To work!

A meeting of the social movements was held
in Mexico last August to discuss and develop
joint proposals for the future. This meeting
was in the context of the first World
Social Forum in 2001, and was the result of
a proposal by the CUT and the MST in Brazil,
ATTAC-France and Focus on the Global
South in Thailand.

The 2002 WSF, which was the first large
international event (50,000 participants)
which opposed neoliberal globalisation after
the attacks of 11 September, highlighted the
commitment to build international resistance
and solidarity – a commitment which
was expressed above all in the appeal of the
social movements.

It was then that it was proposed to the MST
and the CUT to establish a small secretariat
to facilitate the coordination of the initiatives
of the social movements during the
coming period, and for the 2003 WSF. This
marks the beginning of discussions on how
we, the social movements, can work to build
a more permanent coordination.

From that was born the idea of working
towards the construction of a Global
Network of Social Movements, on the basis
of a proposal from the CUT and the MST in
Brazil, the World March of Women, ATTACFrance
and Focus on the Global South -
Thailand. The Network’s objectives were to
enable the social movements to exchange
analyses, opinions and information regarding
the current situation, and also to enable the
sharing of the work and the priorities of the
movement before and after the Forums.

The project is ambitious (going beyond occasional
meetings between movements of different
countries, moving towards new horizontal
structures to facilitate exchanges and to
encourage joint action and widen the audience
of social movements on every continent)
and the network has had difficulty carrying
it out.

However, the crisis of capitalism, its social,
economic and environmental effects and the
policies of employers and government, as
well as the campaigns of workers and popular
sectors, make it necessary to develop a
useful tool for sharing information, coordinating
initiatives and reflecting on alternatives
to the crisis and on strategies for struggle.
As a first step on this path, we are building
this Email of the Social Movements. We look
forward to your collaboration [1].

1) To send any material of interest in this
electronic journal: nazioartea@esk-sindikatua.
org

CONTENT

Climate: From Bangkok to Copenhanguen (Christophe Aguito, Attac France)

From villages to New Delhi to Geneva: Indian farmers protest against the WTO (Ashlesha Khadse, Via Campesina South Asia)

WTO: After Delhi (Via Campesina)

France / Continental : “Somewhere along the line, this has encouraged the idea of struggling and continuing the fight” (Didier Bernard, CGT Continental, France)

Face à la crise, que fait le mouvement syndical ? (Sophie Béroud, Karel Yon)

CSO Forum Parallel to the FAO Summit: Stop the crisis, change the food system! (Collective)

Sustainable solutions to the global crises: European action not european rhetoric! (European Movements)

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Action Agenda and forward planning

World Social Forum

WSF: the key events planned for 2010 in the
run-up to the 2011 WSF in Senegal

The meeting of the International
Council of the World Social Forum
(IC-WSF) that took place on the
6^th-8^th October last reconfirmed
that several events were planned for 2010 that would
mobilise and suppor t the development of the 2011
WSF in Senegal. A specific effort is being made to link
up the various events so that there is a continuity in
the WSF process throughout 2010. There are about 25
events scheduled to be held in January 2010, as well as
a seminar to evaluate the WSF process. The complete
updated list of events is available on the WSF web site:
www.forumsocialmundial.org.br (in the Agenda section >
Mobilisation dates).

Given our intepretation of the current situation and the
update on where the social movements stand after a year of
generalised crisis of the system on one hand, and the market
statement that the crisis is already over, we have had the idea
of holding many discussions on “Our response to the crisis”
in any event sceduled to take place in 2010
The cumulative results will be presented at the WSF in
Senegal in January 2011. The Methodology Commission
of the IC-WSF still needs to determine the best way
to make alternatives to the crises visible. If you wish to
contribute to this discussion, please contact the WSF
office and ask to join the commission: fsmci@forumsocialmundial.
org.br

The preparation of the 2011 WSF is another subject that
was discussed in both the plenary sessions and the commissions.
An initial organisational seminar is scheduled to
take place in Dakar, in Senegal from November 16^th-18^th.
As well as sharing lessons learnt from past Fora, the participants
will have the opportunity to discuss African and
international mobilisation and the decentralised preparatory
mechanisms for preparing for the event. The challenges,
the visions and the strategies of the African social
movements are a point listed on the agenda of the Dakar
seminar, and will contribute to building the 2011 WSF.

The full raport of the meeting of FSM-IC will be
available on this Web site of the FSM:
http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/main.php?id_menu=3_2_2&cd_language=3

Social Movements Assembly

Many of the movements that were present at
the IC meeting also took part in the Assembly
of Social Movements meeting on the evening
of the 6^th of October. The following events
that were not listed on the 2009 calendar
were included: mobilisation during the WTO
meeting scheduled to take place in Geneva
(Switzerland) in late November and the Klimaforum
in Copenhagen, in Denmark, 6^th-18^th
December.

The importance of bringing social and environmental
themes together was emphasized,
as well as the need to link them to the development
model. This means that it is necessary
to connect the issues of WTO negotiations,
where themes such as the liberalisation of
goods and services, to the UNFCCC meeting
in Copenhagen. Geneva will also mark the
10^th anniversary of demonstrations against
the WTO in Seattle.

Other subjects discussed at the meeting included
supporting the resistence of people in
Honduras against the coup d’etat, and the way
the Assembly of Social Movements works. It
was suggested that a seminar should be dedicated
to this subject.

It was also proposed to start drawing up the
agenda for 2010 mobilisations.

The next ASM meeting is scheduled to take
place in Copenhagen in Denmark during the
Klimaforum. Additional information will be
uploaded onto the ASM list.

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