{{Short description|Social movement organization}} {{distinguish|text=the [[United_Nations_Human_Rights_Council#Other_subsidiary_bodies|Social Forum]] of the UNHRC}} {{Infobox organization |name = World Social Forum |image = WSF2003.jpg |caption = World Social Forum 2003 |formation = January 2001 |founder = [[Oded Grajew]]<br />[[Chico Whitaker]] |type = |headquarters = [[Porto Alegre, Brazil]] |region_served = Worldwide |website = [https://wsf2024nepal.org Official Website] }} The '''World Social Forum''' ('''WSF''';<ref name="UIA">{{Cite web |url=https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100053758 |url-access= |title=World Social Forum (WSF) |author1=Staff writer |year=2024 |department=UIA Global Civil Society Database |website=uia.org |publisher=[[Union of International Associations]] |agency=Yearbook of International Organizations Online |location=Brussels, Belgium |format= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |access-date=4 February 2025 |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |via= |quote= |trans-quote= }}</ref> {{langx|pt|Fórum Social Mundial}} {{IPA|pt|ˈfɔɾũ sosi'aw mũdʒiˈaw|}}) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in [[Brazil]], which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemonic globalization. [[File:World-Social-Forum.jpg|thumb|230x230px|World-Social-Forum logo]] The World Social Forum can be considered a visible manifestation of global [[civil society]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Handbook of Political Citizenship and Social Movements |first=Sebastiaan |last=Tijsterman |title=Global and cosmopolitan citizenship |editor-first=Hein-Anton |editor-last=Van der Heijden |page=185 |publisher=[[Edward Elgar Publishing]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-78195-470-6}}</ref> bringing together [[non governmental organizations]], advocacy campaigns, and formal and informal [[social movements]] seeking international [[solidarity]]. The World Social Forum prefers to define itself as "an open space – plural, diverse, non-governmental and non-partisan – that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, proposal building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and organizations engaged in concrete action towards a more solidary, democratic and fair world; a permanent space and process to build alternatives to [[neoliberalism]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fsm2009amazonia.org.br/|title=FSM 2009 Amazônia -|website=FSM 2009 Amazônia}}</ref>
The World Social Forum is held by members of the [[alter-globalization]] movement (also referred to as the [[global justice movement]]) who come together to coordinate global campaigns, share and refine organizing strategies, and inform each other about movements from around the world and their particular issues. The World Social Forum is explicit about not being a representative of all of those who attend and thus does not publish any formal statements on behalf of participants.<ref name="autogenerated413">{{cite journal | last1 = Smith | first1 = Jackie | year = 2004 | title = The World Social Forum and the challenges of global democracy | url = http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/20739/1/Global_Networks_WorldSocialForum_2004.pdf| journal = Global Networks | volume = 4 | issue = 4| pages = 413–421 | doi = 10.1111/j.1471-0374.2004.00102.x }}</ref> It tends to meet in January at the same time as its "great capitalist rival", the [[World Economic Forum]]'s Annual Meeting in [[Davos]], [[Switzerland]]. This date is consciously picked to promote alternative answers to world economic problems in opposition to the World Economic Forum.
