Comrades from international and regional networks and social organisations that have been working together for several years, we are calling (see in annex, the origin of this call) for: The seminar strategies of the social movements for September 28-30th and October 1st that will take place in Le Chant d’Oiseau in Brussels, Belgium
The seminar will be the occasion for
– sharing information from all the continents about the political process and social mobilisations at regional/national level
– sharing opinions from our networks/movements/organisations about the world situation and its link with the situation on regional and national level
– sharing opinions about the world process we are building (through each of our network/ organisations of the world social forum/ of the Assembly of social movements/network of social movements...)
– defining new ways of joint action for the agenda of the next period (2007) and what does this imply in practical terms.
As a provisional agenda, we propose the following (we will work from 9am to 7pm, except for the first and the last day)
We will begin on September 28th at 10am
– Opening/presentation of the participants/ presentation of the works program
– Regional and continental reports about the situation of the movements and mobilisations, their evolution, features, level of coordination and initiative
– Debate on the world conjuncture, analysis of the elements of confrontation on a world and continental level with the neoliberal project and its agencies
– Questions about the strategies of the social movements. /Series of propositions
– Questions about the world and regional link between campaigns and movements. (how to get forward in the linking of campaigns and mobilisations, how to build a network corresponding to these needs/ Series of propositions)
– Questions about the relationship between the Assembly of movements and the social forums. Next WSF in Nairobi, Kenya
– Agenda of the movements for the next period
The seminar will finish on Sunday October 1st at 5pm.
Participants. Are invited to the seminar the representatives of networks, articulations, campaigns and organisations on a world or regional basis, together with national social movements linked to the process of the Assembly of social movements and the WSF.
The debates. A directory of mail addresses will be defined to circulate propositions and contributions to the debate before the seminar.
Contacts. The provisional emails of contact are:
sri mst.org.br (Geraldo)
gustavo_codas yahoo.com (Gustavo)
tipitapa wanadoo.es (Josu)
We will try to guarantee a balance of representations between sectorial, geographical and gender representation and in this perspective we are planning the participation of about 80 people.
In order to guarantee such a balance, we will work actively from the organisations based in the North to get a financial support to assure the presence of representatives of Asia, Africa and Latin America that belong to organisations that are not able to afford the travel costs.
Have signed this call
Social Continental Alliance, (Americas)
CADTM (Committee For the Abolition of Third World Debt)
COMPA, Americas
Focus on the Global South, Asia
Grassroots Global justice, United States
Jubilee South
World Women March
Via Campesina
Annex
On the call to the seminar
On October 18, 2005, on the occasion of the mobilisation against WTO’ General Council that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, several movements of various continents were there defining an immediate agenda (mobilisations against WTO) but also to assess the social movements in the present period and the new challenges between them the continuation of the joint work on the international level. (This meeting was organised in the context of the process opened by the Assemblies of social movements that have been taking place since the first WSF in 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brasil and reproduced in the world and regional social forums).
One of the more important conclusion of that meeting was the need to get forward towards a meeting as a seminar from the social movements on the international level to have time to think about the evolution of the alterglobalist movement on the international and regional level, its features, the obstacles it meets and its line of march to get forward in building a network of social movements this without the relative hurry of the meetings of world or regional social forums.
Coming from that and after the polycentric WSF in Caracas, we are trying to get forward in two central aspects for the seminar: the date and the country where it will take place. The proposition comes from the consultation of various networks and movements. The place in Brussels is already reserved and is available for about 80 people.