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APRIL 14-15, 2007 School of Management Building (SOM) & Mahar Auditorium U-Mass Amherst Full program in pdf format click here. http://www.westernmassafsc.org/wsf/wsf.html |
MIGRANTS' RIGHTS = HUMAN RIGHTS
Final Statement of the Assembly on Migration,
7th World Social Forum, Nairobi, Kenya - January 24, 2007
We, the participants of the 7th WSF, solidarity organizations, NGOs, national and international networks, grassroots movements, men and women, wish to present in this final declaration the ideas we shared during the WSF as well as our proposals for action.
Migration is a central issue of Social Forums. The situation of migrants and migration policies are a result of neo-liberal policies and their tragic consequences.
The situation of people migrating from Africa, Europe, America or Asia are very similar. Through our fights, exchange of ideas and reports, we showed in a simple and lively way that global policies have daily consequences on all our lives, no matter where we live.
Therefore, it is necessary to keep making the links between migration related questions and the larger struggle against neo-liberal policies that jeopardize everyone’s liberty.
To read the whole article in English click here.
Para leer el artículo en Español pinche aquí.
WITH A LONG MARCH FROM KASARANI TO UHURU PARK THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2007 IS BROUGHT TO AN END
To read entire article click here.
THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2007 OPENS AT NAIROBI
Nairobi. January 20, 2007. At 10 a.m. large numbers of WSF2007 participants began gathering at the poor neighborhood of Kibera to march through downtown Nairobi to the Uhuru Park. At about 2pm the official opening ceremony started with a welcome speech by members of the International Committee and of the Africa Social Forum. Solidarity statements from all continents were heard and magnificent performances by young African artists were presented.
To read the whole article click here.
Boston Delegation to the World Social Forum 2007 in Nairobi Kenya Proposes Intercontinental Unity in the Struggle for Migrant Workers Rights in the World
Monday, January 22 (time not defined yet)
Terrain 6 - Moi International Sports Center - Kasarani
This activity seeks to demonstrate the need to join forces in the world to confront the injustices of a condition created by contemporary capitalism: large masses of migrant workers desperately seeking work to survive. In that process they are abused, victimized, exploited and discriminated.
The U.S. has large masses of exploited undocumented workers, nearly 12 millions in all. Yet, the "immigrant rights" movement in the U.S. has not joined in with the rest of the world but it must. We propose that May Day 2007 be a point of departure from that erroneous tactic and ask people of the world to join in a campaign where International Workers Day is dedicated to the rights of migrant workers of the world. Meanwhile, in the US a strike and boycott as the one implemeted this year should also be attempted.
During his last visit to the Boston Area L.A. immigrant rights leader Jesse Diaz was asked to join this effort and he accepted. Four other local activists will form the delegation to Nairobi: Dorotea Manuela, Jeanne Koopman, Thomas Ponniah and Sergio Reyes.
The World Social Forum will take place from January 20, 2007 to January 25, 2007. Additional funds to support delegation expenses are needed. Please consider a donation. Checks should be made payable to: CAEF/WSF07, PO BOX 381279, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02238-1279.
To read the entire proposal (pdf) click here
Para leer la propuesta en español (pdf) pinche aqui.
Pour lire le proposition en français (pdf) déclic ici.
Per leggere la proposta in italiano (pdf) clicca qui.
Formatted for printing (Word):
The proposal in english click here
La propuesta en español pinche aqui.
Le proposition en français déclic ici.
La proposta in italiano clicca qui.
WSF 2007 LIST OF ACTIVITIES
All are in Excel file format:
Activities January 20 and 21 (Sat. Sun.)
Activities January 22 (Mon.)
Activities January 23 (Tue.)
Activities January 24 (Wed.)
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A Compelling presentation by |
The seventh edition of the WSF will be carried out from January 20 to 25, 2007, in Nairobi, Kenya (Africa). The date was decided during the last WSF International Council (IC) meeting, which took place from March 20 to 22 in the same city that will host the VII WSF. More updated information about the WSF 2007 in Kenya click here.
At that meeting, among other issues, it was discussed the methodology that will be adopted to prepare the WSF 2007. IC Methodology Commission has suggested organizing a consultation, following the example of what was made to prepare the WSF 2005, in Porto Alegre (Brazil), and the Americas polycentric WSF 2006, in Caracas (Venezuela).