==History== [[File:Fórum Social Mundial 2008 - AL.jpg|thumb|Fórum Social Mundial 2008-From left to right: Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, Bolivian President Evo Morales of Bolivia, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correaand Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Latin American Panel of the 2009 World Social Forum]] The World Social Forum first met in 2001, but it had its roots in Latin American activism, namely the encuentro, a meeting which emphasizes dialogue and exchange of ideas among activists. Some of the founders of the WSF, were part of the First International Encuentro for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism in 1996, and decided to expand the idea and make it a global forum for activists of all stripes opposing hegemonic [[globalization]] and [[neoliberalism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wsf2018.org/en/historico-conheca-a-trajetoria-do-fsm-2018/|title=History: know the trajectory of the WSF 2018|date=February 18, 2019}}</ref>
The World Social Forum can also part, trace its tradition of activism back to the [[Battle for Seattle]] November 1999, where [[anti-globalization]] activists protested a meeting of the [[World Trade Organization]]'s latest trade negotiations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Callinicos |first1=Alex |title=The 1999 Seattle protests gave birth to a global movement |url=http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=19622|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514153529/https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/19283/The+1999+Seattle+protests+gave+birth+to+a+global+movement |archive-date=14 May 2016 |date=24 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
One of the originators of the World Social Forum, [[Oded Grajew]], of the Ethos Institute for Business and Social Responsibility, said in an interview with ''[[InMotion Magazine]]'' in 2004, "Then I had the idea. Why not create the World Social Forum, as we have the World Economic Forum, speaking about the people in the world? Why not have the World Social Forum—the social is more important than the economic—to have a space to show that we can have an alternative? We have choice. This is not the only way you can see the world, globalization. We have another way to see it. And, at the same time, force people to look, to make a choice. What is your choice? What is your vision of the world?"<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview with Oded Grajew - Initiator and Secretariat Member of the World Social Forum |url=https://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/ogwsf_int.html |publisher=In Motion Magazine |access-date=2013-08-12}}</ref><ref>A variation on this creation story is reported by Bernard Cassen in {{cite journal |last1=Cassen |first1=Bernard |title=On the Attack |journal=New Left Review |date=January–February 2003 |issue=19 |pages=48–49 |url=https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii19/articles/bernard-cassen-on-the-attack |access-date=9 June 2023}}</ref>
Another one of the founders of the WSF, [[Cándido Grzybowski]] has said of the annual meetings, "The numerous recent crises are expressions of the contradictions and limitations of the form of global capitalism that has been imposed on humanity and the earth. The assertion that "another world is possible" is now an absolute necessity."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=50074|title=Inter Press Service - News and Views from the Global South}}</ref>
Since 2001, the [[United Nations]] has had a presence at the WSF through [[UNESCO]], showing the institutional credibility achieved by the forum, seen by UNESCO as a "prime opportunity for dialogue and a laboratory of ideas for the renewal of public policies" through "critical reflection on the future of societies we want to create and for elaborating proposals in search of solidarity, justice, peace and human rights".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=7360&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=UNESCO and the World Social Forum page |publisher=Portal.unesco.org |date=2007-03-07 |access-date=2009-05-10}}</ref>
===2003 World Social Forum=== The third WSF was again held in Porto Alegre, in January 2003. There were multiple parallel workshops, including, for example the ''Life After Capitalism'' workshop, which proposed focused discussion on [[anti-capitalism]] and participative possibilities for different aspects of social, political, economic, communication structures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zmag.org/lacsite.htm|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20070807004352/http://www.zmag.org/lacsite.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-08-07|title=Welcome To ZNet}}</ref> Among the speakers was American linguist and political activist [[Noam Chomsky]]. Some credit this meeting of World Social Forum for the connections that made the global day of action on February 15, 2003 so successful. The [[protests against the Iraq War|global day of action]] was an international protest attended by an estimated 12 million people in 700 cities across 60 countries protesting the [[George W. Bush|Bush Administration]]'s plans to invade and occupy Iraq. At the time, the ''[[New York Times]]'' called international public opinion a superpower to counter the United States.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/world/threats-and-responses-news-analysis-a-new-power-in-the-streets.html |work=The New York Times |first=Patrick E. |last=Tyler |title=THREATS AND RESPONSES: NEWS ANALYSIS; A New Power In the Streets |date=2003-02-17}}</ref>
<gallery> File:Adolfo-Pérez-Esquivel-wsf-2003.jpg|[[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureate [[Adolfo Pérez Esquivel]] File:Ignacio Ramonet WSF2003.jpg|[[Ignacio Ramonet]], then editor-in-chief of ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'' File:Japanese protest - WSF2003.jpg|Protest by the Japanese delegation File:Walden Bello - WSF2003.jpg|[[Walden Bello]], executive director of the [[Focus on the Global South]] NGO File:Fórum Social Mundial, Acampamento da Juventude.jpg|Youth camp File:Sebastião-Salgado-wsf-2003.jpg|Social documentary photographer [[Sebastião Salgado]] File:WSF2003.jpg|Crowd gathering Image:Noam Chomsky WSF - 2003.jpg|Professor and activist [[Noam Chomsky]] </gallery>
===2004 World Social Forum=== The fourth WSF was held in [[Mumbai]], India, from 16 January to 21 January 2004. It was the first meeting of the World Social Forum held outside Brazil and its success has encouraged the WSF to expand in scope across the [[global South]]. Some credit it with inspiring the [[Asian Social Forum]] held in November of that year.<ref name="autogenerated413" /> The attendance was expected to be 75,000 and it shot over by thousands. The cultural diversity was one notable aspect of the forum.{{According to whom|date=June 2011}} A notable decision{{According to whom|date=June 2011}} that was taken was the stand on [[free software]]. One of the key speakers at the WSF 2004 was [[Joseph Stiglitz]]. In contrast to earlier meetings, which had focused more on Euro-centric political intellectualism, the 2004 meeting included marches, as well as colorful and lively demonstrations.
