European Social Forum: Debating the challenges for its future

After three European Social Forums (ESF) we need to step back and ask: what
next? This newsletter is an attempt to provide a multitude of answers to
this question, reflecting upon the Forum’s purpose, practical achievements
and methods of organisation.

European Social Forum: Debating the challenges for its future

1. Introduction

Oscar Reyes, Hilary Wainwright, Mayo Fuster I Morrell and Marco Berlinguer

After three European Social Forums (ESF) we need to step back and ask: what
next? This newsletter is an attempt to provide a multitude of answers to
this question, reflecting upon the Forum’s purpose, practical achievements
and methods of organisation. We present a range of individual and collective
assessments, from many different standpoints. In this introduction we try to
identify some issues which recur in these assessments and which need to be
addressed, if not immediately resolved, in order for the process to develop
creatively

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/intro.htm

2 Individual Assessments of the 3rd ESF and beyond

Bouteldja Naima: Complot Islamiste au Forum Social Européen?

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/complot.htm

Callinicos Alex : Building on the success of the London ESF

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/callinicos.htm

Candeias Mario : Antinomies: Relations between Social Movements, Left
Political Parties and State

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/candeias.htm

Cannavo Salvatore: The Success of the London Forum

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/cannavo_it.htm

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/cannavo_en.htm

De Angelis Massimo: Evaluating the London ESF

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/masimo.htm

Fawkes Guy: Il limite del movimento, la forza del movimento: Intervista a Ken "il rosso" Livingstone

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/ken_livingstone.htm

George Susan: Taking the movement forward

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/susan_george.htm

Gineste Pierre: Reflecting on the ESF

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/gineste.htm

Juris Jeff : The London ESF and the Politics of Autonomous Space

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/jeff.htm?SectionID=41&ItemID=6552

Kagarlitsky Boris: Social Forum Does London

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/SFdoesLondon.htm

Kingsnorth Paul : Time to Get Serious

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/get_serious.htm

Levidow Les: ESF 2004: Facilitating or Precluding Another World? Contradictory process

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/lev.htm

Longhi Vittorio : Trade Unions and the ESF

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/longui.htm

Massiah Gustave: La Place Des «Sans Droits » dans les Forums Sociaux

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/massiah.htm

Nunes Rodrigo : Territory and Deterritory: Inside and Outside the ESF 2004,
New Movement Subjectivities

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/nunes.htm
French

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/nunes_fr.htm
Portugese

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/nunes_sp.htm

Pizzo Ana : Londra val bene una mossa

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/ana_pizo.htm

Wainwright Hilary: The European Social Forum Comes to London

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/wainwright.htm

Yulis Panayotis: One step forward, how many back?

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/one-step.htm
Greek:

http://www.epohi.gr/yulis_european_movement_movements_31102004.htm

3 Collective Assessments of the 3rd ESF and beyond

Attac France: The European Social Forum: Appraisal and Future Perspectives

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/attac-en.htm
French:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/attac_fr.htm
Spanish:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/attac-sp.htm
German:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/attac_du.htm

Attac Europe: Contribution to the discussion on the ESF process

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/attac-europe.htm

Babels France: Bilan du FSE 2004 de Londres

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/babels-france.htm

Belgian Social Forum : Some practical suggestions on the ESF Process

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/belgian.htm

Call of assembly of social movements

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/mmss-en.htm
French:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/mmss_fr.htm

Call of precariat assembly

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/precariat_en.htm
French:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/precariat_fr.htm

COBAS: Il Forum sociale europeo a Londra

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/cobas.htm

French Committee of Initiative

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/french_comittee.htm

FSU (France): Bilan et perspectives après le 3ème FSE

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/fsu_fr.htm

Germany: Explanation of the ESF process

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/articulo_alle_ingles.htm
German:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/articulo_alleman.htm

Greek Social Forum: A statement on the 4th ESF

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/greek.htm

Gruppo di lavoro per l'assemblea di Parigi: Notes for the
extrarordinary meeting of ESF Paris

