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Planning the European Social Forum 2002

Benjamin Geer | 12.03.2002 00:28

Summary of the first European meeting for the European Social Forum 2002.

At the World Social Forum 2002 in Porto Alegre, it was
decided that there would be regional Social Forums
later this year, and that the European Social Forum
(ESF) would take place in Italy, at the end of October
or the beginning of November. An Italian working group
did a great deal of preliminary work to determine
possible locations for the ESF, to consult with
networks of social movements in Italy, and to propose a
basic framework for the ESF. Meanwhile,
representatives from many different European social
movements were invited to a meeting in Brussels, to
discuss that proposal and to begin planning the rest of
the work.

A summary of this meeting can be found here:

http://www.beroul.uklinux.net/esf/brussels-09-03-2002.html

One the main priorities now is to extend the ESF
network to include as many European social movements as
possible. Please circulate this message to all such
movements that you are in contact with.

More information on how to get involved should be
available very soon, as ESF mailing lists are created.
In the meantime, I've created a temporary mailing list,
esf-uk-info, where I'll post any information I receive:

http://lists.southspace.net/admin/esf-uk-info

Benjamin Geer
ATTAC London

Benjamin Geer
e-mail: benjamin.geer@attac.org.uk
Homepage: http://www.beroul.uklinux.net/esf/brussels-09-03-2002.html

Comments

Hide the following 5 comments

Correction

12.03.2002 00:38

The mailing list is here:

http://lists.southspace.net/listinfo/esf-uk-info

Benjamin Geer
mail e-mail: benjamin.geer@attac.org.uk

So who is this lot anyway?

12.03.2002 11:43

So who is this lot anyway? I had a look at the link to the discussion and it seems to be the swp (some of them wearing their globalise resistance hat, some not) trying to win liberals to their 'revolutionary' ideas.

Has anyone noticed the divide at big actions like prague, genoa, whatever between the people (degree education, many funded to carry out their political work, few if any criminal convictions, see their role as convincing people around them that they're right, keen on working with dodgy social democrat parties) who go to the conferences to talk about stuff and the people who organise active resistance (usually unemployed or in casual work, harassed regularly by police and state, criminalised, active on the street and in their communities and daily life in challenging capitalism)?

Guess which lot this is.

Sorry, no Phd

a few points

12.03.2002 12:59

the meeting was set up by people from the Italian Social Forum, the idea that these people are not the 'real' movement is laughable.

The people in the meeting were well aware that many voices were not represented, but this was an intial 'pre' meeting to start the ball rolling.

Many of us who were there argued for an open forum with none of the 'vips' and parliamentarians who undermined the WSF. This was the consensus.

You have two choices to be involved or carp from the sidelines I suggest you get involved there will be meetings in London and the UK soon.

The ESF has the potetntial to be a massivley radical and exciting event it will be in Italy (possibly Florence) at the start of November

noel
mail e-mail: noel@freemachine.net

A Suggestion

12.03.2002 14:19

Here are half a dozen things you can do with that old SWP membership card:

-Use it as a fly swatter,

-Or a beer mat,

-Or a toenail-cheese remover,

-Or a pin-cushion,

-Or a collar-stiffener,

-Or as a suppository.

Other than that, I don´t really see the point in pseudo-Bolshevik orgnisations pretending to be "revolutionary". When the real revolution does come, it won´t be because of the likes of the SWP (or any of their fake "front" parties) - who in any case are just political tourists, day-tripping to a place they know nothing about and can barely even find on the map. Icepick, anyone?

Ramon Mercader

not bad, but try harder

12.03.2002 15:15

Quite enjoyed that; no boring relevance to the main posting, deeply satirical reference to suppositories, more-revolutionary-than-thou ending.

But you didn't use the word 'Twatskyist' or the name 'Tarquin', make any vicious attacks on students or trade unionists, or accuse women Trots of being ugly. Must try harder!

a nonny mouse

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