The 2004 meeting also saw the convening of the [[General Assembly of the Global Anti-War Movement]], an idea that originated from the [[Asian Social Forum]] in November 2003, and broadly coalesced in response to the [[invasion of Iraq]] by the United States in 2003. The Assembly had few activists from the United States, but overwhelmingly tried to articulate that they opposed the policy, and not the country itself. The former director-general of [[UNESCO]], [[Federico Mayor Zaragoza]], said at the Forum, "We must state it clearly. We must say to President Bush that we do not agree with the way he controls the world. We must tell him that he has to govern with his mind, not with might."<ref name="autogenerated413" /> [[File:WSF-Brazil-che.JPG|thumb|177x177px|'''WSF-Brazil-che 2005''']]
===2005 World Social Forum=== [[File:WSF-2005-Brazi-10.JPG|thumb|World Social Forum - Porto Alegre Brazil 2005|160x160px]] [[File:WSF-2005-Brazil-killing-Bush.jpeg|thumb|146x146px|'''World Social Forum-2005-Brazil-killing-Bush''']] The fifth World Social Forum 2005 was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil between 26 January and 31 January. There were 155,000 registered participants at the Forum, with most coming from Brazil, Argentina, the United States, Uruguay, and France. A number of participants in the forum released the [[Porto Alegre Manifesto]]. Since Article 6 of the World Social Forum's Charter of Principles bars the event from attempting to represent all participants through formal statements, the [[Porto Alegre Manifesto]] was released on behalf of 19 activists. This 'Group of 19' includes [[Aminata Traoré (author)|Aminata Traoré]], [[Adolfo Pérez Esquivel]], [[Eduardo Galeano]], [[José Saramago]], [[François Houtart]], [[Boaventura de Sousa Santos]], [[Armand Mattelart]], [[Roberto Savio]], [[Riccardo Petrella]], [[Ignacio Ramonet]], [[Bernard Cassen]], [[Samir Amin]], [[Atilio Borón]], [[Samuel Ruiz García]], [[Tariq Ali]], [[Frei Betto]], [[Emir Sader]], [[Walden Bello]], and [[Immanuel Wallerstein]].<ref>[http://www.openspaceforum.net/twiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=276 Porto Alegre Manifesto] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209050200/http://www.openspaceforum.net/twiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=276 |date=2010-12-09}}. OpenSpaceForum. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref>
===2006 World Social Forum=== The sixth World Social Forum was "polycentric", held in January 2006 in [[Caracas]], [[Venezuela]] and [[Bamako]], [[Mali]], and in March 2006, in [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]]. The Forum in Pakistan was delayed to March because of the [[2005 Kashmir earthquake|Kashmir earthquake]] that had recently occurred in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wsf2006karachi.org/index.html|title=World Social Forums-Karachi|website=World Social Forums-Karachi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718230121/http://www.wsf2006karachi.org/index.html|archive-date=2006-07-18|url-status=dead|access-date=2006-07-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2006/03/world-social-forum-polycentric-and-losing-focus/|title=WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Polycentric and Losing Focus|last=Netto|first=Anil|date=24 March 2006|website=Inter Press Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119190706/http://www.ipsnews.net/2006/03/world-social-forum-polycentric-and-losing-focus/|archive-date=19 January 2018|url-status=live|access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref>
===2007 World Social Forum=== [[File:Danny Glover Forum Social Mundial Nairobi.jpg|left|thumb|161x161px|'''Danny Glover Forum Social Mundial Nairobi''']] The seventh World Social Forum was held in [[Nairobi]], Kenya in January 2007. There were 66,000 registered attendees, and 1,400 participating organizations from 110 countries, making it the most globally representative WSF so far.<ref>Frank Joyce. [http://www.alternet.org/stories/48097/ article] on [[Alternet]]. Retrieved 2007-02-16.</ref> It was criticized as being 'an [[NGO]] fair'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/39464 |title=PZN - World Social Forum: just another NGO fair? |publisher=Pambazuka.org |date=2007-01-26 |access-date=2009-05-10}}</ref><ref>Jens Glaschiøt happening '[http://www.aidoh.dk/?categoryID=266 In the Name of God]'</ref> and movements of the poor in Kenya and [[South Africa]] mounted vigorous protests against some of the NGOs that attended and, in their view, dominated the forum in the name of the African poor.
