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World Social Forum 2006
The world's largest gathering of global justice activists is being held simultaneously in Bamako (Mali), Caracas (Venezuela), and Karachi (Pakistan) this year. WDM activists, Jo Newbery and Nicki Brown, report from Bamako.
Mali: 19 January || 21 January || 22 January || 23 January || Venezuela: 24 January || 25-26 January || 27 January
Caracas: Wednesday 25 January and Thursday 26 January 2006
Despite the fact that there were over thirty pages of listings for each session of seminars, we finally made a decision for our first event of the 2006 World Social Forum in Caracas. Keenly there by 8.30am, we waited over an hour to realise that the organisers were not going to show up. Luckily, one of our female Bolivian comrades took the initiative to create the kind of spontaneous self-organised debate that this event is all about. In a similar fashion later that afternoon, Jess was invited with five minutes notice to speak on a platform about campaigning in London about Bolivia. Both these sessions took place at the very slick, business-orientated Caracas Hilton, bizarrely one of the key venues for the WSF. (There was a rumour that the hotel had been run as a cooperative, but a few embarrassing questions at the head office proved this to be false!)
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| Street in Caracas, Venezuela. |
We had more success later yesterday at the book launch for 'Reclaiming Public Water', a project which came out of last year's WSF in Mumbai and which WDM has been involved in. Hilda Salazar from Mexico gave an inspiring speech and call to action around the World Water Forum in Mexico City this March, where civil society participation will be vital to counter the privatisation agenda of multinationals.
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| Hilda Salazar (right). |
Today Oscar Oliveira from the Coordinadora del Agua y de la Vida in Cochabamba, Bolivia, was the highlight of another strong session on water. We learned that in his first few days in power, Evo Morales has just announced a Ministry of Water which further reflects the successes of the Bolivian people in protecting their natural resources. Nonetheless, Oscar emphasised that strong leaders are less important for real social change than the will and action of social movements and communities.
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| Oscar Oliveira (right). |
Similarly, a predominant theme of discussion at the WSF in Caracas has been the extent of Chavez' involvement and his motivations for this. For example, there are trips to Bolivarian projects in some of the barrios which we decided not to join as our contact in La Vega barrio warned us that these trips were disruptive and more like a tourist show than a proper engagement with real social projects in many of these barrios. What has become clear to us in only a few days at this unique event is how complex the political situation is here. But despite gaining some deeper understanding of a few of the criticisms, it's still very tempting to bring home a selection of the buttons, hats, gloves, mobile holders, belt buckles, dolls, t-shirts and other Chavez memorabilia available on every corner!
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| Uruguay water campaign flag. |
Kate Etheridge and Jess Crocker.
Mali: 19 January || 21 January || 22 January || 23 January || Venezuela: 24 January || 25-26 January || 27 January
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