• dibco1 2020 discusionfsm input28 comment0 en

last modified August 19, 2020 by facilitfsm


DECLARATION ON THE WSF - A NECESSARY DIALOGUE

(Document open for adhesion)

 

The undersigned organizations agree to forward this message to each and every global social movement, especially those who continue to believe that another world is possible, urgent and necessary. The objective is to collaborate with the debate that has occurred in the process of reflection on the role of social movements and,@1 in particular, of the WSF itself in this global context of overlapping crises, which was aggravated by the pandemic. For us, everyone is legitimate to think and propose alternatives for the common future of humanity. For this reason, we commend the initiatives that call for a dialogue on the necessary changes in the dynamics of the WSF in the face of an increasingly unequal, unsustainable and authoritarian world. We commend the initiatives that call for a frank, open debate, without dogmas and prejudices.

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We declare that we see @2 no contradiction between the WSF being a meeting space, a space for articulation of actions and an actor on the international scene. We understand how rich the experiences of dialogue, drafting proposals and building common strategies that social forums have provided over these 20 years. There are countless networks and articulations that arose in the spaces of the Social Forum and countless proposals elaborated and implemented over these decades, many of them, becoming public policies implemented by governments in several Continents.

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 @3 We also understand that the WSF has already acted as a global actor, publishing statements, leading global actions, defending ideas and values. It has been a space of diversity, richness and breadth of social movements, as occurred at the WSF2018 in Salvador. However, it is undeniable that this has not accounted for the enormous challenges presented by the international situation. Life calls for haste.

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The radical nature of planetary crises requires that social movements become a conscious vanguard of their role in defending life and the planet, in the urgent overcoming of the capitalist way of life and the need for radically democratic, horizontal and diverse spaces for dialogue and articulation. @4 One of the ways to seek the construction of convergences is to list what unites us, adds us, brings us closer together. Leaving old swoops and differences in the background. The WSF, due to its history and legitimacy, can play an important role in articulating all forms of resistance in this regard. We believe that this requires changes in the WSF environment.

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 @5 One of them is the expansion of protagonism and the empowerment of those networks and movements that have led international anti-capitalist struggles, notably the mobilizations against climate change, for gender equality, anti-racism and anti-patriarchal, against austerity policies and the dismantling of social and economic protections of populations. It is necessary to recognize the aging of certain forms of struggles and the novelty of new strategies. The WSF must seek to have the breadth and representativeness of global resistance movements.

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Our diversity is also in the ways in which we think, organize and exercise power. There are very different political cultures, some more centralizing and others more horizontal. @6 Therefore, along with this empowerment, it is necessary to deepen a decision-making methodology that starts from valuing diversity, that respects the right to divergence, that is based on respect and solidarity. Have a non-hegemonic methodology, deeply democratic, recognizing and valuing diversity. Have a decision-making methodology that respects divergences, but is not prohibited by them. No to the dictatorships of the majority or minorities. 

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@7 Recognize that overcoming the method is the door to the construction of convergences in diversity. This is a fundamental sense for building convergences while respecting our diversities. As we are diverse, we cannot start from the premise of the need to standardize thoughts, strategies and forms of actions. It is necessary to exercise listening and a radical commitment with respect to the look of the other.

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That said, the undersigned organizations are open to dialogue about the necessary changes in the WSF processes,@8 from the active search for the expansion of representations of international movements and mobilizations, through the restructuring of the logic of facilitation and governance of the processes. Provided that these changes come in order to guarantee the empowerment of women, black women, LGBTQI + communities, indigenous peoples, anti-racist movements, social movements for the defense of rights and all popular movements in the world.

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@9  We are open to discussing the update of the WSF methodology and its role in the global anti-capitalist struggle process. We are not dogmatic about methodologies.

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 @10 We just don't give up the radicalism of democracy.

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 @11 If the proposed new WSF broadens democratic horizons in relations between our social movements, we will have already taken a fundamental step towards the construction of this other possible world, so urgent and necessary.