During the meeting, a balance of the polycentric events in Bamako (Mali) and Caracas (Venezuela) was made, as well as a discussion about the continuity of the polycentric in Karachi (Pakistan), Bangkok (Thailand) and others. International Council expansion was another item in the meeting agenda.
TRAVELING TO KENYA
The flight from Boston to Nairobi is between 16 to 18 hours long. In order for those planning to attend the WSF in Kenya to have an idea of the itinerary and to plan ahead, we have included a real sample itinerary including fare information. Fares can go from $1300 to $1500 depending on dates selected. The dates selected for the WSF (Jan. 20-25, 2007) fall within the low traveling season. Hope this is helpful. To see the sample itinerary please click here.
The main venue for the World Social Forum 2007 will be the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani - about 10 km. north east of the Central Business District of Nairobi. Opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Uhuru Park in downtown Nairobi.
To see a map of downtown Nairobi, including Uhuru Park click here.
The purpose of the USSF is to effectively and affirmatively articulate the values and strategies of progressive civil society in the United States. Those who build towards and participate in the USSF are no longer interested in simply stating what social justice movements “stand-against,” rather we see ourselves as part of new movements that reach beyond national borders, that practice democracy at all levels, and that can articulate the world we want. The USSF provides a first major step towards such articulation by bringing together the new movements.
The United States Social Forum (USSF) will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, June 27 through July 1st. 2007. Organizing efforts are underway and all progressive activists are encouraged to participate in the process. For more information about the USSF please click here.
QUICK REPORTBACK FROM THE MAINE SOCIAL FORUM
JULY 28-30, 2006 - BATES MILL, LEWISTON
By Sergio Reyes, WSFBOC Co-Coordinator
Boston Delegation Workshop at the Maine SF
So, many progressives and radicals are aware that there is a new World Social Forum approaching in January 2007 and we are pondering whether we should go or not. For some the limitations are only money and time, because there is no doubt in our minds that the Forum is a worthwhile event.
It took 6 years for Boston to come up with some sort of organized, collective effort to attend the Social Forum in Caracas last year. For the previous 5 years progressive organizers and activists had attended the forum, but didn't take the form of a cross section of interests and organizations delegation. They were either individual or individual organization efforts.
If we don't want to transform this event in some sort of progressive/radical indivual tourism, we have to ask ourselves many questions before attending; questions such as:
1. Why should I/we go to the forum.
Surely there are more than a dozen questions about this matter. However, attempting to answer some these would give us a good basis to begin our work. We will address some of these questions or others that might arise from the perspective of the experience of the First Boston Delegation to the World Social Forum. In this process we hope to clarify our own goals and objectives for the present Boston Delegation to Nairobi, but also to contribute our insights to progressives in Maine who might considering attending the World Social Forum 2007.
Photo and commentary by Marc Becker. More about the Forum at www.yachana.org.
Complete WSF 2006 - Caracas Program:
INDIVIDUAL DELEGATES: 53,000
HUB DELEGATES BRING AGENDA OF COOPERATION TO SOCIAL FORUM 2006
While Moodliar currently works with a coalition of like-minded organizations in the United States come January 24, his organization will have a chance to broaden its horizons. Moodliar and more than 50 other Boston-area activists will be among the 80,000 to 100,000 delegates expected at this year’s World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela.
(Pictured left to right: Roberto Torres, Dorothea Manuela, The Consul of Venezuela en Boston, Martin Pacheco, and Jorge Marin)
WSF 2007 IN KENYA: JANUARY 20 TO 25
UNITED STATES SOCIAL FORUM 2007
Between 100-150 activists converged on the giant Bates
Mill building, which is now slowly being converted
into shops and restaurants. Charlie, Karen, Susana and I
arrived Friday late afternoon under torrential rain
and had a hard time finding the place where the forum
was in session. No problem finding the huge Bates Mill
building though. The Forum took over an open,
non-developed area of the second floor for registration,
information and tables, and the 4th. floor with
classroom-like rooms for the various workshops. The rooms assumed
names such as black bear, lobster, puffin, deer,
black fly, moose, groundhog, porcupine, raccoon and loon.
