Mobilisation for the European Social Forum

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday April 03, 2002 17:03 by Joe Carolan - Globalise Resistance globalise_resistance at yahoo dot com the Other World which is possible 087 9032281

Florence, Italy, Autumn 2002

The European Social Forum will be a huge convention bringing together people who oppose the commitment of European governments to free market policies and growing militarism. It is planned for late October or November this year in Italy. The idea for a European Forum was proposed at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February. An incredible 60,000 people came together at Porto Alegre. They discussed how best to organise against the corporations that are wrecking our public services and our planet, how to tackle the nightmare of Third World debt and how to end the desperate inequality that is being created by neo-liberal economic policies around the world. The aim of the World Social Forum is to build a global movement that can stop militarism and the drive to war, and point the way towards a world in which people come before profit.

The European Social Forum will be based on the Call of the Social Movements that was issued at Porto Alegre. The first Europe-wide planning meeting issued an invitation to all trades unionists, campaigning groups, peace activists and concerned individuals who agree with that call to get involved in organising the ESF.

Report: First Continental Meeting for the European Social Forum
Brussels, Belgium, 9-10 March 2002

The discussion was opened by a proposal made by the Italian Working Group for the ESF, established in the National Assembly of the Social Forum Movement, held in Bologna on 2nd and 3rd of March. The Italian Working Group is open to all the social movements which, according to the Porto Alegre principles, are willing to take part in the preparation of the ESF.

The Italian proposal was based on four key questions about the preparatory process.

The debate showed three kinds of contributions: a) agreements and emphasizing points; b)new contributions in the spirit of the proposal and c) critical contributions (points of debate).

The report integrated the contributions a) and b) and proposed a new formulation of the contrinutions c).

The following text is based on the introduction and the report made in the meeting and it's based on the method of the four key questions.

First Question: What is the European Social Forum?
The WSF International Council proposed to organize continental or regional forums in the last part of 2002, before Porto Alegre 3.

The European Social Forum will be held in Italy, according to the decision taken in Porto Alegre by the European Social Movements. In the last weeks, three towns in Italy declared they will to host the event. An Italian technical contact group is working on this issue and before the next European meeting a proposal will be formulated.

In its next meeting at the end of April, the International Council will produce a statement, with the official list of the continental and regional forums and some general rules to be respected by all.

In Porto Alegre, the European Social Movements decided to organise a first meeting before the International Council meeting. The decision came from two main reasons:
first of all, time is very short and we need to start working as soon as possible
secondly, we want to provide the International Council debate with our opinions.

The ESF is not a conference and it is not a movement congress.

The ESF, which is part of the World Social Forum process, has to be a common public space of dialogue, discussion and contamination.

Different cultures, languages and experiences have to meet together and express themselves, in a common framework provided by the Porto Alegre principles, aimed to include other experiences, which until now don't have had a dialogue with the Porto Alegre process, even if they are part of the movement against neoliberism.

Like in Porto Alegre, the European Forum has to provide a real citizenship for different subjects (women, youth, workers, students, migrants ...), with particular attention to the involvement of the subjects of social exclusion (sans-papiers, homeless, unemployed ...), and for different languages (not only political debates but also cultural events, for example).

One of our priority has to be the inclusion of the Eastern countries, as well as the dialogue with the other side of Mediterranean Sea, with particular attention to the Palestinian people. These is the only way to have a real European Forum.

The general political framework of the ESF is the fight against war and neoliberalism. At the European level the ESF will face three main aspects:
a) the process toward a Social Charter of Rights and Citizenship;
b) the EU building process (European Convention and enlargement, European Constitutional Law, European legislation - with attention on the antiterrorism law as an instrument against the social movements) and
c) responsibility of Europe toward the world.

Second Question: Who Takes the Responsibility to Prepare the European Social Forum?
This is a sensitive question. In this case, we can't simply use the WSF example. We have, by force, to find another way.

Porto Alegre, until now, has been prepared by an International Council, formed by the ones who initiated the process with the addition - in a cooptative way - of individuals, representatives of movements and networks, intellectuals.

Nobody can take this role in Europe, because the European Forum is not a beginning, is the result of an already existing process made by different elements.

Nevertheless, we need somebody take the responsibility to organize the ESF: the European Social Movements, starting from the ones who signed the Social Movements Call of Porto Alegre 2002, have the responsibility to start, to enlarge and to build up the preparatory process, in an inclusive and participatory way.

The preparatory process is open to other forces or individuals if needed (intellectuals for example.) And by sure, we need all the European members of the International Council.

Third question: How Can the Social Movements Organize Themselves to Prepare the ESF?
Looking at reality, it's impossible to establish an International Preparatory Committee formed by formal representatives of movements at the national level.

In many countries, there is not formal coordination between the social movements. And in any case, the movement is a network, and we have to respect it - more, we have to consider the network as a positive value.

An open European Working Group for the ESF, where any interested social movement can take part simply by participating in it, is established. This working group will work by general meetings, to be held regularly in different part of Europe, in order to involve as much as possible all the European regions.

The next meeting will be held in Vienna (Austria) on 11th and 12th of May, with the special task to include as much as possible Eastern movements in the process. If possible there will be a separate preparatory meeting of Eastern Europe movements on 10th of May.

The European Working Group has decided to create three specific working groups on specific tasks and they will work in an open and inclusive way:

1) Programme and structure of the ESF
2) Organization (communication, finance, logistic, travels, interpretation)
3) Building and enlarging the Network

The three working groups started their activity in Brussels.

In the days following the Brussels meeting, a general mailing list and specific mailing lists for the working groups will be established, as a first communication tool between Brussels and Vienna. In the next meeting the specific working groups have to present proposals and projects. In each country national working groups towards the ESF have to be created. They will bring their contributions and proposals for the European Working Groups in the Vienna meeting.

Fourth Question: One Forum or Three Forums?
There is only one Forum and no separated Local Authorities and Parlamentarian Forum.

In the Forum there will be spaces of debate on specific contents as concrete occasion of discussion between social movement, local authorities' representatives, parlamentarians and institutional representatives.

Concerning the participation of political parties in the preparatory process there are different positions, proposals and opinions and there are different situations in different countries. It is necessary to open a debate on this matter at a national and European level, in order to come to a decision in the Vienna meeting.

Report by
Raffaella Bolini and Luciano Muhlbauer
Italian ESF Working Group
Brussels, 10 March 2002