Debates on the future of WSF
by - 27.04.2004 15:29
Newsletter number 1 - March 2004
World Social Forum: a Debate on the Challenges for
Its Future
WSF
After four World Social Forums where does this extraordinary global process go next? Hundreds of thousands of activists have made use of the self-organised space for popular education, networking campaigns, planning action, debating strategy, but should it be more than just a space? And if so how? Mumbai showed that the WSF space is open to many of poorest and most excluded of the world, how can this deepen? How does it avoid heirarchies and struggles for power? How does it truly strengthen our ability to create another world?
In this on-line Newsletter of Transform! Europe you will find four sections:
Origins and Aims brings documents and articles related to WSF creation. This section also provides a window on WSF governance structures.
Principles in Action (Mumbai and Europe) contains reflections on the process of WSF2004, in Mumbai, seen as a turning point in the process; as well as thoughts on the European Social Forum.
Dilemmas and Perspectives focuses on the discussion of how the WSF should develop, the challenges it faces, the new perspectives that it has opened up, how useful it really is.
Learning from Practice begins a unique inquiry. It looks at five case studies of campaigning networks whose work has been reinforced by the WSF.
This publishing was carried out by Transform! Italy and produced in co-operation with the New Politics Project of the Transnational Institute and Red Pepper magazine.
You can access the newsletter online at
http://www.transform.it/newsletter/news_transform01.html
It's easiest to read in the PDF format, which can be downloaded from
there.
see for example Marco Berlinguer (item 1), Naima Bouteldja and Oscar Reyes (item 21) which are new and exclusive :-)
Summary
Introduction - The New Global Resistance and the Emergence of the WSF
A short re-construction of the WSF process history. The original project, the novelties that have emerged, the dialectic and the tensions produced within the process, the node of the efficacy raised as the present central point of discussion. At the end, some possible innovations are suggested as a contribution to the debate on the future of the WSF process.
Origins and Founding Principles
1. Francisco Whitaker - World Social Forum: Origins and Aims
In this article, written in January 2001, Whitaker briefly recollects how the idea was born of creating a space for civil society in opposition to the World Economic Forum. And how this became the first World Social Forum.
2. Brazilian Secretariat - Towards the Activity Plan of the WSF Secretariat
Ever since its 2003 meeting in Porto Alegre, the International Council has worked to internationalize the WSF Secretariat. A first step in this direction was to consider making the Secretariat one part Brazilian and another part Indian. This draft document tries to identify what would be a plan of action for the WSF Secretariat. It was circulated on the IC discussion lists.
3. WSF Charter of Principles
This document was adopted in 2001. It serves as guidelines for the WSF process, setting out the principle of an open meeting place, plural, diversified, non-confessional, non-governamental and non-party, for those "groups and movements of civil society that are opposed to neoliberalism and to domination of the world by capital and any form of imperialism". Also, it explains that the WSF will not itself as a body take positions but that organisations who meet in this space can deliberate and take positions. Finally, it defines WSF as a process, not only an event.
4. WSF Governance: Secretariat, International Council and Organising Committees
- List of International Council members (March 2004)
- Brazilian Organising Committee / WSF Secretariat Brazil
- Social Movements Assembly: an Actor within a Space
Principles in Action: Mumbai
5. Hilary Wainwright - From Mumbai with Hope
The author emphasises the new politics created
through with the World Social Forum. The detailed shape of this politics is still uncertain but already it stimulates many different organisations to engage in dialogue and to transform themselves. It also challenges the traditional political parties of the left to acknowledge the autonomous creative power of social movements and to rethink the (still important) role of parties. The WSF is a practical demonstration of the idea of many sources of power, and the importance of connections between different struggles.
Enabling the horizontal connection of these struggles and a new integration of the particular and the universal is the role of the WSF.
6. Immanuel Wallerstein - The Rising Strength of the World Social Forum
Wallerstein shows how three tensions were worked out in the organisation of WSF 2004: the tension to keep the WSF as an open space, the insufficient participation of Asia, Africa and East Europe and differences over the funding of the WSF.
