The World Social Forum and the Bamako Appeal: Yes, but no

NIGD News and Notes Double Issue June-July 2006

In this issue:
I. Gendering the WSF Nairobi 2007 process
II. The World Social Forum and the Bamako Appeal: Yes, but no
III. Inside 'Asia's Killing Fields'
IV. World Vote Field Test
V. Rendezvous with NIGD

I. Gendering the WSF Nairobi 2007 process
by Onyango Oloo

The author, a member of the WSF 2007 Secretariat, extensively addresses Gender and the WSF Open Space process, concluding his critical text with: "When one looks at the gender dynamics informing the WSF 2007 process, one is filled with optimism and left brimming with hope. This despite the parlous panorama painted in the preceding section; this despite the unflattering global audit of power relations between women and men around the world."

2. Librarians to cover the Nairobi WSF 2007
by Mikael Böök

Librarians have a professional role to play in the WSF process, both as citizens and in their role as information specialists. Mikael Böök provides an overview of a training programme to prepare East African librarians for participation in the World Social Forum 20-25 January 2007.

3. The Intercontinental Youth Camp 2001-2005: Linking Open Space Activism,the World Social Forum, and Imaginaries for Alternative Worlds
by Dan Morrison

The Intercontinental Youth Camp is a creative effort to turn a space for temporary living into a social world of alternative practices challenging daily life under neoliberal globalisation; it is an expression of experimental social activism, the politics of collective self-management, and the celebration of spontaneous cultural expression. Dan Morrison previews his central thesis argumentation; the full thesis will be posted on nigd website in July 2006.

II. The World Social Forum and the Bamako Appeal: Yes, but no
by Francine Mestrum

At the Netherlands Social Forum a discussion was held on the Bamako Appeal with an informal panel of Peter Custers (Dutch NGO, X minus Y), Karamat Ali (WSF Karachi), Helen Hintjens (Institute of Social Studies in The Hague), and Peter Waterman. In her minutes from the session, Francine Mestrum gives attention to the process of the WSF, the democratic content, and the political content.

The Bamako Appeal appearing at the onset of the 2006 Bamako WSF is still being discussed in different fora regarding its content, methodology of production, and the possible merits of such a statement for the WSF process.

See the appeal at http://www.thirdworldforum.net

2. The Bamako Appeal and the Maturation of the World Social Forum
by Peter Waterman

The Bamako Appeal may have taken a first step towards becoming a global dialogue at the Netherlands Social Forum, writes Peter Waterman. Providing his observations from the first day of the NSF, he concludes: "It is surely time to surpass the originally brilliant slogan, ‘Another World is Possible’. A dialogue on and between documents such as the BA could help to do this."

3. Appraising the Bamako Appeal: A Contribution to the Debate
by Peter Custers

The author provides an elaborate commentary on the BA, concluding: "With all its limitations, contradictions and defects, the Bamako Appeal has forcefully posed the need for a programmatic document against the still hegemonic model of neo liberalism. Only by taking this debate forward constructively and non dogmatically, can the WSF itself reach the aim of a defeat of the forces that continue to impose destructive neo liberal policies on the large majority of countries in the world."

III. Inside ‘Asia’s Killing Fields’
by Carmelita Morante

A return to militarism is serving the Arroyo government well and undermining the people’s civil and political rights contributing to the further polarization of the Philippine society. Carmelita Morante speaks up on the subject of extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations enfolding in the Philippines.

IV. The Contemporary Lefts in Latin America: Responses to the No Alternative
by Hanna Laako

Despite the triumphs of democracy and peace in Latin America in recent decades, it seems progress has been mostly symbolic and the democratic systems have not integrated citizen participation. Hanna Laako outlines the elements and characteristics of the world in which the Contemporary Left seek an alternative, and compares the different actors involved.

2. The European social model: its social and political values
by Francine Mestrum

All societies need some kind of protection; Western European countries have systems of social protection that no other countries have ever developed, neither rich, nor the poor developing countries. Francine Mestrum explores the major characteristics of the European ‘social model’, and the reforms necessary for it to be upheld.

IV. World Vote Field Test
by Joel Marsden

Electronic communications serve as a natural and potent organizational platform to incorporate the principles of global direct democracy into a system extending universal voting rights to every person on the planet. Field coordinator, Joel Marsden summarises the results from the 171 countries and territories that cast their symbolic vote in the Global E-Vote Simulation on May 15, 2006.

V. Rendezvous with NIGD