===2009 World Social Forum=== [[File:Forum Social Mundial 2009 - IMG 2491 (3233127344).jpg|thumb|'''Forum Social Mundial 2009''' ]] [[File:Forum Social Mundial 2009 - IMG 2442 (3232272033).jpg|left|thumb|114x114px]] [[File:Forum Social Mundial 2009 - IMG 2645 (3232298623).jpg|thumb|110x110px]] The ninth World Social Forum took place in the Brazilian city of [[Belém]], located in the Amazon rainforest, between January 27 and February 1, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/rmr/?q=en/taxonomy/term/513|title=World Social Forum 2009}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> About 1,900 indigenous people, representing 190 ethnic groups attended the event, to raise the issue of stateless peoples, and the plights that they face. The [[Escarré International Centre for Ethnic Minorities and Nations]] helped to organize the tent for the Collective Rights of Stateless Peoples, who are marginalized in an international system that recognizes only states as political units. Various stateless ethnic groups represented were the [[Basques]], [[Kurds]], [[Palestinians]], [[Romani people|Roma]], [[Tibetans]], [[Mapuche]], [[Sahrawi people|Saharawi]] and [[Australian Aborigines]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45644|title=Inter Press Service - News and Views from the Global South}}</ref>
===2010 World Social Forum=== The tenth edition of the World Social Forum was another decentralized affair, with about 35 national, regional and local forums taking place across the world. In [[Porto Alegre]], the flagship space for the WSF, events and speakers were held from January 25–29, entitled "FSM 10 Years: Greater Porto Alegre". The big event held in [[Porto Alegre]] was the International Seminar "10 Years Later: Challenges and proposals for another possible world", which featured over 70 intellectuals from around the world.<ref>[http://www.choike.org/2009/eng/eventos/76.html World Social Forum 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128055848/http://www.choike.org/2009/eng/eventos/76.html |date=2011-01-28 }}. Choike. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref> One of the notable regional forums was the [[US Social Forum]] held in [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]] and attended by about 18,000 people.<ref name="ussf2010.org">[http://www.ussf2010.org/ US Social Forum | Another World Is Possible | Another US Is Necessary]. Ussf2010.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref>
===2011 World Social Forum=== The 2011 World Social Forum was hosted in [[Dakar, Senegal]] and ran from 06 to 11 February.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Social Forum 2011 Dakar - in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2011/feb/09/world-social-forum-senegal |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921045536/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2011/feb/09/world-social-forum-senegal |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |language=en |date=9 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===2012 World Social Forum=== The 2012 World Social Forum was hosted in [[Porto Alegre, Brazil]] and ran from 24 to 30 January.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environmentalgovernance.org/event/2012/01/brazil-hosts-the-12th-annual-world-social-forum-meeting/|title=Brazil Hosts the 12th Annual World Social Forum Meeting - GEG Project|work=GEG Project |date=24 January 2012}}</ref>
===2013 World Social Forum=== The thirteen edition of the World Social Forum took place in [[Tunis]] from 26 to 30 March 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fsmaghreb.org/en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119225104/http://www.fsmaghreb.org/en|url-status=unfit|title=Maghreb Social Forum 2013|archive-date=2013-01-19}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fsm2013.org/en الكرامة] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117021332/http://www.fsm2013.org/en |date=2013-01-17}}. fsm2013.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref>