7. Arundathi Roy - Do Turkeys Enjoy Thanksgiving?
In its speech at the opening of WSF 2004, in Mumbai, the Indian writer give us a framework for understanding how the new imperialism acts today, applying distinctive policies of racism and genocide and with support of the corporate media. She urges WSF participants to discuss urgent strategies of resistance that will inflict real damages on to capitalism and imperialism.
8. From the inside: I) Achin Vanaik - Rendezvous at Mumbai
The author reinforces the importance of WSF in
India, highlighting the contrasts between the different contexts of WSF locations - Porto Alegre/ Mumbai, Latin America/Asia. He underlines the hopes and lessons from Mumbai: in particular the need to become a global radical milieu, naturally anti-Stalinist, to develop its attitudes concerning sexual choice, female oppression and ecological sustainability, to increase collaboration between the main radical actors (parties, unions, movements, NGOs). He argues that the main challenge facing WSF is whether it will be able to contribute to the creation of new organisational forms that have vision and capacity to simultaneously pursue the politics of the universal and the particular.
9. From the inside: II) Amit Sen Gupta - The WSF 2004 Programme and Methodology
In this article, the author points to the challenges faced in the discussion of the WSF 2004 so that its structure and format were able to capture the concerns of the sub-continent. He stresses the need to learn from past experiences at the WSF in Porto Alegre from 2001 to 2003 build upon the experiences of the Asian social Forum in January 2003 in Hyderabad, India. He ends by making suggestions for the next events and for the process as a whole.
Principles in Action: Europe
10. Elisabeth Gauthier - Nouvel espace publique, politique (in French)
From her experience as an organiser of the Paris ESF, Gauthier explores the challenges of building new kinds of unity out of the diverse horizontal networks that contribute to the WSF/ESF process.
11. Attac France - Evaluation on the II European Social Forum (in French)
This text makes an evaluation of II FSE, in Paris, November 2003. He points to its positive and negative aspects, underlining the need to treat the WSF as a process, the importance of creating a clear dynamic between regional and national levels and he argues that there is a need to rethink the general methodology of the event.
12. Christian Pilichowski - D'un Forum Social l'autre (in French)
This article, written after the II ESF and before WSF 2004, brings an evaluation of the positive aspects of the II ESF for the trade union movement and list some points still to be improved like the general methodology for the event, the memory, the exchange with political parties as well as perspectives in the local and world level.
13. Phil Mcleish - The Promise of the European Social Forum
The author emphasises the need of a European public space capable of setting limits to capital. He believes that the ESF has the possibility of playing that critical role and in the process becoming the catalyst of a democratisation of European society. He underlines the organizational developments necessary for the ESF to become a 'constituent assembly'. Finally, he makes proposals for achieving this goal and for maximizing political exchange within a context of participatory collective action.
Dilemmas and Directions
14. Sohi Jeon - The World Social Forum at a Crossroad
In a speech made during the panel "The Struggle Against Neoliberalism and War and the Significance of WSF", Sohi Jeon questions whether the WSF is contributing to strengthening the national movements and mobilizations. She underlines the need to change the way the whole event functions in order to real promote the struggle against neoliberal globalisation and imperialism.
15. Paul Nicholson and Josu Egireun - WSF, Necessary Shifts
In this document, the authors, who are members of Via Campesina movement, present proposals about WSF covering aspects like: the need to improve convergence and action, the need to coordinate a space of the political parties and institutions in the framework of the WSF, proposes that WSF be held every 3 years as well as the need to coordinate a participatory process in the definition of criterias to the WSF procedures, today restricted to WSF International Council. This contribution was circulated on the Social Movements Network and International Council discussion lists.
16. José Corrêa Leite - WSF (a Brief History): a New Method of Doing Politics
This article, written by a member of the Brazilian Organising Committee, provides a summary of WSF since its inception, in 2000, passing through WSFs 2001, 2002, 2003, held in Porto Alegre, and 2004, in Mumbai, India. It describes the process of internationalisation, the creation of the International Council, the regional and thematic forums.
Also, it highlights the changes in the political conjuncture that have had an impact on each forum underlining the convergence of the struggles against neoliberalism and war. Finally, it points to some challenges for the future of the process.
