Another World is Possible

A look from inside the World Social Forum 2007

Barry Paul Miruka
Kenya - 03/04/2007
  The 7th edition of the World Social Forum (WSF) brought to Nairobi, (Kenya) activists, social movements, networks, coalitions and other progressive forces from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, North-America, and Europe. Held in Africa for the first time, its purpose was above all to deeply explore the roots of the anti-globalisation movement on the continent most affected by the consequences of the neo-liberal politics. One of the major challenges for this forum has been the establishment of some methodological procedures that contribute to reinforce the common goal and coordinated actions.
Barry Paul freelance collaborator of Brainstorming an Investigative International View assisted to the Forum and is portraying the main topics discussed inside the event.

The World Social Forum which from its modest origin in Porto Alegre in Brazil in 2001, has grown into a global counter force challenging the assumption and dictates of imperialism and the associated neo-liberal policies that have over decades imposed colonialism, devastated southern economies; bolstered the disastrous and repressive reigns of assorted tin-pot dictatorships; marginalized women; disenfranchised youth; intensified destruction of environment; unleashed bloody; inhuman and needless military conflict in nation after nation, region after region and deepened the exploitation of poor people around the world.

Rallying around the clarion of “another world is possible”, the WSF placed social justice, peace and defense of environment on the agenda of the world’s people. There were several issues that took the center of world social forum conference geared towards making another world possible, these issues were addressed in workshops, matches and in different booths within the conference. they included; water, youth, human rights, labour, education, peace/war, nation/international institution and democracy, children, culture, migration, health, environment and energy, debt, free trade, alternative economies, housing, women struggle, transnational corporation, knowledge / information /communication, food soveignty / land reforms, and dignity/ human being diversity / discrimination.

African key issues at WSF

Over the past six years the world social forum has come to represent the bulwark of popular struggles against poverty and poverty-creating policies, it has also continued to give hope to the people of the south that the present unjust world order must give way to a better world.
Having it in Africa for the first time was a very well turn out. Being a target area where poverty, diseases like HIV/AIDS, poor leadership, corruption and tribalism has shown much of its fruits, issues whose roots deprive the people their joy, happiness and life; several issues were addressed with different bodies all over the world to its rescue though Africa’s attendance and participation was not shown even though the registration fee for African was so cheap.
Issues addressed in aid of Africa carted across several areas which involved; war, poverty, education, gender equality, health and leadership.

Land and women empowerment
Africa being the rich continent in terms of natural resources like minerals, wild animals, forests, great lake amongst other has suffered poverty for along time since memorial. Men in Africa dominating, have been accused by women that they are the source of poverty and problems in Africa including HIV/AIDS issue, and that African tradition and culture has also been blamed for allowing men to dominate. Women and land, women and poverty were some of the issue that took the center of African corner at the concluded world social forum.

Pauline Adhiambo, director Ladies With Vision (LWV) when asked about what can be done to make Africa a better place answered that:

“issues surrounding cultural set-up in all African countries has contributed to all the problem we face in Africa right from education, leadership, health and ownership” “African culture empowered only men, who owned all the properties like land, and the only ones allowed to attend school and thus reduced the level of empowerment which I believe would have supported the dying areas of Africa”.

Their organization motto reads ‘live the dream’ and Pauline believes that everybody has a dream but their dream die because they lack empowerment at some point of their life, empowerment on education, entrepreneurship empowerment, empowerment on health issues.

When asked about what she can do to save Africa and if she can be supported with resources to make Africa a better place she answered

“it is all about empowering people of Africa, in education, health, agriculture and business, but first I will start by empowering women since they are behind, they rely on men in almost everything and that explains why they feel so inferior because even their policies are being made by men, they cant stand before men, they feel they are not leaders and I think we can make good leaders out of them. If they are empowered, they will have information and if they have information then they will be able to fight and speak up on issues affecting them and propose sustainable ways of handling the same.”

Pauline case brings the land issues proposed in the Kenyan constitution which almost broke Kenya into two during the referendum, some of the key issues which Kenyan did not agree over in the proposed new constitution was issue of women inheriting land, this issue in the Kenyan proposed constitution was brought again by Kenya Land Alliance at the world social forum to redress the ever-widening asset gap in Kenya believing that constitution as a supreme social contract in society provides women’s rights. Though they have set and have placed much effort on women rights especially of land, they believe that women enjoyment of the full and equal rights and freedom is likely to remain illusory and subject to the whims of tradition and political expediency.

Odenda Lumumba a Kenya Lands Alliance national co-coordinator believes that constitution is the only tool that will allow women have there rights especially those of acquiring land, something that Kenyans voted out in referendum voting.