July 28-30, 2006
Bates Mill and Kennedy Park, Lewiston, Maine
www.mainesocialforum.org
Saturday, July 29 -- 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Puffin Room, Bates Mill (Canal Street), Lewiston
2. What do I expect from the forum experience.
3. What collective political contribution to social change can we give and take from the forum.
4. Do we have any proposals to present at the forum?
5. Do we have to organize in advance or just act impulsively?
6. If I don't go or can't go the forum, should I participate in an effort to send a delegation from my area?
7. Should I/we get involved in an effort to fundraise for organizers, activists, individuals go don't have the means but have the eagerness to participate in the forum?
8. Should we expect anything from our delegation upon their return?
9. Is it necessary to make effort before hand to link up with delegates from other countries?
10. What are the practical considerations any delegation should attend to?
11. Should delegates be elected or should we trust volunteer from different organizations?
12. Can different political, community, grassroots organizations work together as delegation to the forum?
November 17-21, 2006
Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
www.forosocialpuertorico.org (Spanish)
at the WSF 2006
BUILDING INTERNATIONAL GRASSROOTS
COOPERATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
(Read the full Boston Delegation Proposal
on the links below)
Friday, January 27, 2006
8:30am - 11:30 am
Aeropuerto La Carlota, Caracas
Sala AC-03
"We're at an active military airbase, and helicopters keep landing and taking off to take people to the International Airport since the bridge on the main road there is out. The noise occasionally interrupts our discussions. It's nice under the tents, though, with the breeze blowing through."
WSF 2006 STATISTICS
ORGANIZATIONAL DELEGATES: 19,000
VOLUNTEERS: 2,500
REGISTERED JOURNALISTS: 2,500
ACTIVITIES: 2,000
ACTIVITIES BY THEME:
THEME 1: 393
THEME 2: 314
THEME 3: 272
THEME 4: 132
THEME 5: 183
THEME 6: 389
ACTIVITIES BY COUNTRY:
Brazil: 450
Venezuela: 400
Colombia: 150
United States: 115
Argentina: 120
Cuba: 65
Ecuador: 60
Canada: 40
France: 30
Spain: 25
Chile: 25
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: 200
LARGEST DELEGATIONS:
Venezuela
Colombia
Brazil
BY Yawu Miller, The Bay State Banner
Boston - 1/14/06 -- From his cramped Chinatown office, Suren Moodliar coordinates efforts to better the working conditions of part-time workers across the country. With businesses and universities cutting back on full-time positions, contingent positions are becoming more common and the rights of the workers who hold the jobs are becoming an issue for organizations like Moodliar’s North American Alliance for Fair Employment.
Saturday January 28th, 2006
Plaza Bolívar, Carácas, 3pm
The Boston Delegation to the World Social Forum demonstrates to declare the US people's solidarity with the Venezuelan revolution, beneath the banner: "Oil for peace, not war for Oil!"
Venezuela has provided 45,000 poor families in Massachusetts with subsidized oil, a seasonal savings of $185 per family. We are at Plaza Bolivar to thank the Venezuelan people for their solidarity with the US poor. The Mayor of Carácas has been invited to accept our formal gratitude.
The Bush administration has spent $200 billion on the war in Iraq and not on social programs. Tens of thousands of US poor have been sent to fight in a war that has taken the lives of 2,000 US soldiers and 100,000 Iraqi civillians. George Bush does not concern himself with the wellbeing of the US poor; Chavez does.
The Boston Delegation is sending a message not only to the Venezuelan people, but also to our own government. "We want the US to keep its hands off Venezuela and bring the troops home now!" said Kim Foltz, an organizer with Massachusetts Global Action Network.
The Boston Delegation is a multicultural group of over forty Bostonians, including city employees, community organizers, professors, health care workers, students, and journalists.
| WSF 2006 Highlights |
PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ TALKS ABOUT THE DILEMMA OF SOCIALISM OR DEATH OF THE HUMAN SPECIES
Caracas. 1/27/06 -- Chavez spoke to about 8,000 delegates to the World Social Forum in Caracas today. In essence. Chavez expressed his concern about the danger that the forum might become yet another folk-like gathering rather than a place that could be a real threat to U.S. imperialism.
It was not symbolic that the notes of The Internationale sounded without shame from the stage where he spoke. Chavez warned that the slogan socialism or death is real and it means socialism or death of the human species.
