. 120,000 participants discussed topics such as the future of water and solidarity-based economy.
Sixth World Social Forum
In 2006 the WSF took place from January 24th to 29th in three locations worldwide, in Bamako ( Mali ), in Karachi ( Pakistan ) and in Caracas ( Venezuela ).
Seventh World Social Forum
The World Social Forum was organized in 2007 as a worldwide action week. The local, national groups could choose the topics according to their own wishes.
Eighth World Social Forum
From January 21 to 26, 2008, the eighth World Social Forum took place as a “Global Week of Action” with a total of over 600 individual events on all continents.
Ninth World Social Forum
From January 27th to February 1st 2009 the WSF took place in Belém (Brazil). The decision for the Brazilian city on the Amazon delta was made by the International Council of the World Social Forum in Berlin at the beginning of June 2007. The global debate about climate change was decisive for the selection of the species-rich region.
According to the organizers, over 130,000 visitors from 142 countries took part in the forum, including delegates from around 4,000 social movements, indigenous peoples, trade unions, churches and non-governmental organizations. The main focus was on ecology and climate justice , the world of work and human rights and indigenous peoples. The focus was on answers from civil society to the global financial and economic crisis.
World Social Forum anniversary
From January 24th to 28th 2010 the event 10 years of the World Social Forum took place in Porto Alegre (Brazil) . Laid in Detroit from June 22-26, 2010.
Tenth World Social Forum
The tenth World Social Forum took place from February 6 to 11, 2011 in Dakar (Senegal). About 90,000 people took part. The main topics were disputes over the rights to natural resources, especially agricultural land.
Eleventh World Social Forum
The eleventh World Social Forum took place in Tunis from March 26th to 30th, 2013 on the university campus in El Manar in the buildings of the Faculties of Economics, Law and Engineering.
Twelfth World Social Forum
The twelfth World Social Forum took place again in Tunis from March 24th to 28th, 2015.
Thirteenth World Social Forum
The thirteenth World Social Forum took place from August 9 to 14, 2016 in Montreal / Canada. This was the first time that a western industrial country was selected as the host. Around 50,000 participants were expected to discuss topics such as poverty, environmental protection, climate change, tax evasion and refugee policy at more than 1200 individual events. The forum was accompanied by massive internal criticism (high participation costs, low participation from the countries of the south, entry refusals).
14. WSF
The 14th World Social Forum took place from March 13th to 17th, 2018 in Salvador da Bahia , Brazil. The motto chosen was: "To resist means to build, to resist means to transform".
literature
- Christian Schröder: The World Social Forum. An Institution of the Global Justice Movements between Organization and Movement [The World Social Forum: An Institution of the Global Justice Movements between Organization and Movement] . Bielefeld, 2015. ( Transcript )
Web links
WSF pages:
- WSF 2001-3 and 2005 in Brazil
- WSF 2004 in India
- WSF 2006 in Mali, Venezuela and Pakistan
- WSF 2009 in Brazil
- WSF 2013 in Tunisia
- WSF 2015 in Tunisia
- WSF 2016 in Canada
Individual evidence
- ^ The German-language information portal for the global social forum movement
- ^ Declaration of the Assembly of Social Movements 2009: We won't pay for the crisis. The rich have to pay for it! ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Jan. 26, 2008 - Act together for another world! ( Memento of January 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ First public version of WSF IC call to 2010 social forum events organisers ( memento of the original from October 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. www.forumsocialmundial.org
- ↑ World Social Forum 2011 in the "Land of No Return" ( Memento from August 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Multiple Activities throughout the world to mark the WSF's 10th birthday celebrations in 2010 ( Memento from March 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Swiss dispatch agency / Neue Zürcher Zeitung of February 11, 2011
- ^ Report of the Swiss delegation from the World Social Forum in Dakar Die Wochenzeitung, February 2011
- ↑ Blog of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation on the World Social Forum 2011 in Dakar
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento from January 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://weltsozialforum.org/2013/index.html
- ↑ http://www.weltsozialforum.org/2015/index.html
- ↑ http://www.alternatives.ca/en/content/story/world-social-forum-going-back-tunis-2015
- ↑ tagesschau.de: World Social Forum opened in Montréal with a protest march. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved August 10, 2016 .
- ↑ tagesschau.de. "World Social Forum opened in Montréal with a protest march". tagesschau.de. Accessed August 10, 2016. https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/weltsozialforum-111.html .
- ↑ tagesschau.de: World Social Forum opened in Montréal with a protest march. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved August 10, 2016 .
