World Social Forum

Bond blogs

Below are blog posts from Joanna Rea, Bond's International Advocacy Officer, from the World Social Forum in Senegal, February 2011.

Also on this page are videos from the event.

12 Feb 2011: Final reflections

The World Social Forum concluded yesterday and we are left to reflect on a busy week in Dakar. It’s difficult to synthesis everything and come to any definitive conclusion. So I’ll offer some thoughts and see where they bring us.

As many commentators have noted, the Forum was chaotic, and sometimes a complete shambles. This was difficult for those hosting events and frustrating for participants. All too often we heard about great events when they had finished, or they were in a location that evaded the majority. The lack of information, both at the Forum itself and online, was a source of perpetual annoyance to everyone I spoke with. If you did manage to find a sought-after event, there were many issues with sound, translation and format.

The Forum did get better each day, and there were elements that worked well.

Specifically for those involved in Beyond-2015, our participation at the Forum achieved our objectives – we brought our thinking and concept to a wide audience, collected valuable perspectives on this work and importantly, gathered a very long list of contact details of organisations who wish to continue their involvement with the Beyond-2015 conversation. For these reasons, it was worth battling the dust and disorder.

The Forum also displayed the amazing diversity that is captured by the ubiquitous and vague term “global civil society”. From tax justice, women’s rights, energy security to MDGs, Rio +20, G20, FTT, and migration, people and organisations came from all over the world to share their views and debate solutions to prevailing global justice issues. A colleague, Olive from Bond member Trócaire put it well when she said that the Forum is our AGM:  an apt analogy to describe the diversity that is contained within a common cause – another world is possible.

There was a real sense of respect at the Forum for alternative approaches and a feeling of authentic solidarity which extended far beyond Dakar. At one of the assembly events on Thursday, a group of Senegalese high-school graduates took advantage of a moment of disorganisation to take to the stage and explain that they were on a peaceful hunger strike, protesting against the University for denying their right to education. A visibly moved crowd did not miss this real moment of convergence between what we were taking about and what these students are living. Tunisia and shifting events in Egypt during the week were mentioned at every event I attended, a message of strong support across Africa.

The passion and commitment of participants, visible at the opening march right through to the closing, was also genuinely inspiring and will be a source of encouragement on my return to a desk in London.

Overall the Forum has been an incredible experience and a great way to facilitate connections between people and organisations, the fruits of which may not be immediately obvious but I am sure will emerge in the coming months and years.

I’ll leave the last reflection to Amy, a colleague from CAFOD, who put it all together better than I could when she writes “The World Social Forum was messy, difficult and confusing – but so are the challenges we face in trying to make a better world”.

The final words are ones of thanks to all those involved in Beyond-2015 here at the Forum. It’s has been fantastic to work with you all and through the chaos, frayed nerves and stress, I think we can be proud of what we have achieved. So well done and enjoy the rest and return to slighter calmer conditions.

That’s all from Dakar. A lot discussed, much left to do.

10 Feb 2011. Beyond-2015 public meeting

It’s a little less chaotic today at the World Social Forum. Or maybe we’re just learning to embrace its logic and madness. Either way, the Beyond-2015 workshop went very well yesterday (Wednesday).

Due to start at 8.30am, we had a shaky start when we arrived to learn that the room we were allocated was in fact a computer room – full of computers with space for about 5 chairs. After much scrambling and running around, we were offered a lecture theatre. Perfect! So we started putting details and maps on all of the boards and created a crumb-like trail of flyers from our meeting point to the room. We then arrived to find a lecture in full swing. And so it goes: frantic phone calls, dashing from here to there, finally finding another room, tracing our steps back to amend the details on all of the flyers and filled with fear that no one will turn up.

It’s now nearly 10.00am…

I’m happy to report that it all came together in the end. A really diverse and engaged group of 50 managed to find us and for over 2 hours we shared, discussed and debated what a post-2015 global development framework could and should look like. Key themes emerged. Firstly, that those most affected by poverty and injustice must participate in the process of developing any such framework. Secondly, that there must be enforceable accountability and transparency at all levels – from the community to the national, right through to the regional and global levels. Thirdly, that the framework must also consider the broader structural reforms needed for poverty and injustice to be tackled effectively.

As Nanette Salvador-Antequisa, from Ecoweb Philippines (a CAFOD partner organisation) noted: “until we change the political and social structures, poverty and social injustice will remain”. She also noted that climate change is reversing any gain made, as communities in her country struggle to respond to an increasing number of challenges with limited resources.

Another CAFOD partner, Annette Malulu from CARITAS Zambia, emphasised the importance of being honest about MDG achievements to date to ensure that any new development framework learns from past success and failures. As an aside, Annette wore the most amazing dress – a beautiful pink and cream African dress, with the CARITAS logo printed along the end and the words “justice & peace”  and “dignity” printed and dotting around her outfit. Style and substance meet to great effect.  