===2015 World Social Forum=== The fourteenth edition of the World Social Forum took place in [[Tunis]] from 23 to 28 March 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fsm2015.org/en |title=Forum Social Mondial FSM 2015 |access-date=2015-04-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403203918/https://fsm2015.org/en |archive-date=2015-04-03}}. fsm2015.org. Retrieved on 2015-09-11.</ref> It led to the creation of the [[Internet Social Forum]].<ref name="SLG">{{cite web|last1=Katsiaficas|first1=George|title=The World Social Forum and the Internet Social Forum|url=http://www.slguardian.org/2015/04/the-world-social-forum-and-the-internet-social-forum/|website=Sri Lanka Guardian|access-date=3 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126073839/http://www.slguardian.org/2015/04/the-world-social-forum-and-the-internet-social-forum/|archive-date=26 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===2016 World Social Forum=== The fifteen edition of the World Social Forum took place in [[Montreal]] from 9 to 14 August 2016.<ref>[http://www.fsm2016.org]. fsm2016.org. Retrieved on 2015-09-11.</ref> It was a multilingual event which featured organizations from around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://legaleaseckut.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/episode-august-2016-building-a-better-world/l |title=LegalEase Radio - CKUT 90.3 FM Montreal - Building a Better World |publisher=LegalEase Collective|date=2016-08-12 |access-date=2016-10-14}}</ref>
===2018 World Social Forum=== The sixteenth edition of the World Social Forum took place in [[Salvador, Bahia]], [[Brazil]], from March 13 to 17, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wsf2018.org/en/carta-aberta-fsm-2018-em-salvador/ |title=Open Letter convenes World Social Forum 2018 in Salvador |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=August 18, 2017 |website=World Social Forum |access-date=January 9, 2018}}</ref> Having representatives of 120 countries.<ref>{{cite journal|date=2018-03-14|title=Livro que denuncia o golpe é lançado hoje, 15 h, no Fórum Social Mundial - O Cafezinho|url=https://www.ocafezinho.com/2018/03/14/livro-que-denuncia-o-golpe-e-lancado-hoje-15-h-no-forum-social-mundial/|journal=O Cafezinho|language=pt-BR}}</ref>
=== 2021 World Social Forum === The 2021 World Social Forum was hosted virtually from 23 to 31 January 2021.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=World Social Forum 2021 – Foro Social mundial 2021 – 2022 |url=https://wsf2021.net/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906193021/https://wsf2021.net/ |archive-date=2023-09-06 |access-date=2023-10-15 |language=es}}</ref> Representatives from 144 countries attended the forum, with 1,371 organizations participating.<ref name=":0" /> The digital events attracted over 78,000 visits.<ref name=":0" />
=== 2022 World Social Forum === The 2022 World Social Forum was held in a hybrid format, with in-person events in [[Mexico City]], and [[virtual event]]s from 1 to 6 May 2022.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Foro Social Mundial 2022 México – Otro mundo es posible |url=https://wsf2022.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231015043945/https://wsf2022.org/ |archive-date=2023-10-15 |access-date=2023-10-15 |language=es-MX}}</ref> Preliminary data from the World Social Forum reported attendance from 500 organizations, 2,080 participants, and over 31,230 online visitors.<ref name=":1" />
=== 2024 World Social Forum === The 2024 World Social Forum took place in [[Kathmandu]] from 15 to 19 February 2024.<ref>[https://wsf2024nepal.org]</ref>
==Regional Social Forums== The WSF has prompted the organizing of multiple regional [[social forum]]s, including the [[Americas Social Forum]], [[European Social Forum]], the [[Asian Social Forum]], the [[Mediterranean Social Forum]] and the [[Southern Africa Social Forum]]. There are also a number of local and national social forums, such as the [https://globalisering.no/en/ Norwegian Social Forum], Iraqi Social Forum, [[Italian Social Forum]], India Social Forum,<ref>[http://www.wsfindia.org/ World Social Forum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213123753/http://www.wsfindia.org/ |date=2016-02-13 }}. Wsfindia.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref> [[Liverpool Social Forum]] and the [[Boston Social Forum]]. The first-ever [[United States Social Forum]] took place in [[Atlanta]] in June 2007.<ref>[http://www.ussf2007.org Americas Social Forum | United States Social Forum]. Ussf2007.org (2007-07-01). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref> In 2010 [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], hosted the United States Social Forum during June 22–26.<ref name="ussf2010.org"/>
