World Social Forum
Porto Alegre, Brazil
http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/ingles/
The World Social Forum will be a new international arena for the creation and
exchange of social and economic projects that promote human rights, social justice
and sustainable development. It will take place every year in the city of Porto
Alegre, Brazil, during the same period as the World Economic Forum, which happens in
Davos, Switzerland, at the end of January. Since 1971, The World Economic Forum has
played a key role in formulating economic policies throughout the world. It's
sponsored by a Swiss organization that serves as a consultant to the United Nations
and it's financed by more than one thousand corporations.
The World Social Forum will provide a space for building economic alternatives, for
exchanging experiences and for strengthening South-North alliances between NGOs,
unions and social movements. It will also be an opportunity for developing concrete
projects, to educate the public, and to mobilize civil society internationally. The
World Social Forum developed as a consequence of a growing international movement
that advocates for greater participation of civil societies in international
financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World
Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). For decades, these institutions have
been making decisions that affect the lives of people all over the world, without a
clear system for accountability and democratic participation.
Brazil is one of the countries that have been greatly affected by global economic
policies. At the same time, different sectors of Brazilian society are crating
economic alternatives in rural and urban areas, in shantytowns, factories, churches,
schools, etc. The richness of Brazilian grassroots organizations represents a source
of inspiration for the development of the World Social Forum. The Brazilian
Organizing Committee is building alliances with organizations in the Americas,
Africa, Asia and Europe to develop the World Social Forum.
This will be a broad coalition of organizations working on issues such as human
rights, sustainable development, education, and environmental protection. The World
Social Forum will discuss topics such as:
building economic policies that promote human development;
creating international strategies for grassroots organizing;
building proposals to democratize international institutions, such as the WTO, the
IMF, and the World Bank;
the influence of multinational corporations in local communities;
creating sustainable development proposals to eradicate poverty and hunger, and to
protect the environment;
organizing against gender and racial discrimination;
the protection and preservation of indigenous land and culture.
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