In clear reference to the victory of the Movement to Socialism in Bolivia and the election of Evo Morales as president of that country, he said: "The Incas are rising up. The Aymaras are rising up. The Aztecas (are rising up). Tupak Katari has come back transformed in millions of people."
Chavez called for the formation of an anti-imperialist united front in the entire world with respect for the autonomy of all the diferent movements that become part of it. He said, "Only united we can do it. We are going to inflict the right wing the greatest defeat in 500 years."
Lea artículo completo en español
To contact the WSF Boston Organizing Committee:
Write us: PO Box 1279, Cambridge, MA 02238
Email us: wsf at lfsc.org
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE U.S. SOCIAL FORUM: A REPLY TO WHITAKER AND BELLO’S DEBATE ON THE OPEN SPACE
By Thomas Ponniah
The achievements of the U.S. Social Forum experience contributes a great deal to debates concerning the future of the overall World Social Forum (WSF) process. In a recent set of interventions Walden Bello and Chico Whitaker, both representatives on the International Council of the WSF, disagreed on the future of the Forum. Bello, the Executive Director of Focus on the Global South, argued that the Forum was now at a crossroads . While acknowledging that the WSF had gven a great deal to the struggle for global justice, Bello suggested that the Forum’s Open Space methodology, which on principle, refuses to take a collective stand on issues such as the war on Iraq and the WTO, was now inhibiting substantial political agency. He argued that there was merit to the charge that the Forum was becoming “an institution unanchored in actual global political struggles, and this is turning it into an annual festival with limited social impact”. The article concluded with the query: “is it time for the WSF to fold up its tent and give way to new modes of global organization of resistance and transformation?”
To read the article in pdf format click here.
THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2007 AND MIGRANT WORKERS RIGHTS
Nairobi, Kenya, January 20-25, 2007
Report by Sergio Reyes, for the World Social Forum Boston Organizing Committee and the Boston May Day Coalition (2/14/07)
The seventh edition of the World Social Forum took place for the first time in an African country. Naturally, the organizers' intention was to attract a larger African presence in the Forum. While the official figures of participants by country has not yet been released, it is possible that African participation was indded larger than in previous versions of the Forum. The total number of participants was estimated by Forum officials to be 60,000 (lately the estimation is 40,000). It is important to point out though that original expectations went from 150,000 down to 100,000, and they were further lowered by reality.
To read the report Click Here
BOSTON DELEGATION PARTICIPATION AT THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2007, NAIROBI, KENYA
My best intentions to produce a daily report of our activities at the World Social Forum failed due to the intensity of activities and limited access to the internet. In this report I present a summary of our activities from Monday January, 21 through Wednesday, January 23. In general, we have been able to introduce our proposal to different organizations and made a significant amount of important contacts.
To read the report click here.
Briefing Note for North American Migrants Rights Activists on Recent African Migration Experiences, European Union Repression, and European-African Activist Responses
January 31, 2007 -- There is a striking similarity between North America and Europe experiences in the recent upsurge in unauthorized migration from the South, the militarization of borders, anti-immigrant legislation, criminalization of undocumented migrants, government raids, and expulsions. In response, migrants’ rights activists in Europe, North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and West Africa (Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, Benin) are mobilizing communities, organizing activist forums and networks, and conducting demonstrations at national and international levels.
This note is meant to inform the North American migrants’ rights movement of recent events in Europe and Africa as part of a wider effort to promote international unity in the struggle for migrants’ rights.
To read the report click here.
THE ROLE OF THE WRITER AT THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
By Thomas Ponniah
Gramsci once wrote that everyone is an intellectual however a few have the role of being intellectuals. To reformulate Gramsci in terms of the dynamics at the World Social Forum (WSF) one could say that all political activists have the impulse to write but for some of us writing is our primary contribution. Writing is one mode of activism though not necessarily the least or most important. What then is the role of a writer in the contemporary search for global justice? Or to put it another way, what do movements at the World Social Forum need from its writers?
To read the article click here.
