The seventh World Social Forum (WSF) took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 20 to
25 January 2007. There were numerous important issues at stake with Nairobi
providing the space for working out alternatives to neo-liberal
globalisation. Held in Africa for the first time, its purpose was above
all to deepen the roots of the anti-globalisation movement on the continent
most affected by neo-liberal politics. Unfortunately, for a variety of
organisational reasons the expectations generated by this global event were
seriously disappointed. Nonetheless, despite its shortcomings, the WSF once
again showed its resilience. What is more, the event represents a turning
point in the anti-globalisation movement, since there will be no
‘traditional’ WSF in 2008 but, instead, a series of global action days. The
question is: Is the movement losing impetus or is it in a period of
transition?
The WSF at Nairobi – The African Challenge
After expanding the movement in Asia , it became a logical and necessary
step to “make a halt” in Africa. Even though the continent is wracked by
social and economic tragedy - absolute and relative poverty are at
frightening levels, armed conflicts abound, debt is crushing the life out of
the people, it suffers recurrent famines and a never ending pillage of its
resources – African social movements remain the great “absentees” of the
anti-globalisation movement.
The proceedings thus faced many challenges: to
heighten awareness for the situation on the continent and to shine a
spotlight on its struggles, to create enduring alliances and foster
solidarity, but also to forge links with South American countries like
Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Unfortunately, although we had hoped to
work in an open, focussed and dynamic manner, a number of difficulties
quickly became apparent. Right from day one, trouble increased grew and
problems multiplied.
Although it is not our intention to write this
particular WSF off altogether, these problems should be the object of some
constructive, if severe, criticism.
The WSF in Nairobi – The Problems
Whilst bearing all the social and political factors of the region in mind
(such as Kenya’s weak social movements and the wars in its neighbouring
countries), some of the organisers’ decisions were frankly absurd. To pick
out a few:
1. The merchandisation of the WSF. Rather than rely as much as
possible on the energy and good-will of Kenya’s social movements for the
preparation of the WSF, the organising committee decided to hand over the
running of all of the forum’s activities to private companies. Transport,
translation, food and security , everything was run along commercial lines.
Everything had to be either rented or bought. The organisers even went as
far as signing a sponsorship deal with the communications company Celtel,
giving it monopoly rights to calls to and from the forum! Besides
contravening the principles of the Porto Alegre Charter, such outrageous
commercialisation had further negative implications. It meant that the food
was very expensive (three or four times as much as the normal domestic
price), that the Kenyan social movements were not really integrated in the
process, that the forum itself was hugely expensive ($3 million or
thereabouts). It prevented the flow of information particularly for those
participants outside the forum and led to a total breakdown in translation
services – vital aspects of the smooth running of an event like this. Is
the Forum turning into a marketing opportunity, with capitalists big and
small ready to cater for the “anti-globalisation tourist”, instead of being
a meeting-point for those engaged in the anti-neo-liberal struggle? It was
this totally unacceptable situation that led certain organisations (such as
the CADTM) to launch the slogan “The WSF is not for sale!”.
2. Huge entry fees for Kenyans. By the same commercial logic, the
organising committee deemed that, in order to balance the books, they would
increase the registration fees substantially compared to previous years .
It almost goes without saying that it is only correct that individuals and
organisations from the North should pay the lion’s share of the WSF’s costs
but to fix entrance fees for Kenyans at the equivalent of five euros each
was totally unacceptable. It is ridiculous that the very people in whose
country the WSF is being held should be prevented from being there and
taking part in the debates and the decision-making by the price of a ticket.
But with fees set so high, this is exactly what happened, seeing that 80% of
the population in Kenya live below the poverty line and five Euros represent
a week’s wages for the majority of Kenyans! Certain Kenyan organisations
protested angrily about this, correctly saying that “The WSF is welcome in
Kenya, but the Kenyans aren’t welcome at the WSF!”
3. The choice of venue further excluded Kenyans. Although the initial
choice of a venue for the forum was the big park in the centre of the city,
the organising committee finally decided to rent the gigantic stadium
Kasarani, situated more than 15 km away from the city. This added to the
exclusion of the local population. This building, able to hold 80’000
people, was totally inappropriate, the number of participants being
estimated at between 12’000 and 15’000. As a result, several big halls were
practically empty. The organisers felt that their choice was justified since
they needed to assure the safety of the participants. According to them, had
the WSF been held in the centre of the city, the park would have had to be
fenced in. Is it not the very purpose of a WSF to meet with and, if
necessary, fight with those who are poor, oppressed and exploited by the
capitalist system? Why should one seem to be protecting oneself from them?