The Beyond 2015 also presented our work on developing minimum standards, or “must-haves”, for a post-2015 global development framework. Based on Monday’s workshop, we created three broad areas for discussion. Firstly, who should lead, own and implement the framework. Secondly, how we develop the framework and thirdly, what the framework should contain. There was a really great discussion on all of these points and most importantly, those in the room were very supportive of the overall concept and objectives of Beyond-2015. It is clear that people are really interested in contributing to this conversation. Next we need to revise the “must-haves” based on the meeting and then we continue to consult and debate as widely as possible. In short, the meeting brought us another step forward. And that’s definitely a small win here at the Forum.

So the work of  Beyond-2015 here is almost complete. The plan now is to attend some of the “convergence” events tomorrow and Friday to highlight the Beyond2015 work and maybe go off-piste a little and see what else is going on here – first up is a G20 meeting at 8.30 tomorrow morning (Thursday)!

8 February 2011. Do we still need a World Social Forum?

I haven’t spent much time down at the World Social Forum yet. We – those involved in Beyond-2015 – have been too busy. On Monday we ran an off-site workshop and today was spent planning a public meeting for tomorrow based on Monday’s discussion. It’s a tight turn around but I think we’ll make it. Just about.

Even without spending much time at the university (the venue for the forum), it is possible to get a picture of what’s happening there, with the same messages coming back to us over and over. It’s chaos down there, it’s really disorganised, people don’t know what’s on where, venues are posted for events an hour after they are expected to start, there’s little or no information anywhere and if there is, you go along only to find another workshop, an empty room or in some cases, college lectures. This has a funny side – like today when a tax justice workshop was kicked-out of a room by an anti-eviction campaign group. True story.

The immediate reaction to all of this madness is the blame the organisers, the planning, the committee. It even evokes some soul searching - how can civil society be taken seriously if we can’t even manage an event for ourselves? 

A little surface-scratching however tells a different story. Civil society space is  under threat here.

As the story goes, when the agreement was reached to host the forum at the University, the then Director was very supportive. He agreed to ensure that the college timetable would be arranged to accommodate forum events and in doing so, we presume, give students the opportunity to attend the “big classroom on their doorstep”, as a colleague put it earlier today. However, this Director was replaced recently – though political appointment - and the new Director has been creating as many obstacles as possible to prevent the forum from going ahead or running smoothly. Normal lectures are continuing and very few rooms have been made available for the hundreds of planned forum events. Along side these logistical challenges, the Forum and the student body are clashing. A group of college students even organised an on-campus protest today against the presence of the Forum in their university. They are right, this is their space and we shouldn’t invade it without their consent. I too would be angry if my exams were disrupted in this way. But surely something is wrong when students and the biggest convergence of global civil society can’t get along? There are rumours of other negative forces at play, those who do not want the forum to go ahead; those who oppose the its vision and objectives; those who don’t see the value of a vibrant civil society.

Emergency meetings are being held and the forum is struggling along day by day.

As we see more and more threats to civil society space all around the world, most recently in Cambodia, we are currently experiencing  the shutting down of our space here. The Forum is being undermined.

So, yes it’s chaotic, yes is can be frustrating, but we can’t underestimate those that don’t respect civil society space and we mustn’t allow it be eroded any further. Here or anywhere else.

Do we still need a World Social Forum?  Yes we do. Now more than ever. If for no other reason than to protect this space - our space. We have the anti-eviction campaign on our side and let’s hope the students join us.

p.s. I hope to have even more thought to share when I get along to some other Forum events, wherever they might be!

6 February 2011. Many Struggles. One Movement.

The World Social Forum started in Senegal today with a march of over 50,000 people through the streets of Dakar. It was bright, colourful and buoyant, almost like a carnival. But there is a serious side to the WSF too. People from all over the world have gathered here for the next week. They will discuss and debate possibilities for an alternative world – discussions will range and opinions will diverge, but there is little doubt that the people here are committed, passionate and optimistic. They really believe that another world is possible.

There was much to reflect on along the route. From the Grand Mosque to the university, we passed riot police alongside tens of thousands of people calling for rights for all, an end to violence against women, education, health, energy security and justice. One attempt to bring it all together was printed on the bag of a marcher: Many Struggles. One Movement.

Bond is here for a very specific purpose. Along with some of our members and partners, we are here to host a series of discussions about a post-MDG development framework; we’re calling it “Beyond 2015”.  So tomorrow (Monday) we start with a series of questions: What would a global framework for development after 2015 look like? What is the process for developing this framework and how can we ensure that the voices of those directly affected by poverty and injustice are included in its construction? In other words – in NGO speak that is - what are our “medium standards of legitimacy” for a new global framework. We hope to consult as widely as possible – so what better place to be than the World Social Forum.

It’s going to be an interesting week here in Dakar; let’s see what it brings.

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