Polycentric World Social Forum 2006

HIC

Africa, Mali- Bamako, January 19-23;
Americas, Venezuela- Caracas, January 24-29;
Asia, Pakistan- Karachi, was delayed 2 months.

The sixth edition of the World Social Forum will be polycentric, which means that it will be decentralized, taking place in different parts of the world, in January 2006. Up to now, three cities will host the 6th WSF: Bamako (Mali-Africa), Caracas (Venezuela – Americas) and Karachi (Pakistan-Asia). The decision of having a polycentric WSF in 2006 was made during the International Council (IC) meeting held from January 24th and 25th 2005, in Porto Alegre (read here the report on the meeting).

You can register your activity for the WSF 2006!
More than 300 activities have been registered for the Polycentric WSF 2006, which will be held in Bamako (Mali), Caracas (Venezuela) and Karachi (Pakistan), on January 2006. The deadline to register activities is October 31st. It is important that organizations do not register on the very last minute, since the system is usually slow and unsteady due to a great deal of accesses. Below, you will find how to register. If you have any doubts, have a look at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

a) register as an individual (www.wsf2006.org)
b) Right after, register your organisation
c) After, you will be able to fill in a form about the activity(ies) your organisation will hold on WSF events (options Bamako, Caracas or Karachi) or for the process (option “General”). Right after, you register your organization, click on the menu on the left in “Add activities”. After that, fill the form with the required information.
d) If your organisation doesn’t have all the activity(ies) information needed, you may return to the form afterwards and update it. In order to do so, click on “Edit activities”. Right after, see on the board the activity title that you want to modify and click on “Edit”. Make all the modifications and then click “Submit”, at the end of the page.

Attention: you must modify the form using the same language you filled in the original form. That means: if you have chosen the English interface in your registration, every time you change something you must choose the English interface.

Who can register an activity?
Only organisations can register activities, individuals are not allowed. There isn’t any specific information available about the criteria for cultural activities. Up to now, only organisations or collective groups can register cultural activities.

Which is the deadline for activities registration?
The deadline is on October 31st 2005. After this date, it will still be possible to edit all the fields in the activities registration form.

Which are the languages available at the registration tool?
Right now, the tool is available in English, Castellano/Spanish and French.

Where can I search registered activities?
The list of registered activities is available on the website:
http://www.wsf2006.org/org_activity_list.php. Attention: to see all registered activities, you must click on the list and use either the arrows on the keyboard or the list’s scroll bar (not the navigator’s) in order to visualize the full list.

I registered my organisation at the website www.wsf2006.org. Does that mean my organisation is automatically registered for the WSF 2006 in Caracas, Karachi and/or Bamako?
No. The registration of organizations, their delegates and for individuals who are not part in any organisation should be done in each polycentric WSF event website, which are still under construction: Caracas (
www.forosocialmundial.org.ve), Bamako (www.fsmmali.org) or Karachi (www.wsf2006karachi.org). The tool (www.wsf2006.org) is only for activities registration and preparation for the 3 events.


WSF Programme
Bamako (Mali) – January 19th to 23rd, 2006

1. War, safety and peace

2. Globalized liberalism : apartheid in worldwide scale and impoverishment

3. Marginalization of the continent and its peoples, migrations, violation of economic, social and cultural rights

4. Aggression against rural societies

5. Alliance between patriarchalism and neoliberalism and marginalization of women’s struggles

6. Culture, media and communication : critical thinking and reconstruction, symbolic violences and exclusions

7. Destruction of ecosystems, biological diversities and control of resources

8. International order: United Nations, international institutions, international rights/law, reconstruction of the South front

9. International trade, debt and social and economic policies

10. Alternatives that will allow advances in democracy, social progress and respect for peoples’ sovereignity and international law

WSF Programme
Caracas (Venezuela) – January 24 to 29

THEMATIC AXES:

1.Power, politics and struggles for social emancipation
New global power patterns: relations among social movements and organizations, parties and the State. Balance and perspectives of struggles against neoliberal capitalism in the American continent. Relationship between politics and economics. The role of the State: public and private spheres. Struggles for democracy. Social practices of resistance: new political cultures and new forms of organization. The World Social Forum: processes and perspectives. Political projects and program proposals. Solidarity and new internationalism. Women’s movements, struggles against patriarchism and against all forms of violence. The continental current state of affairs and new paths for construction of alternatives. Perspectives and political struggles of peoples and indigenous nationalities. Youth struggles. Horizons for change and social transformation: are other types of socialism possible?