4. A forum dominated by tones of moderation. Right from the opening
afternoon, before an audience of less than 10’000 people, a distinctly
moderate tone was taken. The question of “good governance” was paramount
and barring a few exceptions, nothing indicated a desire to break with the
globalisation. What is more, throughout the Forum, those pretending to give
capitalism a human face dominated over the more radical and alternative
voices. This fact could be partly explained by the WSF’s exorbitant
registration fees, since the major NGO’s can spend significant amounts and
so monopolize a political space. This in turn means that they do not need
to respect the needs of smaller movements in the organisation of local or
regional campaigns. For example, the NGO ‘Action Aid’ filed for 25
activities even though the WSF was only three days long! Church
representatives and religious NGO’s were out in force, some of whom
expressed views totally at odds with the WSF’s Charter of Principles (for
example in opposition to women’s rights, opposition to sexual rights etc.).
5. A wasted fourth day. The great innovation of this forum was to be
the organisation of a “fourth day”. This idea was conceived during the
International Council held in October 2006, the intention being to leave
space for the social movements and organisations to work out a common pan of
action. However, rather late in the day, without consultation and as a way
of closing the forum, the organisers decided to set up thematic work groups
in 21 different locations! Needless to say, these met with little success
(fewer than 1500 people turned out for all the assemblies). What exactly had
been the point? To give opportunity for convergence or for fragmentation?
Moreover, nothing was reserved for the social movement’s assembly. One
could even infer that the fourth day was organised specifically to prevent
the voices of the social movement from being heard…
Without a doubt, all of the points mentioned above can be firmly placed in a
minus column. And yet…and yet…
Despite major faults the proceedings carried a huge esprit
First of all, we should remember that the Nairobi WSF is not the only forum
that has had problems. Although one could say that this one had more than
its fair share of them, all previous Forums have experienced difficulties as
well. It is a pity, though, that nothing very much seemed to have been
learned from past mistakes. That said, the great work carried out by those
involved should be acknowledged. The debates were very rich as was the
sharing of experiences of struggle and ideas for alternatives. This WSF
strengthened the fighting spirit and synergies of the social movements. It
also gave ample opportunity for the planning of future mobilisations such as
the anti-G8 demo in Rostock coming up in June 2007 at which there should be
a high turnout. Finally, one must not underestimate the power of
spontaneous solidarity , the informal discussions and meetings that went on
were positive in many ways.
Most notably, the social movements present demonstrated their capacity to
respond collectively, actively and efficiently to the above-named problems.
1. Direct action guaranteed free entrance for Kenyans. Right from the first
day, the huge queues outside the main entrances forced those responsible to
open the doors to all the Kenyans wanting to get in. After sustained
protest, the committee finally conceded that they should not prevent local
participation just on the basis of not being able to afford the entrance
fees.
2. Action against commercialisation. On 22 January participants organised
a demonstration against the high food prices. On the 24 January, a group of
Kenyan and international activists occupied the two private restaurants
inside the stadium, thus enforcing a free distribution of food to the dozens
of local Nairobi youths who had made it inside.
3. The organisation of an alternative Forum Faced with the ‘economic’
impossibility of participating in the Forum, the ‘People’s Parliament’ , an
organisation that is highly active, especially in Nairobi’s shantytowns,
decided to set up an alternative forum. The Parliament, set up right in the
town centre, was a huge success. Down to earth, democratic and grounded in
the work of militants, over the three days it welcomed thousands of
participants as well as many delegates from a range of overseas movements.
4. A successful social movement assembly. As well as such collective
measures that were aimed at rectifying the forum’s ‘mistakes’; from the
outset the social movements came together to set up their own assembly in
order to facilitate the important work of coordinating action for the
future. At a meeting called on the same day and not even on the official
programme, the assembly succeeded in unifying more than 2000 participants in
a common declaration. Despite its somewhat ‘lite’ content the declaration
put African struggles and resistance at the top of the agenda, denounced the
commercialisation and militarisation of the WSF and sent out a strong
message that the WSF is not for sale. In the end, this fourth day allowed
the proceedings to conclude in an atmosphere of fraternity, of struggle and
accord which, alas, had been absent up until then.
A partial success is also encouraging
Even if it isn’t possible at the moment to evaluate the global impact of
this particular Forum, it is nevertheless possible to summarise it as at
least a partial success. Despite its flaws, the WSF demonstrated a profound
vitality and those who maintain that the WSF is in its death throes were
roundly refuted. The task remains, though, to learn from the mistakes of
the past and to correct them in a democratic and transparent manner. This
must be done so that the action days planned for the end of January 2008
are a success and so that these demonstrations and actions can give weight
to the slogan “Another World is Possible”. They must remind people of the
reality being lived by the oppressed all over the world.
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