- Political Parties and the Forum
17. Boaventura de Sousa Santos - The Future of the WSF
The author comments on the increasing events and articles debating the future of the WSF. He explains this in terms of the uncertainties facing the movements and their actions. He tries to address these uncertainties, relating them to the questions of efficacy, representation and organisation and the way that the WSF combines a celebration of diversity with the construction of a strong consensuses lead to collective actions. Santos also underlines the two kinds of questioning WSF future. One does not assume that it is sustainable and considers that it is a phase that may even be reaching its conclusion. The other way assumes its sustainability but implies that there are some conditions to be fulfilled in order to secure it.
18. Teivo Teivainen - Twenty-Two Theses on the Problems of Democracy in the WSF
In these notes, the author, who is member of WSF International Council, argues that WSF and its International Council have depoliticizing consequences that may undermine the democracy of the process.The focus is on the politicizing consequences of democratization. These notes circulated on the IC discussion list.
19. Bernard Cassen - Rethinking the format of Social Forums, Proceeding to Political Action (in French)
In this article, published before WSF 2004 in Mumbai, the author discusses the need to rethink the format of Social Forums, to improve the systematization of its memory, to elaborate clear groups of propositions in order to make large mobilizations easier and to encourage the emergence of elements of a new paradigm. He also points to the need really to expand the process to regions like East Europe, Africa and Central Asia.
20. Francisco Whitaker - Tout a continué à Mumbai... (in French)
Whitaker writes about the concerns raised in the debate on the future of WSF; for example the need to clarify the results of the WSF, including all the proposals for action which have come from it.He also comments on the confusion regarding the role of the Social Movements Assembly and its relation with WSF and comments on proposals made by Bernard Cassen in the article "Rethinking the format of Social Forums, Proceeding to Political Action".
Learning from Practice
21. Oscar Reyes and Naima Bouteldja - Networking activities within the Social Forum Process
The authors begin a very valuable process with five case studies which explore the role of the WSF in reinforcing networks of action and policy development and explore who the methodology of the WSF can be improved. It is an inquiry specially made for this newsletter which demonstrates the way that the WSF as a space also makes it a base and a support for diverse forms of collective action.
Appendix: Chronology of Regional, Thematic, National and Local Forums. A Small Directory.
In this on-line Newsletter of Transform! Europe you will find four sections:
Origins and Aims brings documents and articles related to WSF creation. This section also provides a window on WSF governance structures.
Principles in Action (Mumbai and Europe) contains reflections on the process of WSF2004, in Mumbai, seen as a turning point in the process; as well as thoughts on the European Social Forum.
Dilemmas and Perspectives focuses on the discussion of how the WSF should develop, the challenges it faces, the new perspectives that it has opened up, how useful it really is.
Learning from Practice begins a unique inquiry. It looks at five case studies of campaigning networks whose work has been reinforced by the WSF.
This publishing was carried out by Transform! Italy and produced in co-operation with the New Politics Project of the Transnational Institute and Red Pepper magazine.
You can access the newsletter online at
http://www.transform.it/newsletter/news_transform01.html
It's easiest to read in the PDF format, which can be downloaded from
there.
see for example Marco Berlinguer (item 1), Naima Bouteldja and Oscar Reyes (item 21) which are new and exclusive :-)
Summary
Introduction - The New Global Resistance and the Emergence of the WSF
A short re-construction of the WSF process history. The original project, the novelties that have emerged, the dialectic and the tensions produced within the process, the node of the efficacy raised as the present central point of discussion. At the end, some possible innovations are suggested as a contribution to the debate on the future of the WSF process.
Origins and Founding Principles
1. Francisco Whitaker - World Social Forum: Origins and Aims
In this article, written in January 2001, Whitaker briefly recollects how the idea was born of creating a space for civil society in opposition to the World Economic Forum. And how this became the first World Social Forum.