ANOTHER WORLD IS NECESSARY
Last December 2, a group of about 40 participants shared an evening of discussion and a light dinner to explore how the global struggles of Africans are shaped by the dynamics of race, class and
gender in a neoliberal world economic order. This program was part of a series in preparation for the world social forum 2007, Nairobi, Kenya. The activity was organized by the World Social Forum Boston Organizing Committee
Zine Magubane, a scholar who has explored how colonialism has shaped how we look at ourselves & others, spoke about race and gender dynamics on both the continent and in the diasporas.
Jeanne Koopman, research fellow at the African Studies Department in B.U. delivered a presentation entitled, “Fueling Immigration: How Northern Policies Impoverish African Economies.”
Chengiah Ragaven both an academic and human rights activist, spoke about the emergence of a neoliberal South Africa out of the grassroots struggles of that country’s working people.
We thank all of the presenters for their contribution in helping us better understand the challenges presented by the struggles of the African people. Thank you also to a most attentive and participatory audience and thank you to Encuentro 5 for hosting us.
BORDER SOCIAL FORUM ENDS SUCCESSFULLY
El primer FORO SOCIAL FRONTERIZO fue todo un éxito con la participación de 1,000 personas y 900 delegadas y delegados. El FSF se llevo acabo en CD Juárez, Chihuahua cruzando la frontera con El Paso, Texas entre las fechas 12-15 de Octubre, 2006. El FSF se llevo acabo en las instalaciones de la Universidad Autónoma de CD Juárez (UACJ) y el Centro Cultural Universitario.
Las delegaciones al FSF vienen de todos los estados fronterizos de México y Estados Unidos. Delegaciones provenían desde México DF y Washington DC, Puerto Rico, La Habana, Cuba y Canadá, Guatemala, y Quito, Ecuador.
Para leer el informe en español (pdf) pinchar aquí.
WHAT IS THE BAMAKO APPEAL?
Boston, August 30, 2006 -- The Bamako Appeal is a statement issued by a meeting held in Bamako, Mali, on January 18 2006, an initiative taken by the WFA – the World Forum for Alternatives, headed by eminent Egyptian economist Samir Amin and eminent Belgian historian François Houtart. The document makes a major call for (and puts forward a major 10-point program for) an organized, worldwide redoubling of resistance to the current phase of imperialism and the building of a world movement. The analysis and discussion of the document has been prominent in World Social Forum circles and it might be an important discussion piece in the upcoming WSF 2007 in Nairobi. We are including its full text here.
The WSFBOC sponsored an open meeting to discuss the Bamako Appeal on Saturday, October 7, at the Democracy Center in Cambridge. The meeting was free and open to the public.
To read the full document please click here.
Para leer el documento en español (Word) pinchar aquí.
A DEFINITIVE BOOK ON THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: "ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE. POPULAR ALTERNATIVES TO GLOBALIZATION AT THE WSF." (Published by Zed Books. March 2003)
This book is edited by William F Fisher and Thomas Ponniah, both from Clark University with a Foreword by Michael Hardt and Toni Negri, and articles by Vandana Shiva, Walden Bello and others. Thomas Ponniah is active both at the World Social Forum level and locally with the WSF Boston Organizing Committee.
According to the editors, "This book grew out of our shared interest in and commitment to the approaches of contemporary social movements to alternative visions of globalization. Our plans for the book emerged directly out of discussions around the methodological and theoretical challenges of studying global social movements. We wrestled with the questions of how to discuss, analyze and express the participatory character and multiple voices of large translocal movements, and how to choose case studies appropriate to informing an overall theory of social change in an era of globalization. We considered numerous cases including the Zapatistas, the new innovations in Cuba, and the Narmada Movement, but we discarded each for one reason or the other."
For more information on the book please visit http://www.anotherworldispossible.clarku.edu/
| Boston Delegates to the WSF 2006 Speak |
FEMINISTS WEAVING TOGETHER THEORY AND PRAXIS: PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY IN THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION
By Renee Kasinsky
Boston, June 16, 2006. I attended the Boston social forum in the summer of 2004 before the Democratic Convention began. At that time I had little idea of its origins and its significance both to myself and to the world. I went as a curious observer and became a participant in the Women’s Tribunal Against Violence sponsored by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and other women’s groups. Four of us shared our stories about violence with a small limited audience. Later that evening the “wise women” who listened issued their verdict: violence against women was a systemic occurrence which was largely unacknowledged and treated in our society as personal wrongs. As a faculty member at University of Massachusetts I had taught about gender violence. Now I was an insider telling my own story, integrating theory and praxis. When I heard there would be a VI world social forum in Caracas, Venezuela two years later in January of 2006 I signed up to be part of a self-appointed Boston delegation. I spent two weeks in Venezuela, as a participant observer.
