Globalization
/Society
- Fri Apr 18 2003
The Third World Social Forum, held in January 2003, was marked by a questioning of the extent to which the Forum - now an increasingly globalized phenomenon - itself embodies what it is preaching to others. A Peter Waterman paper analyzing the complexities of the WSF and its future challenges.
By Peter Waterman
If the First World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, 2001, was mostly marked by protest against the World Economic Forum taking place at the same time, and the Second, in 2002, by attempts to specify the meaning of ‘Another World is Possible!’, the Third, in January 2003, was marked by a questioning of the extent to which the Forum now an increasingly globalized phenomenon itself embodies what it is preaching to others. After a political/definitional Introduction, this paper considers WSF3 in terms of:
1. The danger of going forward to the past of social movements and internationalism;
2. The problematic relationship with the ‘old’ trade unions;
3. The uneven age, gender, ethnic, etc, composition of the Forum;
4. The uncertain future of a proposed global social movement network;
5. The necessity of a communications/media/cultural internationalism;
6. The possibility of an academy of global empowerment.
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Source: LabourNet
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