2. Brazilian Secretariat - Towards the Activity Plan of the WSF Secretariat
Ever since its 2003 meeting in Porto Alegre, the International Council has worked to internationalize the WSF Secretariat. A first step in this direction was to consider making the Secretariat one part Brazilian and another part Indian. This draft document tries to identify what would be a plan of action for the WSF Secretariat. It was circulated on the IC discussion lists.
3. WSF Charter of Principles
This document was adopted in 2001. It serves as guidelines for the WSF process, setting out the principle of an open meeting place, plural, diversified, non-confessional, non-governamental and non-party, for those "groups and movements of civil society that are opposed to neoliberalism and to domination of the world by capital and any form of imperialism". Also, it explains that the WSF will not itself as a body take positions but that organisations who meet in this space can deliberate and take positions. Finally, it defines WSF as a process, not only an event.
4. WSF Governance: Secretariat, International Council and Organising Committees
- List of International Council members (March 2004)
- Brazilian Organising Committee / WSF Secretariat Brazil
- Social Movements Assembly: an Actor within a Space
Principles in Action: Mumbai
5. Hilary Wainwright - From Mumbai with Hope
The author emphasises the new politics created
through with the World Social Forum. The detailed shape of this politics is still uncertain but already it stimulates many different organisations to engage in dialogue and to transform themselves. It also challenges the traditional political parties of the left to acknowledge the autonomous creative power of social movements and to rethink the (still important) role of parties. The WSF is a practical demonstration of the idea of many sources of power, and the importance of connections between different struggles.
Enabling the horizontal connection of these struggles and a new integration of the particular and the universal is the role of the WSF.
6. Immanuel Wallerstein - The Rising Strength of the World Social Forum
Wallerstein shows how three tensions were worked out in the organisation of WSF 2004: the tension to keep the WSF as an open space, the insufficient participation of Asia, Africa and East Europe and differences over the funding of the WSF.
7. Arundathi Roy - Do Turkeys Enjoy Thanksgiving?
In its speech at the opening of WSF 2004, in Mumbai, the Indian writer give us a framework for understanding how the new imperialism acts today, applying distinctive policies of racism and genocide and with support of the corporate media. She urges WSF participants to discuss urgent strategies of resistance that will inflict real damages on to capitalism and imperialism.
8. From the inside: I) Achin Vanaik - Rendezvous at Mumbai
The author reinforces the importance of WSF in
India, highlighting the contrasts between the different contexts of WSF locations - Porto Alegre/ Mumbai, Latin America/Asia. He underlines the hopes and lessons from Mumbai: in particular the need to become a global radical milieu, naturally anti-Stalinist, to develop its attitudes concerning sexual choice, female oppression and ecological sustainability, to increase collaboration between the main radical actors (parties, unions, movements, NGOs). He argues that the main challenge facing WSF is whether it will be able to contribute to the creation of new organisational forms that have vision and capacity to simultaneously pursue the politics of the universal and the particular.
9. From the inside: II) Amit Sen Gupta - The WSF 2004 Programme and Methodology
In this article, the author points to the challenges faced in the discussion of the WSF 2004 so that its structure and format were able to capture the concerns of the sub-continent. He stresses the need to learn from past experiences at the WSF in Porto Alegre from 2001 to 2003 build upon the experiences of the Asian social Forum in January 2003 in Hyderabad, India. He ends by making suggestions for the next events and for the process as a whole.
Principles in Action: Europe
10. Elisabeth Gauthier - Nouvel espace publique, politique (in French)
From her experience as an organiser of the Paris ESF, Gauthier explores the challenges of building new kinds of unity out of the diverse horizontal networks that contribute to the WSF/ESF process.
11. Attac France - Evaluation on the II European Social Forum (in French)
This text makes an evaluation of II FSE, in Paris, November 2003. He points to its positive and negative aspects, underlining the need to treat the WSF as a process, the importance of creating a clear dynamic between regional and national levels and he argues that there is a need to rethink the general methodology of the event.
12. Christian Pilichowski - D'un Forum Social l'autre (in French)
This article, written after the II ESF and before WSF 2004, brings an evaluation of the positive aspects of the II ESF for the trade union movement and list some points still to be improved like the general methodology for the event, the memory, the exchange with political parties as well as perspectives in the local and world level.
