At the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, someone (it is not clear who) decided to organise a separate Social Forum for each continent. The European Social Forum is planned for Florence (Firenze) in November.

The reasons for the existence of such large assemblies of social movements are simple. First, the organisers hope to establish their credibility as 'The Leaders' of these large social movements. Second, they also want to define some form of political programme for the movement, according to their own priorities. That does not mean the organisers are a monolith - but only well-organised and well-funded groups can be exercise influence in the preparation of large international meetings. Third, the Social Forums are an opportunity for official institutions to influence their opponents, with strategies of co-optation. The World Social Forum was partly controlled by the Ford Foundation, the Canadian Foreign Ministry, and the German Green Party (of Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer). The initiative came primarily from Attac, a group close to French premier Lionel Jospin.

In the case of the European Social Forum, the organisers want to establish themselves as 'the leaders of the European social movements'. They want to become a negotiating partner of the European Union / European Commission. They probably hope for some official recognition of this status, - and perhaps subsidy from the European Commission. (Note that there was already a body called the European Social Forum in 1997/1998, it was a consultative group with the European Commission).

It appears that the European Social Forum in Florence will be a semi-official meeting, under the patronage of the Region of Toscane (Tuscany). Apparently the President of the Regional Administration - Claudio Martini of the Democratic Left - took the initiative to invite (and subsidise) the ESF. He was present at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, leading an official delegation. A clever man, several steps ahead of politicians in other countries, he saw the voter potential of the anti-globalisation movement.

France and Italy were the two possible locations of the European Social Forum. According to Italian media reports, Florence was chosen because...
- the French organisers (ATTAC) had compromised themselves, by their close alliance with the Jospin government.
- the Regional and City governments in Florence had more to offer than the other 2 possible venues, Venice and Naples.

Exactly who takes all these decisions is clouded in secrecy. Possibly the decision to locate the ESF in Italy was taken in Porto Alegre, by 'a delegation of European social movements'. However, there is no public record of this meeting, or the participants. Martini may have offered Florence as a location at that time.

In any case the choice of Florence has aligned the European Social Forum with the 'Democratic Left' party, and made it part of Italian domestic politics. Here is Martini's decision to welcome the ESF, on 24 April
 http://www.regione.toscana.it/ius/ns-presidente/?MIval=seconda&CODICE=135

For later updates on the Region and the ESF see Martini's website:
 http://presidente.regione.toscana.it

The City of Florence (Firenze) is also involved. The party of premier Berlusconi, Forza Italia, opposed the ESF, but not as strongly as you might expect. This is the motion of their councillors from Berlusconi's party Forza Italia, opposing the ESF
 http://www.comune.firenze.it/consi/SocialForumgiocoli.htm

In a meeting with Claudio Martini on 17 April, the representative of the Italian Social Forums (Vittorio Agnoletto) gave assurances about the structure of the ESF - in defiance of all the propaganda about it being an 'open' structure. Martini demanded that the meeting should include a dialogue with 'the institutions' and insisted on a special role for the social organisations in the Region (meaning: his own party and its allied NGO's).
 http://presidente.regione.toscana.it/temi/g8/incontro-agnoletto.htm

So the 'organising meetings' for the ESF in other countries are unreal. They have nothing to say about the content of the ESF - it is all being decided in Italy. The organising committee in Italy is taking all the decisions about the ESF - about who to exclude, about censorship, and about co-operation with the sponsors. They are negotiating deals about the structure of the ESF, and its agenda. The committee includes representatives of the Communist Refoundation, and associations aligned with the Democratic Left. These two parties, both of them descended from the old Communist Party of Italy, are the main political influence on the ESF, at least in Italy itself.

This report from la Nazione gives some details of how the choice was made.
 http://lanazione.quotidiano.net/chan/4/3:3209314:/2002/04/07

Interesting detail: the decision was taken by a group of six people meeting at the Rimini congress of the Communist Refoundation, Prc. At a meeting in Vienna on 12 May, the 'European Council' will decide the date and more details. It's not clear who this 'Council' is, and if meets separately from the publicly announced co-ordination meeting in Vienna.

The six people are
Peppe De Cristofaro - Giovani comunisti, i.e. the youth organisation of the Prc
Pierluigi Sullo - Carta
Alfio Nicotra - Prc representative at the Italian social forums
Tom Benetollo - national president of the Arci
Marco Bersani - Attac Italy
Bruno Paladini of the Cobas (union local committees).

Here is the report from Il Manifesto of 07 April 2002, which gives the name of Salvatore Cannavò instead of Bersani.

Il Forum sociale europeo dovrebbe svolgersi a Firenze tra novembre e dicembre prossimi. La notizia arriva dal congresso di Rifondazione comunista a Rimini, dove è presente il «gruppo di contatto» composto da Alfio Nicotra e Peppe De Cristofaro (Prc), Pierluigi Sullo, direttore di Carta, Salvatore Cannavò, vicedirettore di Liberazione, Tom Benetollo, presidente dell'Arci, e Bruno Palladini, del Movimento antagonista toscano.
Proprio in questi giorni sarebbero venute meno le resistenze su Firenze e quindi è molto probabile che il Social forum europeo si svolga nel capoluogo toscano. Ma la decisione formale arriverà nel riunione dei Social forum italiano del 21 aprile. In quella sede si discuterà anche il programma del Social forum europeo. Gran parte dell'evento sarà impostato l'11 e il 12 maggio a Vienna.

These people are the 'leaders' of the European Social Forum, for the present at least, unless someone deposes them. In any case some important decisions have already been made about the structure of the ESF.

It will not be open to individuals. Only groups and organisations can attend.

The agenda is (so far) limited to these points:
- the creation of a Citizen's Charter for Europe in opposition to the constitutional models forwarded by the EU;
- an agenda of mobilisations against war, militarisation of politics and the production and trade of weapons in the EU;
- Europe's role in the world with particular attention to CEE, and the Mediterranean area;
- organisation of cultural events and mass demonstrations in new forms.

Source: Appeal for the Vienna Preparatory Meeting of the European Social Forum
 http://www.esf-vienna.org/esf/english/appeal

This means a huge range of issues is off the agenda, especially controversial issues like terrorism. (Probably the organisers want the ESF to issue an unconditional condemnation of terrorism, without any discussion). Some reports suggest that organisations must also support the World Social Forum Charter, or perhaps for the Appeal of the Social Movements at Porto Alegre. Probably people will not be asked to sign a 'loyalty oath' to the WSF at the door. However, the organisers might use the Charter, as a reason to exclude groups they do not like.

It is apparently the intention to nominate a 'European Council of the European Social Forum' during the preparatory meeting in Vienna 11/12 May. It is not clear who will select the members of this Council, or how they are nominated. Perhaps they will be self-nominated during the open preparatory meeting, perhaps privately chosen by the Italian organising committee.