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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
Bamako: Friday 19 January, evening
We got a tip off today that the Youth Camp, up at the other end of town, was the place to be, so jumped in a taxi and went to see for ourselves. We got chatting to a young Malian guy called Soumana from an organisation called CONJEDEV (Convention des Jeunes pour le Development - Youth Convention for Development). It was the first time he had been to the World Social Forum, although he told us he had heard about the Forums in Brazil and India. He was thrilled to have so many people from around the world in his home town.
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| Bamako women registering for the World Social Forum. |
Sou, as he called himself, hoped that the WSF would provide some solutions to the problems facing Africa. His main concerns were globalisation and liberalisation, phenomena which he felt work against countries in the South, who are unable to compete on an equal basis with rich countries.
We asked him if he had heard about the Make Poverty History campaign in the UK, and what his views were on it. He had followed some of the news about the campaign on TV and radio, but thought that the majority of people in Mali probably weren't aware of it. He seemed to think that MPH had been a positive thing, but he also said that it was impossible to eliminate poverty without the engagement of African people themselves. He questioned how effective foreign aid can really be in the long term.
Back at Madame Tamboura's, we were watching tellly with the family, when suddenly we spotted ourselves in the footage of the opening march through Bamako!
Tomorrow we hope to explore a few more of the Forum sites and maybe catch a film back at the youth camp.
Jo Newbery and Nicki Brown.
Bamako: Friday 19 January, morning
We arrived here in Bamako in Mali at midnight on Tuesday, along with several others coming for the first World Social Forum (WSF) to be held in an African country. Having got our bearings in the town on Wednesday morning, we headed over to the offices of the WSF co-ordination to register and find out about accommodation with a local host.
We easily recognised the building from the throng of people outside and the colourful banners hanging from the balcony. We were roped in to a last minute translation for the website as soon as someone caught our English accents!
In the accommodation office they were busy making arrangements for a large delegation that had travelled to Bamako from the north of the country. When it came to our turn, we asked if we could stay with one of the local participants in the Forum, offering accommodation to visitors. And so we've ended up chez Madame Tamboura, on the outskirts of the town.
Madame Tamboura used to work for the train company that operated the line between Bamako and Dakar. She was made redundant a few years back, along with many other employees of the company. She is now involved in a local women's association, making soap and syrups from plants to sell in Bamako. They have a stand here at the Forum, and we've been watching the soap-making back at the house in the evenings.
We had a rather unsuccessful morning this morning (Friday 19 January), trying to find a seminar on the Global Call to Action against Poverty, which we were interested in attending to try and get an idea of people's views on the Make Poverty History campaign. Unfortunately it didn`t seem to be happening, and no one seemed to know anything about it! This afternoon we're heading over to the Youth Forum, where things seem a bit livelier. We've also spotted a seminar and film in the programme about the privatisation of the Dakar-Bamako rail line, and other public services in Africa, which having had a personal account from Madame Tamboura, should be particularly interesting.
Jo Newbery and Nicki Brown.
Mali: 19 January || 21 January || 22 January || 23 January || Venezuela: 24 January || 25-26 January || 27 January
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