To read the entire article in pdf format click here.
FROM SOMERVILLE TO CARACAS: GRASSROOTS ACTIVISTS AT THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
An interview by Sergio Reyes for community television
On April 2, 2006, Sergio Reyes (right) interviewed (from left to right) Malena Mayorga, Kaveri Rajaraman and Eli Beckerman for a community television program to be broadcast in Somerville Community Access Television on the occassion of a planned report back in that city. The interviewees talked about the connections between the WSF in Caracas, Venezuela and the work that can be done on the grassroots in our cities, in particular, in this case, in the City of Somerville. A report-back is planned by the three delegates for April 23.
To view the video of this interview click here. Please be aware that the 30 mins. video is in Windows Media format and its size is 22 megabytes. You might not be able to view it if you have dial-up internet connection.
WSF VI: THE REVOLUTION IN VENEZUELA
By Kendra Fehrer and Thomas Ponniah
Boston -- April 8, 2006 - For the first time in World Social Forum (WSF) history, the most interesting alternatives were not those presented within the Forum, but instead those taking place outside of it. WSF VI offered social movements an opportunity to see the Venezuelan path to another possible world.
MOHAWKS & FLOWERS: REFLECTIONS & IMAGES
By Jason Turi, Seth Payer & Eric Anderson
Boston -- April 5, 2006.[...] The Boston Delegation received an amazing welcome from Venezuelans and we were amazed by many other individuals/groups from North America that participated. The commitment and involvement of those from the industrialized North must continue to work on building support for and with our comrades in the South. I study International Development to find alternatives to the development industry, a business that has been built out of the rubble of Western economic liberalization and war-mongering. In Caracas, I came face to face with a movement and a viable alternative to this disastrous venture and it is not speculative, it is strong and vibrant.
JOURNAL OF A YOUNG DELEGATE TO THE WSF
By Zaskya Perez
Boston - March 29, 2006. [...] At the end of the visit our delegation presented the workers with the banner and a donation of computers. They were proud and thanked us for coming so far to meet them and learn from them. They asked us to share their story and left us with the message that Venezuela dislikes the US government, not the people. “Venezuelans and northerners are brothers,” said one worker, “we struggle and fight hand in hand.”
[...] The delegation saw an opportunity to make some noise on the street. Today we met at the Plaza Bolivar for a demonstration. We made signs reading, “troops out now” and “oil for peace, not for war.” I couldn’t believe the amount of support that we received from the public. People joined us in holding signs and chanting. We sang songs and told stories of freedom in a public display of emotion.
VENEZUELA: EDUCATION IN THE PACKAGING
Boston - March 5, 2006 -- Some of the members of the Boston Delegation to the World Social Forum 2006 in Caracas visited the Mercals and were intrigued by the colorful packaging of some common products such as flour and peas. The delegates purchased some of these products and brought them to Boston. Here, for instance, you can see a picture of the packaging of common self-rising white flour. The main subject of this packaging has to do with education and the Robinson Mission to eliminate illiteracy in Venezuela.
DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT SOLIDARITY IS, BUT I KNOW THIS WAS IT
By Eli Beckerman
Boston - February 21, 2006 -- The Boston Delegation’s presence at the Forum was an interesting experience. After months of planning, holding 3 public meetings and many planning meetings, reaching out to countless progressive organizations in Boston, arranging airfare and hotel rooms for dozens of Boston activists, culling together a Boston Delegation proposal for our World Social Forum workshop, planning mission tours for the Boston delegates throughout Caracas, and opening the Forum with a big march across the city, the Boston Delegation culminated in two events — a workshop at the Carlota airport and a rally at Plaza Bolívar.
PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD WE ARE NOT THE GOVERNMENT AND DO NOT SUPPORT WAR AND IMPERIALISM
By Aileen Montour
Boston – February 20, 2006 — Upon reflection after returning from Caracas, I realize that with all the competing activities/interests/objectives along with scheduling and logistics challenges, I probably experienced more of Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution than the World Social Forum. However, following the opportunities as they presented themselves each day resulted in serendipitously wonderful experiences and much less frustration.