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/lavatori-en.htm
Italian:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/nota_lavatore_it.htm
French:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/lavatori-fr.htm

Local Social Forums Network, UK: A Different ESF Is
Possible

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/another.htm

London Social Forum

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/london.htm

Tavolo Migranti Italia, Act Up Paris, Amplitude-No One Is Illegal Germany

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/migranti_en.htm
Italian:

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/migranti_it.htm

4 Learning from practice

Andreotti Vanessa and Dowling Emma : Social forums as
pedagogical space

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/andreotti.htm

Bodie Annie: Autonomous Spaces

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/bodie.htm

Boeri Julie and Hodkinson Stuart : Babels and the politics of
language at the heart of social Forum

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/babel.htm

Diesner Dagmar: Kids Space

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/kids.htm
Migration report

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/migration.htm

Fuster I Morrell Mayo: InvestigAction and Social Forums

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/mayo.htm

Gosselin Sophie: Nomad

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/nomad_sophie.htm

Habermann Friedericke: Popular education

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/popular-education.htm

Hache Alex: ESF and communication

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/communication.htm

Jones Dave: ESF Media and Communications Strategies

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/dave-jones.htm

Nunes Rodrigo : Culture at the social forums

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/nunes-icing.htm

Preiss Potira and Tiago Eduardo Genehr: Social forums and the
environment

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/environment.htm

Reyes Oscar :

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/oscar.htm
Paying for another world

5 Perspectives on the ESF and its future

ESF Questionnaire (please answer in English or French)

1. What are the most positive outcomes of the ESF process?

2. What are the main problems with the ESF process?

3. What changes would you implement to make the ESF process more effective?

4. What has the ESF helped your organisation or collective to achieve?

5. Which struggles, issues, problems, proposals or challenges would you like
to see prioritised at the next ESF?

6. Please include your name, and the name of your organisation or collective
(if any).

We would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to respond to the
following questions and return them to info2[at]moviments.net. Responses will
appear here soon.

6 Structures and decision-making at the ESF

Bohn Lars: ESF: Addressing the democratic deficit

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/lars.htm

Nicholas Haerbinger: Towards the WSF 2005

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/nicolas.htm

Maeckelbergh Marianne : Perhaps we should just flip a coin: macro and
microstructures of the European Social Forum Processes

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/flipacoin.htm

Magnus E. Marsdal and others: European assembly: Could we have better
meetings?

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/better_meetings.htm

Hilary Wainwright: For a participatory ESF

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/hillary.htm

Bibliography and weblinks

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/biblio.htm

Eurotopia

http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter/eurotopia.htm

Useful Guide for Social Transformation in Europe

http://www.euromovements.info/

sam bodie
Homepage: http://www.euromovements.info/newsletter

Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

Build the Foundations

21.12.2004 05:50

Developing into an intuition of capitalist democracy is the overarching problem facing the ESF. This was the tendency of the London ESF, although it was challenged by some of the active participants. If this process continues the ESF will quickly become redundant as a challenge to capitalism - in fact it will supporting it

Local political and social structures are necessary from which national and international ones are derived, which need to be based on participatory democracy and not the representative pseudo-democracy favoured by capitalism, and some actively engaged in the ESF process.

It is not that each individual should be put on the top of the pyramid; it is that there should be no pyramid. In such ways, the pyramids of capital will become redundant tombs, as new structures replace them.

Link to many other reports on the ESF that have appeared on IndyMedia:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/300096.html

PS. A brief report from last weeks meeting in Paris about the future of the ESF would have been much more useful at this stage. Could one of the 'representatives' please post one.
Cheers.

Harry

Reflections & analysis: the WOMBLES, the ESF & beyond

21.12.2004 16:29

Thanks for posting all these article links above.

To contribute to the long list of reflections and listed, see also 'Reflections & analysis: the WOMBLES, the ESF & beyond'.

For the full text, see

http://www.wombles.org.uk/auto/reflections.php

WOMBLES
mail e-mail: wombles@hushmail.com
Homepage: http://www.wombles.org.uk/auto/reflections.php