New Delhi, Monday, November 24, 2006

Post-ISF reflection session on the World Social Forum

Wednesday, November 29, 3:30 - 6 pm

@

India Social Institute

10 - Institutional Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110003 (INDIA)

Phone:24622379/ 24625015

Come and join us !

Dear friends,

I am writing on behalf of CACIM
(India Institute for Critical Action : Centre in
Movement), to cordially invite you to a post-ISF
reflection session this coming Wednesday,
November 29 2006, at ISI (India Social
Institute), at 3:30 pm.

The November 29, 2006 meeting

We are calling this meeting to take
full advantage of fresh memories on the part of
those who attended the India Social Forum from
November 9-13. This becomes even more important
in view of the fact that the event was held in
Delhi and a large number of us were closely
involved with the organising the event itself or
events at ISF in some way or the other.

The meeting on November 24 2006 will
have participation from those who were closely
involved in the ISF process, have engaged with
the process for long and continue to do so and
come from a wide range of backgrounds and points
of view to reflect on the ISF and on the World
Social Forum process more generally and as an
idea. We would also like to invite those who
could not attend the ISF due to one reason or the
other but are keen to know what happened at the
Forum.

We have planned the meeting not as a
lot of speeches but as some brief presentations
on the basis of which we will draw out certain
particular issues and where all those present
will then have a chance to take part in breakout
groups (smaller group discussions). We want to
make the meeting as common and participatory as
possible.

While we want anyone who is
interested to come, once again we especially
invite all those who have attended the ISF to
please join us and to come prepared to briefly
share with us your reflections on what took place
there. And we also invite all those who may have
been at any of the other world meetings this
year, either Karachi, Bamako or Caracas, and all
those who have been at other Social Forums,
either the World Social Forum at Mumbai in
January 2004 or the Asian Social Forum in
Hyderabad in January 2003, or any of the other
regional or national events over these past years.

ISF at New Delhi is the third Social
Forum in India after Hyderabad (2003) and Mumbai
(2004) and the process would be entering in its
5^th year. We hope it would be an interesting
session on Wednesday. Please do come. We look
forward very much to having you with us.

With warm greetings –

Madhuresh

For CACIM

Some of the pointers for reflections :

1. What do you feel has been the value of the
India Social Forum, and of the World Social Forum
process in general, in contributing to
strengthening a process of putting forward
alternatives to neoliberal globalisation, war,
patriarchy, casteism, and communalism ?

2. What has been the specific value of
organising the India Social Forum in Delhi, the
political centre of the country at this
particular juncture when UPA government is in
power in the name of aam aadmi agenda.

3. How has holding the WSF events in
Hyderabad 2003, Mumbai in 2004 and now in Delhi
2006 strengthened social movements and civil
processes in India, South Asia, and the region
more generally ? How do you see this journey of
WSF in India ?

4. What are the lessons we can learn from
this edition of the Forum, for the forthcoming
events and such initiatives and for work related
to the World Social Forum process more generally ?

5. Do you agree with the observation made by
some people who were at Delhi, and also in
relation to Social Forums held elsewhere in the
world, that the WSF is becoming just one big talk
shop ? If so, why and how do you agree ? And if
you do not agree, then why not ? And in either
case, what future do you see for the WSF ?

6. How was attending the India Social Forum
in Delhi important for the work that you do ?

7. Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, WHAT NEXT ???

CACIM - India Institute for Critical Action : Centre in Movement

A-3, Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India

Ph : 91 11 4155 1521 and 2433 2451 / Mobile 91 98 1890 5316

e-mail :  cacim.net>madhuresh cacim.net

For news, Views and reports on ISF visit

http://www.openspaceforum.net/twiki/tiki-index.php?page=WSF2006%3AISFArticles

Audio reports on www.forumradio.cacim.net