Regional forums have taken place in the Southwest,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forosocialfronterizo.com/ |title=Archived copy |website=www.forosocialfronterizo.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022205622/http://www.forosocialfronterizo.com/ |archive-date=22 October 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Northwest, Northeast, Midwest and [[Southeast Social Forum|Southeast]] regions of the United States. The first [[Canadian Social Forum]] took place in June 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.socialforum.ca/ |title=Archived copy |website=www.socialforum.ca |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208195103/http://www.socialforum.ca/ |archive-date=8 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Most, though not all, social forums adhere to the [[wikisource:Charter of Principles (World Social Forum)|WSF Charter of Principles]] drawn up by the World Social Forum. The goal of these forums is to decentralize and allow far more people to engage in the open forum atmosphere of the World Social Forum without needing very much money for travel expenses. All of the various social forums in this mold include international attendees and are in no way specifically focused on the problems of a single region of country.
==Criticisms== ===2001 Monsanto Incident===
On January 26, 2001 a number of activists with Brazil's [[Movimento dos Sem-Terra]] (MST) reacted in protest to the growing role of [[Monsanto]] in global [[agribusiness]], which was considered by the group to be unethically using their seed patents to harm the rights of rural peoples, tore up an experimental plot of [[transgenic crops]] in Não-me-Toque, {{Convert|300|km|mi}} from Porto Alegre, where the World Social Forum was taking place at the time. Three days later, Jose Bove, a French citizen, was arrested by Brazilian authorities as the World Social Forum ended on January 29, 2001. Connections between the [[Movimento dos Sem-Terra]] and the World Social Forum are not well known.<ref>[http://www.albionmonitor.com/0102a/copyright/wsf1.html (1/30/2001) WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Don't Let Corporations Control Food Supply, Beg Farmers]. Albionmonitor.com (2001-01-30). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/brasil/ult96u28760.shl |title=Folha Online - Brasil - José Bové, militante francês antiglobalização, chega a Porto Alegre - 28 January 2002 |publisher=.folha.uol.com.br |date=2002-01-28 |access-date=2009-05-10}}</ref>
===Role of NGOs=== {{See also|NGO-ization}} The WSF has, especially in recent years, been strongly criticised for replacing popular movements with [[non-governmental organization]]s (NGOs).<ref name="abahlali1">{{Cite web |last=Poni |first=Mzonke |author-link=Mzonke Poni |date=2009-04-14 |title=Mzonke Poni on the World Social Forum |url=https://abahlali.org/node/4959/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726210438/https://abahlali.org/node/4959/ |archive-date=2023-07-26 |access-date=2023-10-15 |publisher=[[Abahlali baseMjondolo]] |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> A delegation from the [[South Africa]]-based [[Abahlali baseMjondolo]] criticised the event's 2009 iteration as "dominated by" non-governmental organizations.<ref name="abahlali1" /> The group also argued in 2007 that the participating NGOs would sometimes compete with popular movements for access to the forum and for influence there.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |author=Ntseng |first=David |date=2007-03-06 |title=Article by David Ntseng on NGOs and grassroots movements at the forum |url=http://abahlali.org/node/845 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726210422/https://abahlali.org/node/845/ |archive-date=2023-07-26 |access-date=2009-05-10 |publisher=[[Abahlali baseMjondolo]]}}</ref>
