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DRAFT LETTER SUBMITTED TO GROUP G1  DOWNLOAD

 

This letter is entrusted to WSF IC members to be conveyed to “WSF2015 initiative groups” , interested by the idea of (co)-organizing WSF2015 edition, to prepare for a next WSF IC meeting held before end of 2013 in the Maghreb Mashrek region.

Dear participants in WSF process

This is a letter about general considerations and practical indications on preparation of WSF2015 edition

 

FLUID GLOBAL CONTEXT FOR  A WSF EVENT IN 2015

WSF process started in 2001 through a first WSF event in Brazil, designed to face “world economical forum” of Davos, and it expanded to Europe South East Asia and Africa, through many type of events. It is now well established in the Maghreb-Mashrek region, as is reflected by the successful wsf2013 event held In Tunisia. A biennial rhythm of WSF event is established Since 2007.

The possible edition of WSF 2015 will take place in a context which is “fluid” in many dimensions.

Since 2001, there is on one side, a deepening of the civilization and ecological crisis, linked to neoliberal economics and politics patterns promoted by global West “elites”, while on the other side, societies either“emerging in “development”” or moving to second demographic revolution are reflecting the intense changes they experiment. Resistances and promotion of alternatives are equally important, and WSF can provide a convergence/combination pot for them.

Practice of massive citizen mobilization in public space is spreading since 2011 in both contexts with new more horizontal modalities and active participation of the youth. To Keep WSF alter-global dialogic space well connected and attractive to those dynamics across the world, is a bracing challenge to organizations and movements currently present in WSF.

 

DECISION ABOUT WSF2015 IN NEXT IC MEETING

Social forum organizing culture is a “common recipe” and a “set of principles” enriched with accumulated shared experience. These allow for each event a group of social forum event organizers to re-built the “open space tool” in a specific context.

Building up a big WSF event or a part of big polycentric WSF event is a tough task, which requires 12 to 18 months of effort, based on experience. Hence, end of 2013 is a reasonable limit to make known which WSF 2015 initiative groups proposes to commit to organize or co-organize a WSF 2015 edition, with support of IC WSF.

The next IC meeting plenary scheduled end of 2013 is then decisive about orientation on the global WSF 2015 event format (concentrated or polycentric, and extended) and definition of the various WSf2015 initiatives that could be part of it. WSf2015 initiative groups, are then invited to come and present their political and logistical event project on the IC mailing list and in this meeting.

 

FORMAT AND CRITERIA FOR SHAPING WSF2015

WSF events and, in their wake, many thematic and lower scale general social forums, are deemed a good “tool” to connect struggles and hopes of many activists worldwide, who are involved in movements and mobilizations, promoting basic citizen rights in their respective national and regional conditions, amidst the fluid global changes and crisis context mentioned above.

The WSf2015 initiative groups, are of course invited to explain and illustrate in their presentation how they would practice, in the political and logistical build up process which are intimately entangled, the charter of principles of WSF and the guiding principles for organizing an event ( with recommendations on 18 main points) http://openfsm.net/projects/ic-methodology/metcom-pgoex

The guiding principles for organizing an event exist in a check list format, which may help to conduct self reviews and assessment before presenting the initiative in IC http://openfsm.net/projects/ic-methodology/metcom-principiosguias-checklist

The success of WSF2015 event will be assessed along many dimensions: the quality of political and logistical preparation, the level of involvement of energies available in IC WSF, the building of convergences months in advance , the inclusion of wsf2015 in the strategies of many organizations, the perceived relevancy of issues brought by participants to it, the number of participants direct and extended (through tele-exchange, tele-participation, local activities), the richness in subsequent convergence outputs, the media impact etc…

The format of the WSF 2015 event can be tailored in this IC meeting, according to opportunities and needs: It can be centralized, or polycentric, -with several centers where it is easier and cheaper to travel to- , it can be extended. Combination of extension and polycentrism may allow more participation worldwide.

The place(s) proposed for wsf2015 event need to meet certain criteria, political relevance, vividness of civil society, a certain level of democratic public space, accessibility (travel cost, visa, internet quality, and accommodation). The characteristics of 2013 event was that it took place in an accessible attractive yet tense country emblematic of “Arab spring”.

The build in of WSf2015 extension in the build up of WSF2015 event, is a strategic trend : with its political and logistical dimensions. It makes WSF process less dependent of travel cost and closer to local movements or local branches of global organizations.

 

PRACTICAL TIMES AND STEPS

Announcement deadline : If your Group is willing to be organizing a WSF 2015 stand alone or be part of a WSF2015 polycentric event, it is kindly invited to announce its WSF 2015 initiative on the IC list directly or through IC member it may know by end of September.

Presentation deadline The WSf2015 build up presentation in IC meeting should include a written document circulated on line 15 days before the next IC meeting at latest, and will be given up to one hour and a half in the IC meeting agenda.  A general WSf2015 shaping discussion will follow the presentations.

Preparatory discussion on line – this discussion will take place in group G1 list, and can expand to IC mailing list in the month before the meeting. Persons from WSF2015 Initiative groups introduced by an IC member can be included in the G1 groups.

 

We sincerely look forward to those exchanges with WSF 2015 initiatives groups.

Working group G1 for practical tasks
(page and list : http://openfsm.net/projects/cifutur/cifutur-practical-tasks