2. Imperial strategies and peoples’ resistance
Neoliberalism of war and imperial order. Militarization, criminalization of struggles and poverty, terror, terrorism and the culture of fear. Policies of military ‘cooperation’: military bases, occupation and immunity agreements in Latin America and the Caribbean. The “war of civilizations” as a new strategy for imperial expansion. Commodification of life and its legal-institutional instruments: “free trade”, foreign debt, international financial institutions; WTO, the FTAA and FTAs; multinational corporations. Electric energy models and energy geopolitics. Crisis of the institutions within the United Nations system and international law. The struggle for human rights, and the rights of peoples. Sovereignty and the struggle against colonialism. SOUTH-SOUTH relations. New perspectives for regional integration and people’s integration. The debate on development. Resistance, civil disobedience and struggles for peace.

3. Resources for and rights to life: alternatives to the predatory model of civilization
Capitalism and threats to life: global warming and ‘natural’ catastrophes, loss of biodiversity, desertification. Imperial appropriation and privatization of resources. Struggles for access, redistribution and protection of resources: land, biodiversity, water, seeds and energy sources. Indigenous lands and autonomy. Urban crisis, social apartheid and violence. Struggles for new urban spaces and relations. Patterns of hegemonic knowledge and construction of anti-hegemonic knowledge. Dialogue between knowledges. Intellectual property and appropriation of knowledge. Right to health. Alternative health practices. Sexual and reproductive rights and de-criminalization of abortion.

4. Diversities, identities and worldviews in movement
Plurality and inter-culturality. Indigenous peoples and nationalities and people of African descent. Racism and colonial legacy. Latin-American and regional identities. Local identities. Knowledge, spirituality and inter-religious dialogue. Sexual identity and diversity. Youth cultures and identities. Spaces and rights for people with special needs. Gender identities and sexual diversity.

5. Work, exploitation and reproduction of life
Precariousness, exclusion, inequality and poverty in the North and in the South. Work and gender inequalities. Labor, unions and social organizations. Migrations and new forms of exploitation. Child labor. Human trafficking. Resistance and new social arrangements in labor. Non-mercantile forms of reproduction of life: reciprocal treatment, indigenous communities, solidary economy, family-based agriculture, cooperatives and self-management. Care economy.

6. Communication, culture and education: alternative and democratizing dynamics
Right to information and communication in order to strengthen citizenship. Resistance to the concentration of ownership of the media. Social agenda in communication for building alternatives. and Media communication and oral communication: resistance and alternatives to hegemonic communication. Democratization of access to new technologies. Social appropriation of communication and information technologies, and on-line resistance (internet and mobile telephone systems). Artistic production and de-commodification of culture. Socio-cultural movements as forms of peoples’ resistance. Linguistic diversities and critical languages. Right to education and student struggles. Anti-hegemonic educational models and experiences of popular education.

TRANSVERSAL AXES:
– Gender
– Diversities

WSF Programme
Karachi (Pakistan) –
previously planned to take place from January 24th to 29th, 2006, was delayed in 2 months.

A. Imperialism, militarization and armed conflicts in the region and peace movements
i. Peace Initiatives; India- Pakistan, Burma-Thailand, Palestine-Israel, Iraq, Iran-West + US, Afghanistan
ii. Imperialism, Wars, Resistance movement, Militancy, Weapons.
iii. State entrenched violence and other militaristic tendency.
iv. Militarization of state and society.
v. Armed insurgencies.
vi. Nuclear disarmament, demilitarization.
vii. Humanism and peace.
viii. Colonization of civil society by armed forces/military
ix. Affectees of wars and nuclear tests.
x. Terrorism and sectarian violence.
xi. Local disputes as conflicts.
xii. Insurgencies
xiii. Smalls arms and lights weapons proliferation.
xiv. Militancy and violence: Women and children/Children in Armed conflicts.
xv. Social policing by religious parties/groups
xvi. Rise and promotion of ethnic and sectarian groups by states
xvii. Impact of 9/11 on global societies, regional and local forces

