Translated by Diane Garceau
The International Council of the World Social Forum (WSF) met between July 15th and 17th at Monastir, Tunisia, in order to discuss the organization of the next edition of the WSF, the future of the IC and of the forum process, and the new social and political dynamic given the emergence of resistance movements in different parts of the globe. During that meeting, the date and location of the next edition of the WSF was announced: March 23rd to 28th in Tunis, capital of Tunisia.
Last year, North Africa was chosen for the event in order to deepen the relationship between the forum process and new social actors in the world, and the dynamic of the Arab world and its revolutions initiated toward the end of 2010. Initially, Egypt and Tunisia had been considered (first country to overthrow its dictatorship – that of Ben Ali), but the IC conceded that “the evaluation of the political situation and the results of the elections in the two countries did not leave doubts that the situation is much more controlled and more calm in Tunisia, although not completely stable.” According to Damien Hazard, the executive director of Abong, present at the meeting, “The election did not meet the expectations of the people who pushed for a change in the regime: they were defeated by the Islamists, which led to the formation of a coalition government of three parties seeking the support of international cooperation and demonstrating openness and collaboration for events inclusive of civil society.”
He points out that the country aims to stimulate tourism in order to sustain its economy. The political expectation now is for local elections next year, in which civil society is engaged. The projected date was March 2013 but the government did not yet seem to be prepared, “and holding the WSF in Tunis must contribute to the postponement of the election date,” according to the words of the Prime Minister in an audience with the IC commission.
The events
The presence at the meeting of new actors mobilized against neoliberalism brought renewed energy to the IC and gave consistency to the relation between the process of the WSF and its movements. Participants were quite diverse, with much representation from the Magreb and Mashreq regions.
Representatives of other countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America were also present. Amongst others also present at the event were representatives from the movements of Quebec, Occupy Wall Street from the U.S., the people of Sahrawi from the Sub-Saharan region of Morocco, the youth of Tunisia, the artists of the region, the women’s movement of the region (notably the members of World Women’s March), and Y’en a Marre of Senegal (which means “Enough is enough”). From Brazil there were: Grupo de Articulacao Politica (Grap), CUT, Ciranda, The Brazilian Women’s Union, the office of the WSF and Abong.
The debate over the organization of the WSF brought about the creation of diverse work groups composed of people from Tunisia and surrounding regions, and “international” representatives. Also created were a commission to hold the next meeting of the IC and another to analyze the processes of the WSF, the IC and its various bodies.
Preparatory Assembly
In addition to the IC meeting, Monastir received the preparatory assembly of the Magreb-Mashreq region, between July 12th and 14th. The Maghreb region includes the North African countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and also part of Mauritania and Western Sahara (not yet recognized as a country). Mashriq is an extension of Maghreb to the east, i.e. part of the Middle East and the Arab Peninsula. It includes the following countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine (not yet recognized as a country), Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iraq, Qatar, Bahraini, Oman, Kuwait and UAE.
The schedule of the meeting began at Fort Ribat, a construction of the Arab people in the ninth century, today the city’s postcard. “The opening featured speeches from several movements in the region, performances of young Tunisian graffiti artists and regional music,” recounts Hazard. On the 13th and 14th, there were thematic workshops, “one of which was was on women’s rights, which made it possible to address diverse aspects related to the condition of women in the region, such as the situation of women facing the most radical Islamist movements (called “salafistes”). Another question that was raised referred to the wearing of the burka (full veil, covering the face as well), as well as various manifestations of violence against women and the political action of women in the region.
There was also a workshop on environmental rights and Rio+20, in the presence of Hazard at the table. “I did a presentation on the political process and a draft of the assessment of the People’s Summit. There was a debate on access to resources and water, the environmental issue in the current model of development in the region and in the world, and the solidarity economy in the Summit process,” explained Hazard.
The workshops were followed by debates and plenary sessions. In these, the main issues discussed were the situation after the popular uprisings in the region, conflicts still existing in countries such as Syria and Yemen, political Islam, the cases of Palestine and the Sahrawi people in Sub-Saharan Africa, the extractive model, access to resources for the people, violence and torture against human rights defenders and migration (mainly between Africa and Europe).
Hazard also points out that in the late afternoon of August 13th, participants welcomed boats which had arrived from Italy by taking the opposite route of migrants from North America. The event, called “Boat 4 People”, recalled this great problem in the Mediterranean region: “Many are the migrants who try to reach Europe in small boats, which often end up shipwrecked. This is what happened on the eve of this event with a boat having over 50 passengers. Only two survivors were found.”
Parallel to the IC meeting, there was a preparatory meeting for the World Social Forum Free Palestine, which should occur in Brazil, in Porto Alegre from November 29th to December 1, 2012.