Land in Kenya is vested in different legal entities and governed under different law of which has implication for women’s right to own, access and use. The main classifications of land ownership in Kenya are individual/private, government and group or community. Community at the other hand are governed by traditional and cultural belief which also deny women access to use of owner a land, lands at the community level were inherited by the sons and not daughter in all over 48 tribes in Kenya and in all communities in African continent.

Among the dignitaries at the WSF was Wangare Maathai, a Kenyan woman who won Nobel peace price and an inspiration to women of the world at the conference especially those from Africa. Women dominated at were out to press for their rights and encourage each other for leadership positions. They also held feminist march around the conference stadium.

Health, AIDS and political decisions

Health runs as a core issue in human life that needs a warrant serious consideration and reactive action, there were not much health or health related issues during the concluded 7th edition of world social forum, few organizations were there on health issues primarily on HIV/AIDS.

St. Francis Community Development Programme (FRACODEP) was there with outstanding activities which demonstrated how HIV/AIDS is a global catastrophe, threatening social and economic stability in the most affected areas particularly in the southern of the globe. Approximating 38.6 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS and over 25 million people have died making it the deadliest infectious disease in history.

During the conference FRACODEP activities also highlighted that HIV/AIDS needs not only to be addressed on by medical remedies. And that it is a political, social, legal, and health infrastructure issue.

A political issue because political decisions determine access to services, resources and knowledge making it a chronic disease that is manageable in the North and while it is a fatal disease in the South, and particularly in Africa. A social problem because HIV/AIDS deepen existing social issues that carter across culture and tradition and tribe, legal issue because treaties which are iniquitous perpetuates the unacceptable situations and finally it is an issue of health infrastructure like health centers, clinics, laboratories amongst others because HIV/AIDS are to be fought effectively a full resourced public health delivery system in prerequisite.

Conference was dominated by activist movements from all corners of the world and held matches and demonstrations, FRACODEP and Education For Life (EFL) Kenya, both organizations fighting HIV/AIDS through prevention approach and use Behavior Change Process (BCP) model led HIV/AIDS prevention match which was of its own uniqueness. Behaviour Change Process a group therapy process derived from Gerard Igan method of counseling and developed by Sr. Kay lawlor a catholic sister, targets several areas and the root cause on HIV infection in relation to its prevention.

Wars, a strong presence

War was at the front of the conference interest in different areas including matches, you could see as you walk and pay visit to conference halls and pathways with banners and posters decoding another world possible without war. Center of war theme was war in Iraq, Somali, West Africa and some parts of the African continent, but war and deaths in Iraq dominated the forum.
Under the war as the actionable theme, the Italian communist were at the front of the world social forum with great interest on the so called “war”, with alienation and involvement on the political elaboration of movements against the neo-liberal globalization and the war.
Italian Communist are committed in taking to Italian and European institution politics, the movements proposals against US president Bush’s never ending war, against the privatization of the resources and of the public services.

“We believe that there are necessity of continuous two-way contamination between the movements and left parties, to find together the true way to build “another world is possible” world cant be build by war, and US should stop.” An Italian communist delegate and national secretary of the party of the Italian communist said. He added that the failure of the imperial politics is now clear with the incontrollable situation in Iraq.

Carrying pictures, placards, and banners and wearing T-shirts with president’s Bush photo with massages such as “send wolf back to the bush, bush is number 1 terrorist” were at the center of the war match at the World Social Forum Conference, with matching team headed by the Grassroots Global Justice, an alliance of the US based grassroots group called policies of war at home and abroad, Grassroots Global Justice a delegation of 77 people from US to the World Social Forum, added that it opposes the US policies of militarism and the ongoing war in Iraq, forcing of free trade agreements on developing nations and the intervention to suppress popular movements in internal affairs of other countries.

Italian communists and Grassroots Global Justice were not left alone, there were supported by organizations and individual during the conference. Renowned social scientist and academic professor Samir Amir of Egypt elsewhere within the World Social Forum Conference had something different and said that “war is not a result of some specific happening here or the against some country fingered in the “war against terror” and that war is a product of the logic of a specific system, arguing that issues of war can’t be separated because they are the outcome of the system of economic functions.

The US war against Iraq made it ladder-proof for US organizations and institutions to participate in the concluded World Social Forum Conference, with fear or rejection from other countries.

Coca-cola a product of US Company was also fought heavily at the forum, not any coca-cola product was sold at the conference.

SAPI an activist association that comes from India led the match against coca-cola, they also displayed how coca-cola products have caused harm on their people.


China and Africa relationships highlighted

China and Africa relationship, which is currently worrying known world countries was also an interesting subject that was at the world social forum conference at China NGO booth and in their conference hall.

The current world best countries involvement in improving relationship and support for African countries has taken another look and is seen and can be described as a new scramble for Africa that will also remind Africans of their colonial periods and how the western countries lured them with gifts and offers before taking control over their land and wealth.