I took seriously the objective to thank the Venezuelans for the discounted heating oil delivered to the low income people in Boston and to try to forge solidarity with the people of Venezuela. It was an incredible experience to carry the Boston delegation’s banner expressing our thanks as we walked in the opening march of the social forum and watch the faces and reactions of the Venezuelans lining the March route. They would intently read the message and then break into broad smiles, cheers and applause – such a warm and enthusiastic reception along the entire route.
THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM AND SOCIAL GLOBALIZATION
By Juan Tello
February 17, 2006 -- While I found my way over tables full of revolutionary images, and trying not to get myself immersed in the many passionate discussions that you could hear all over Caracas during the World Social Forum 2006, I arrived to the conclusion that this was a unique moment in my life. Also, I believe it was a unique moment in the history of our peoples in the Americas.
This indeed was a doubly special moment. On the one hand the WSF gave all of us a spirit of hope and optimism. These are essencial incentives for social activists in the continent who every day must wake up observing nomumental obstacles and yet continue confronting them.
All WSF delegates lived a 6-day utopia, realizing that in our neighboring countries we can find the comradery that so many times is so scarce in our own societies. The WSF is precisely that, a forum for the globalization of solidarity, for the rights of indigenous peoples, for women, for the environment, for workers. Compared to its corresponding neoliberal meeting of the World Trade Organization, the WSF compensates with energy, dedication and hope what it lacks in monetary capital. On the other hand, the fact that the WSF took place in Caracas, amidst a democratic revolution made this event acquire a special harmony. The whole city was for me a grand event, a dream.
Lea artículo completo en español
I LOVE VENEZUELA AND THAT'S WHY I SUPPORT THIS REVOLUTION
By Jorge Marin
Boston - February 15, 2006 -- The World Social Forum gives progressive organizations a chance to put forward their agendas and to connect with other organizations that are doing similar work. It began in Puerto Alegre in 2001, after the successful demonstrations in Seattle against the G8 group of countries ... it is a venue for progressive organizations to counter-act the neoliberal policies that the G8 countries want to impose on the rest of the world.
As such, the World Social Forum tries to embrace a wide range of organizations, from the extreme left to the more centrist ideology.
Our Boston delegation was made up of different organizations that also encompassed a wide range of ideology from labor to housing to socialists to the Bolivarian Circle. The delegation put together a proposal for organizations throughout the continent to work together via the internet and networking. We had our publication printed in a booklet format and distribute it throughout forum. The proposal was a compilation of many organizations in the Massachusetts area explaining their work and their ideals.
UNDER THE SIGN OF BOLIVAR
By Jim COHEN
Paris - February 8, 2006 -- The World Social Forum is taking place this year in a “polycentric” manner and in three stages: first in Bamako, Mali (January 19-23), then in Caracas (January 24-29), and finally in Karachi (March 25-28). In Caracas, inevitably, the gathering came under the influence of the presidential regime of Hugo Chávez, which led to a more fervent and more strategically-oriented brand of political language than usual in the space of the Forum, This led some commentators and participants to worry about a political takeover of the Forum. It must be recognized, however, that in Latin America today, the “radical pole” taking shape around Chávez and the new Bolivian president Evo Morales is not a marginal phenomenon, and the demand for a decisive political break with the neoliberal model of society is becoming insistent. Yet by no means did the Forum in Caracas cease to be a very pluralistic space of interaction among social movements and currents of thought in all their diversity.
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INTERVIEW WITH ROBERTO TORRES
Boston - February 1, 2006 -- "I learned many things, among them a new concept of sharing art with the poor. Art [in Venezuela] is not a privilege of the elite only. We visited the Mision Barrio Adentro and the 23 de Enero neighborhood. In that neighborhood we went to the museum of fine arts Alejandro Otero. There, the government has a program to allow all surrounding neighborhoods to participate and enhance their appreciation of art. Admission is free and there are weekly activities. The museum staff visit poor areas and organize groups of children to go to the museum. Once there, children not only observe passively but also carry out their own projects with cardboards, brushes, crayons, paper, scissors, and practice their own art imitating paintings and objects found in the museum."
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