B. Natural resources Rights, peoples’ control & privatization, and Trans- boundary disputes
i. Natural resources: Water, Gas, minerals, fishing, grazing, forests, Petroleum, other natural resources.
ii. Privatization, closure of industries, retrenchment of labor and curtailment of labor rights.
iii. Water distribution and conflicts.
iv. Land rights.
v. Control over resources (natural, revenue/fiscal, human resources, )

C. Trade Development and globalization
i. Trade-WTO – SAFTA; Asia-pacific Issues, Trade Free and Trade Union Free Zones.
ii. IMF and WB and other IFI’s control of economies.
iii. GM technology and non-organic food production and distribution.
iv. Post modern age analysis of globalization.
v. Regional common trade.
vi. Impact of neo-liberal and globalization policies
vii. Growing poverty and inequalities (among regions, provinces and classes), rural poverty and rise of extreme poverty

D. Social Justice Human Rights and Governance
i. Democracy; de-Institutionalisation of Political systems, Support of Military govt/regimes.
ii. Poverty, Children, Women, Minorities and Human rights issues.
iii. Fundamental rights of expression, speech.
iv. Political victimization.
v. Rights of divided families especially India and Pakistan.
vi. Socialism as an alternative to capitalism.
vii. People’s friendly health policies and inventions.
viii. Issues of social justice and governance.
ix. Child and women trafficking and sexual exploitation.
x. Prisoners across borders.
xi. Labor rights – right to work in trade free zones.
xii. Minorities rights.
xiii. Free labor movements.
xiv. Corruption of state institutions.
xv. Economical rights
xvi. National rights
xvii. Historical rights
xviii. Forms of Bonded labor
xix. Education, health care
xx. Devolution and decentralization

E. State and religion, pluralism and fundamentalism
i. Distortion and indoctrinization of history.
ii. Religious intolerance and oppression against minority community.
iii. State, religion, fundamentalism, tolerance and minorities.
iv. Religious fundamentalism and its promotion.

F. Nation, nationalities and ethnic and cultural identifies
i. State entrenched violence and other militaristic tendency.
ii. Nation, Nationalities, State and Identities.
iii. Culture as expression and political statement.
iv. Media as an instrument of corporate forces.

G. Development strategies, poverty unemployment and displacement
i. Women in conflict zone.
ii. Displaced people; internally conflicts and mega projects.
iii. Socialism as an alternative to capitalism.
iv. Development strategies, mega projects and displacement.
v. Poverty reduction strategies and approaches.
vi. Development Assistance and Conditionalisation
vii. Land rights.

H. Peoples’ movements and alternative strategies
i. People movements, livelihood, rights based and self-determination.
ii. Fisher folk, challenges and problems.
iii. Indigenous people and rights.

I. Women, patriarchy and social change
i. Women in conflict zone, prisons and immigration.
ii. Honor killings and women as victim of militarism.
iii. Militancy and violence: women and children.

J. Environment, ecology and livelihoods
iv. Role of IFIs and degradation of environment
v. Pollution of water bodies and land
vi. Dams and barrages
Problems of mega cities (Infrastructure, environment, transport, housing, violence, uncontrolled influx of population.

Transversal themes
– Imperialist globalisation
– Patriarchy
– Casteism, Racism and Social Exclusions
– Religious sectarianism, Identity Politics, Fundamentalism
– Militarism and Peace

Which are the polycentric WSF 2006 events contacts?

Bamako (Mali)
espaceforum@afribone.net.ml

Caracas (Venezuela)
fsmcaracas@forosocialamericas.org
fsa@forosocialamericas.org

Karachi (Pakistan)
43-4B, Block-6, P.E.C.H.S,
Behind Nursery Market
Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: (92 21) 824-0716 Fax: (92 21) 824-0714
E-mail:
mail@wsf2006karachi.org.

In order to clarify doubts about registration of activities, please check the FAQ page
(
http://www.wsf2006.org/faq.php) or write to the e-mail: programa@forumsocialmundial.org.br.