China which is currently working with 48 countries in Africa and the relationship is well accommodated compared to other countries has a back dated friendship which started several thousand years, as far as the second century BC, during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) some of the China NGO I.E.C revealed, and that there were indirect trade of precious goods between the two.

China-Africa friendship has stood the test of international vicissitudes and is a worthy of contemporary friendly relations and developing countries, Africans have appreciated much the relationship of China’s trade deals and cooperation compared to other western countries and US arguing that their trade and cooperation arguments dictates their wheal; that you have to fight their fight. South Africa one of the countries who enjoys the benefits of china relationship have developed china-south Africa scholarship program which allows south African students to school in china through china-south African embassy, the program so far has supports 4,000 students each year.
The other appreciation came from media institutions in Africa of which Chinese government ,through its embassies in Africa, offered sponsorship for 900 journalists across Africa to attend World HIV/AIDS Conference which is coming next year and will be scheduled in South Africa.

The Chinese government argued in their website that they want to see that journalist across Africa don’t miss opportunity to report important issues which are of warrant serious consideration, and that from journal, the African continent will lightened.
Chinese health institutions have been for the few years seen as solution to some diseases like diabetes, ulcers, obesity, and tuberculosis among other diseases; it is believed in Kenya that they have the best doctors

For a long time China has rendered serious development to Somalia, which carted a wide range of support from education, healthcare and food support. They have then extended this, and currently to 48 Africa countries, making it one of the supportive countries to African countries.

The friendship of China and Africa is considered as a sincere and equal friendship which is believed to have lasted for 50 years, whether for independence or in economic development and national construction.

On 12th January 2006, the Chinese government issued an official white paper outlining ‘China African Policy.’ Whose general principles and objective are therefore as follows:-
o Sincerity friendship and equality.
o Mutual benefit, reciprocity and common prosperity.
o Mutual support and close coordination.
o Learning from each other and seeking common development.

With this ‘China - African Policy’ China has won the hearts of several Africa governments which observe relationship with countries like US and their support is based on winning supremacy code and not development, among those who view it like that are African leaders from Zimbabwe, Libya, Egypt, Somali amongst others.

Interesting is the policy measures China will take to boost it China-Africa cooperation, that; it will double its assistance to Africa by 2009, set up China-Africa developments fund, build conference center for African Union, cancel debts in form of all interest free government loans, open China market to Africa, train 15,000 African professionals, build 100 rural schools in Africa and increase number of Chinese government scholarship to African students from current 2000 per year to 4000 per year by 2009.

World Social Forum Conference which is schedule to take place every 2 years is strongly believed to be back in Africa in 2009, after its huge success in Kenya, to see if some of the actionable discussed in the conference was implemented, and looking to achieve its actionable themes in Africa which is believe to be down on socio-economic and political issues.
Other conferences focused on social issues like African Social Forum, SUFO of Switzerland, Nigerian Social Forum among others will strength the efforts and discussions on some of the issues discussed in the World social forum like health, leadership, gender equality amongst others. Much was at display and much was learned as 7th Edition of World Social Forum Conference.



KEY ISSUES DISCUSSED DURING THE WSF

HIV-AIDS The most important initiatives, proposals and actions related to this issue were focused on:
• How to deal with the delivery of needed treatment and low infrastructure settings.
• Treatment of HIV/AIDS, with a new focus on food security and adequate nutrition.
• To prioritize people over profits relates to Pharmaceutical companies and generic medicines intellectual property rights conflict.

External Debt An innovative concept was introduced Historical and Ecological Debt, that’s associate the debt with a demand for reparations derivates from the social, ecological and physical damages suffered by Southern countries from Northern countries. Also were established some agreements regarding to increase information related to external debt consequences.

Food Sovereignty
This concept makes allusion to the right of people to decide over their agricultural policies. From the African point of view the lack of food sovereignty it is linked to high levels of hunger, malnutrition and affects the self sustained agriculture. The main actions on this matter are addressed to avoid the future consequences that the new Economic Partnership Agreements (similar to Free Trade Agreements) could have over food sovereignty by the imposition of policies and market practices.

Sexual diversity , special attention was brought over the discrimination related to sexual orientation

Women’s concerns
Were focused in Food Sovereignty, reproductive rights, migration, land’s property and gender equality. and marginalization of women in decision-making processes

Communication Actions
Were oriented towards the recognition of communication rights as fundamentals for the exercise all human rights in the democratic process. It was also pointed out that communication and knowledge must be recognized as public services. Also that public policies need to be focus as well in the fields of information and communication.

Water
It was presented the recently created African Water Network, that involved more than 40 countries forty countries, which will start actions against the privatization of water in cooperation with allied networks from other countries and continents.

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