The 2007 World Social Forum in [[Nairobi, Kenya]] was criticized as an "NGO fair" by [[Firoze Manji]], as he believed that the large number of international NGOs crowded out less formal groups of activists.<ref name=":3" /> He also asserted that not all the attendees were properly represented, with the bigger and wealthier [[NGO]]s having far more space to talk and lead the events.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Manji |first=Firoze |author-link=Firoze Manji |date=2007-01-26 |title=World Social Forum: just another NGO fair? |url=https://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/39464 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507071134/http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/39464 |archive-date=2013-05-07 |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=[[Pambazuka News]]}}</ref>
[[Raúl Zibechi]] argues that there is a "crisis" of the World Social Forum in that it has been "weakened" as it has been "taken over" by "those who were most capable of 'leading' assemblies, professionals from universities and NGOs."<ref>Raúl Zibechi, ''Territories in Resistance'', (AK Press: Oakland), 2012, p. 310.</ref>
South African politician [[Andile Mngxitama]] sees the World Social Forum as mostly dominated by Northern NGOs, donors and activists, and argues that Southern representation is largely organized via Northern donors and their NGOs. Mngxitama also describes how popular organizations in the global South are systematically marginalized or included in a deeply subordinated manner.<ref>See for instances criticisms of how Northern donors and NGOs have determined African participation in the World Social Forum at [http://abahlali.org/node/845 Brief Reflection on World Social Forum 2007 (Kenya, Nairobi)] by Mngxitama and David Ntseng. World Social Forum, 2007-03-06</ref>
Many grassroots movements in the global South boycott the forum and the NGOs that gate-keep participation in the forum and some actively oppose it as just one more space of domination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/11/04/farewell-world-social-forum|title=Farewell to the World Social Forum?|website=Common Dreams|language=en|access-date=2020-01-16}}</ref>
===Role of corporations=== There was also criticism of the way that [[Celtel|CelTel]] had exclusive rights at the Kenyan event, the virtual monopoly of a local hotel offering food at rates that the average Kenyan could not afford, and the physical and financial exclusion of local business.<ref name=":3" />
===Organization (2020)=== {{more citations needed|section|date=February 2023}}
A demographic transformation of the organisational background has taken place since a decade ago when critical voices were raised.<ref>[http://p2pfoundation.net/Engaging_Critically_with_the_Reality_and_Concept_of_Civil_Society Interrogating the Civil. Engaging Critically with the Reality and Concept of Civil Society], Jai Sen and Peter Waterman, eds, (2010) - Worlds of Movement, Worlds in Movement. Volume 4 in the Challenging Empires series. New Delhi : OpenWord</ref> {{As of|2020}}, preparatory meetings for the 2021 World Social Forum were run by a younger generation of female and male organisers while the founders (Oded Grajew and Chico Whiteker) usually did not intervene.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} Communicating languages were mainly Spanish and Portuguese (because of multiple Latin American organisers), and also English and French.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} New individuals, social groups and movements were invited to co-organise events in 2021; new ecological movements run by young generations, for example.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
==See also== *[[Anti-globalization movement]] *[[:Category:Social forums]] – other social forums *[[Liberty]] *[[Social equality]]
