World Social Forum Takes over Caracas

World Social Forum Takes over Caracas
Another World is Possible
By Mike Rhodes

Over 100,000 activists from throughout the world have arrived for the start of the sixth World Social Forum (WSF), which began yesterday in Caracas, Venezuela. Under the unifying slogan of “Another World is Possible,” participants at the WSF have gathered to build a powerful movement against neoliberalism, capitalism, and imperialism.

The WSF is organized in a decentralized format that encourages grassroots participation. This is accomplished through a series of workshops and forums that bring together political activists from throughout the world to give them the opportunity to share experiences and build social networks. Each day, during the six days of activities, there will be hundreds of forums, discussions, and meetings to choose from.

The opening event at this year’s WSF was a march with over 60,000 participants demonstrating against War and Imperialism. There were large delegations from all over South America - including Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and of course Venezuela.

While the majority of participants at this year’s WSF are from South America, there are a substantial number of US citizens participating. San Francisco based Global Exchange, for example, has a delegation of over 150. Delegations from Jobs with Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, and Code Pink were seen at yesterday’s march. There are many smaller US delegations as well as participants who are not a part of any formal group.

Several hundred Cubans were at the front of the march, chanting in solidarity with the WSF theme that another world is possible. Representatives from Puerto Rico, Haiti, Canada, and Australia also had a presence at the march. In addition to the delegates who identified with their country of origin at the march, many participants marched behind the banners of grassroots organizations working on human rights issues, environmental justice, or women’s rights.

Today, (Wednesday, January 25, 2006) workshops, panels, and forums will take place throughout Caracas on a wide variety of issues, including:

* Human Rights
* Feminism
* Globalization
* Arts, Music, and Culture in the popular movement
* War and Peace
* The role of the media in building a just society
* Environmental Justice
* Organized labor and workers rights

Here are a few descriptions of the approximately 800 activities listed in the program for the first day:

* The opening World’s Assembly of Social Movements
* Food Rights and International Trade
* Radical Democracy: new challenges in the strengthening of civil societies power
* Marxism 101: Bringing the World Working Class Together to Abolish Capitalism
* Troops out of Iraq: Can the global movement stop US Imperialism?
* Another America is Under Way, popular movements and the rise of progressive governments in Latin America
* Scars of a toxic industry: impact of the high tech industry and resistance of the concerned communities
* Sexual and reproductive rights in the context of youth movements

One of the challenges of last year’s WSF, which was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, was providing translation to manage the “Tower of Babble” that was created, as dozens of different languages were being spoken by participants. The primary languages used at the forum events are Spanish, Portugese, French, and English. Unfortunately, not very many events at last year’s forum had the ability to provide translation services.

Having the WSF in Venezuela this year highlights the achievements of the advances made by the progressive movement in South America. With left, indigenous, or socialist leaders elected in Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina there is a great deal of enthusiasm and hopefulness about this regions ability to determine its own destiny.

The WSF is the grassroots alternative to the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. While the WSF is not intended to eliminate the street demonstrations that have confronted the WEF, it does provide a an opportunity for grassroots activists to envision and build a new future which is an alternative to the global domination of US imperialism and corporate interests. The regional WSF in Caracas is one of three being held throughout the world. The others are being held in Pakistan and Mali.

Additional reports and photos from this week’s events will be posted to this Indymedia site. For more information about the World Social Forum, see http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br

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