March, 2005

The World Social Forum - An Image of Alternative Globalisation

Mung Siu-tat

(The author is the coordinator for organising of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions [HKCTU] and a participant in this year's World Social Forum in Brasil.)

This year the World Social Forum (WSF) was held for the fifth time and was able to still draw thousands of people from around the world. Many of us did not know each other before the meeting, and yet we gathered together symbolising a rising force of the international people's movement.

The WSF was held in Porto Alegre, Brasil, from Jan. 26 to 31, and most of its activities took place inside hundreds of tents. There was also a youth camp that grouped about 35,000 secondary and university students and youths. Roughly speaking, there were more than 155,000 participants from 135 countries participating in more than 2,500 workshops and seminars. Apart from these programmes, there were opening and closing marches, concerts and many more activities.

On the second day after we arrived, we took part in the opening march. Different organisations could easily be distinguished by different demonstration materials in various shapes and forms. The most conspicuous ones were those condemning U.S. President George W. Bush and demanding the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq. Later I learned that there were more than 200,000 people at the march. What really struck me was not the number of people but how the march was organised. There were no marshals, no official slogans and placards, and even the police were rarely seen. Along the way, all I could hear was people singing, chanting and all kinds of music. When I saw how the Latin American people danced as they marched, I realised that, apart from "samba soccer," a "samba march" was equally striking in Brasil! The rhythm of their movements was so inspiring that many others could not help but begin to dance too. Dressed in some of the most imaginative and creative clothing and costumes, they displayed a carnival atmosphere throughout the march.

Anti-war was only one of the many themes that was expressed during the march. There were others from trade unions and organisations of peasants, fisherfolks, environmentalists, women, gay and lesbian people and youth. Each of them found the most appropriate means of expressing their ideas, thoughts and aspirations.

Similarly, the same diversities could be found at workshops and seminars. The WSF consisted of 11 thematic zones, but one could hardly identify who the organiser was of each programme. There was neither a spokesperson nor a structure. The events taking place within these zones were initiatives from different participating organisations. There was no intervention throughout the process, from theme-setting to the promotion of any activity. In the past, there was criticism about the seminars being too heavy on analysis and the dissemination of information. Thus, at this WSF, more emphasis was put on the discussion of strategies. Apart from the two sessions in the morning and afternoon, an extra two-hour session was added every night to allow various groupings of people to discuss and debate about directions and concrete proposals for action plans. At the end of the WSF, a total of 352 conclusions and recommendations was generated.

Among various thematic workshops and seminars, the common realisation was that "alternative globalisation" was the goal of the international people's movement for the future. This clarified the negative labelling of us as being simply anti-globalisation. Four years ago when the first WSF proclaimed that "another world is possible" it was an attempt to remove the myth of inevitability of the present world economic order. It also represents a rejection of social injustice, patriarchal structures, racial discrimination, environmental destruction and so on as something "normal." What we are against is not globalisation itself but rather the kind of globalisation that destroys the economic lives of ordinary people throughout the world as a result of corporate domination, a process driven and protected by American militarisation.

This year the WSF adopted "globalise struggle" and "globalise hope" as the common slogans, which reflect the fact that we are not just narrow-minded anti-globalisation activists. We support cross-border exchanges, sharing and mutual support. Above all, we advocate globalisation rooted in justice to counteract the present economically and socially exploitative globalisation. An alternative globalisation is no longer a slogan. The launch of the WSF and other daily struggles taking place all over the world signify a growing force which no one can ignore.