==Notes== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==Further reading== *Jai Sen and Peter Waterman, (2012), [http://openword.in/critical-explorations World Social Forum : Critical Explorations], OpenWord : New Delhi *[https://uclouvain.academia.edu/GeoffreyPleyers Geoffrey Pleyers], (2011), [https://www.academia.edu/376658/Alter-globalization._The_global_justice_movement "Alter-Globalization. Becoming Actors in the Global Age"], Cambridge, Polity, 2011. *Richard Falk, (2009), 'Achieving Human Rights', Routledge. * Geoffrey Pleyers, (2009) [https://www.academia.edu/3476915/The_World_Social_Forum_challenges The World Social Forum challenges], La vie des idées. * Mark Butler (2007), [http://abahlali.org/node/619 Re-connecting the World Social Forum"], 2007 * Jose Correa Leite (2005), ''The World Social Forum: Strategies of Resistance'', Haymarket Books,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haymarketbooks.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Haymarket&Product_Code=GIWSF |title=Haymarket Books: The World Social Forum: Strategies of Resistance, by Jose Correa Leite |access-date=2005-11-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119114139/http://www.haymarketbooks.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Haymarket&Product_Code=GIWSF |archive-date=2005-11-19 }}</ref> {{ISBN|1931859159}} * {{cite journal | last1 = Smith | first1 = Jackie | year = 2004 | title = The World Social Forum and the challenges of global democracy | url = http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/20739/1/Global_Networks_WorldSocialForum_2004.pdf| journal = Global Networks | volume = 4 | issue = 4| pages = 413–421 | doi = 10.1111/j.1471-0374.2004.00102.x }} * {{cite journal | last1 = Teivainen | first1 = T. | year = 2002 | title = The World Social Forum and global democratisation: learning from Porto Alegre | journal = [[Third World Quarterly]] | volume = 23 | issue = 4| pages = 621–632 | doi = 10.1080/0143659022000005300 | s2cid = 155050248 }} * William F. Fisher and Thomas Ponniah (2003). Another World is Possible: Popular Alternatives to Globalization at the World Social Forum * [[Boaventura de Sousa Santos]] (2005). O Fórum Social Mundial: manual de uso, Cortez Editora. * [[Jai Sen]], Anita Anand, [[Arturo Escobar (anthropologist)|Arturo Escobar]] & Peter Waterman (eds). 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080919110537/http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1557.html The World Social Forum: Challenging Empires]. New Delhi: The [[Viveka Foundation]]. * Mertes, Tom (ed.) (January 2004). ''A Movement of Movements: Is Another World Really Possible?'' London and New York: Verso, paperback, 288 pages. * [[Paul Routledge|Routledge, Paul]] (2008). Transnational Political Movements. In: Cox, Kevin., Low, Murray. and Robinson, Jennifer (eds). ''The Sage Handbook of Political Geography''. London: [[SAGE Publications]]. * [[Leda Lu Muniz]](2005) "O Forum Social Mundial: debate em aberto". Lecture presented to Nucleo de Análise da Conjuntura Internacional (NACI) of PUC-SP in March 2005,about the research and work since the beginning of WSF till January 2005.
==External links== '''Official''' * [https://wsf2018.org/ Home FSM 2018 WSF] * [http://www2.portoalegre.rs.gov.br/fsm2013_ing/default.php?p_secao=5 Charter of Principles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925023625/http://www2.portoalegre.rs.gov.br/fsm2013_ing/default.php?p_secao=5 |date=2015-09-25 }}
'''News reports''' * [http://www.choike.org/2009/eng/eventos/76.html Choike.org WSF 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128055848/http://www.choike.org/2009/eng/eventos/76.html |date=2011-01-28 }} * [http://www.choike.org/2009/eng/informes/4601.html Choike.org WSF In-Depth Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130191414/http://www.choike.org/2009/eng/informes/4601.html |date=2011-01-30 }}
'''Past forums''' * [https://wsf2018.org/en/es/ar/pt WSF 2018 - Salvador]{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} * [http://fsm2016.org/en WSF 2016 - Montreal] * [http://www.ciranda.net/rubrique37.html- WSF 2009 - Belém] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715004611/http://www.ciranda.net/rubrique37.html- |date=2014-07-15 }} * [http://www.ciranda.net/rubrique35.html- WSF 2008 - Global WSF Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204163550/https://www.ciranda.net/rubrique35.html- |date=2016-02-04 }}
{{Globalization}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Alter-globalization]] [[Category:Anti-globalization movement]] [[Category:Political congresses]] [[Category:Social forums]] [[Category:Global policy organizations]] [[Category:Organizations established in 2001]] [[Category:Organisations based in Porto Alegre]] [[Category:2001 establishments in Brazil]]