13. Phil Mcleish - The Promise of the European Social Forum
The author emphasises the need of a European public space capable of setting limits to capital. He believes that the ESF has the possibility of playing that critical role and in the process becoming the catalyst of a democratisation of European society. He underlines the organizational developments necessary for the ESF to become a 'constituent assembly'. Finally, he makes proposals for achieving this goal and for maximizing political exchange within a context of participatory collective action.
Dilemmas and Directions
14. Sohi Jeon - The World Social Forum at a Crossroad
In a speech made during the panel "The Struggle Against Neoliberalism and War and the Significance of WSF", Sohi Jeon questions whether the WSF is contributing to strengthening the national movements and mobilizations. She underlines the need to change the way the whole event functions in order to real promote the struggle against neoliberal globalisation and imperialism.
15. Paul Nicholson and Josu Egireun - WSF, Necessary Shifts
In this document, the authors, who are members of Via Campesina movement, present proposals about WSF covering aspects like: the need to improve convergence and action, the need to coordinate a space of the political parties and institutions in the framework of the WSF, proposes that WSF be held every 3 years as well as the need to coordinate a participatory process in the definition of criterias to the WSF procedures, today restricted to WSF International Council. This contribution was circulated on the Social Movements Network and International Council discussion lists.
16. José Corrêa Leite - WSF (a Brief History): a New Method of Doing Politics
This article, written by a member of the Brazilian Organising Committee, provides a summary of WSF since its inception, in 2000, passing through WSFs 2001, 2002, 2003, held in Porto Alegre, and 2004, in Mumbai, India. It describes the process of internationalisation, the creation of the International Council, the regional and thematic forums.
Also, it highlights the changes in the political conjuncture that have had an impact on each forum underlining the convergence of the struggles against neoliberalism and war. Finally, it points to some challenges for the future of the process.
- Political Parties and the Forum
17. Boaventura de Sousa Santos - The Future of the WSF
The author comments on the increasing events and articles debating the future of the WSF. He explains this in terms of the uncertainties facing the movements and their actions. He tries to address these uncertainties, relating them to the questions of efficacy, representation and organisation and the way that the WSF combines a celebration of diversity with the construction of a strong consensuses lead to collective actions. Santos also underlines the two kinds of questioning WSF future. One does not assume that it is sustainable and considers that it is a phase that may even be reaching its conclusion. The other way assumes its sustainability but implies that there are some conditions to be fulfilled in order to secure it.
18. Teivo Teivainen - Twenty-Two Theses on the Problems of Democracy in the WSF
In these notes, the author, who is member of WSF International Council, argues that WSF and its International Council have depoliticizing consequences that may undermine the democracy of the process.The focus is on the politicizing consequences of democratization. These notes circulated on the IC discussion list.
19. Bernard Cassen - Rethinking the format of Social Forums, Proceeding to Political Action (in French)
In this article, published before WSF 2004 in Mumbai, the author discusses the need to rethink the format of Social Forums, to improve the systematization of its memory, to elaborate clear groups of propositions in order to make large mobilizations easier and to encourage the emergence of elements of a new paradigm. He also points to the need really to expand the process to regions like East Europe, Africa and Central Asia.
20. Francisco Whitaker - Tout a continué à Mumbai... (in French)
Whitaker writes about the concerns raised in the debate on the future of WSF; for example the need to clarify the results of the WSF, including all the proposals for action which have come from it.He also comments on the confusion regarding the role of the Social Movements Assembly and its relation with WSF and comments on proposals made by Bernard Cassen in the article "Rethinking the format of Social Forums, Proceeding to Political Action".
Learning from Practice
21. Oscar Reyes and Naima Bouteldja - Networking activities within the Social Forum Process
The authors begin a very valuable process with five case studies which explore the role of the WSF in reinforcing networks of action and policy development and explore who the methodology of the WSF can be improved. It is an inquiry specially made for this newsletter which demonstrates the way that the WSF as a space also makes it a base and a support for diverse forms of collective action.
Appendix: Chronology of Regional, Thematic, National and Local Forums. A Small Directory.