Re: Nepal Social Forum 2017 Consultation meeting
from
Kapil Shrestha
on Dec 15, 2017 10:45 AM
Dear Uddhav and friends,
A great many thanks for invitation. However, since I'm in Jhapa at moment
on some human rights elated mission, I deeply regret that I may not be able
to participate in meeting.
Warm hugs and regards.
Kapil Shrestha
On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 9:52 PM, Uddhab Pyakurel <upyakurel@...>
wrote:
> Dear Comrades
>
> I hope you have received an invitation from Nepal Social Forum Secretariat for
> the consultation to be held tomorrow (December 15, 2017) at Union House,
> Anamnagar at 3.00pm.
>
> Let us discuss about:
> 1. the main theme of the proposed Nepal Social Forum: Deepening Democracy
> in Nepal: an Endeavour to Ensure Dignity, Diversity, Justice and Equality
> ???
> 2. Date of the event: March 1 to 3????
> 3. Sub themes:
>
>> i. Social Justice and harmony
>>
>> ii. Environment Justice: Land and forest
>>
>> iii. Corruption and Good Governance
>>
>> iv. Electoral system: fair and actual representations
>>
>> v. Cast based discrimination and untouchability
>>
>> vi. Feudal labor practices and informal employment
>> system
>>
>> vii. Human Rights and fundamental privileges
>>
>> viii. Media and right to information
>>
>> ix. Participatory democracy and constitution making
>>
>> x. Transitional Justice
>>
>> xi. Gender justice and gender based violence
>>
>> xii. Minorities and social inclusion
>>
>> xiii. Rights of differently able people
>>
>> xiv. Rights to movement and migration
>>
>> xv. Children, adolescents and old aged people
>>
>> xvi. Culture and arts
>>
>> xvii. Economic solidarity and entrepreneurship
>>
> xviii Tax justice & Evasion.
>
> xviv Right to Information to Promote Good Governance
>
> ????? ???
>>
>> 4. Stall and event Charge: Stall charge has been fixed as NRs 5000/-
>> (five thousand rupees only) for an institution, NRs 3000/- (three thousand
>> rupees only) for event organizer for the hall with the capacity of 25
>> people and NRs 5000/- (five thousand rupees only) for the hall with the
>> capacity of 50 persons for an event, and NRs 6000/- (six thousand rupees
>> only) for food counter per day. ???
>>
> 5. Organising Committee/Committees: ????????????
>
>
>
> Regards
>
> Uddhab
> On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 3:11 PM, Bhola Bhattarai <nafannepal8@...>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear Sir/Madam,
>> Thank you for invitation. I will be there at 3 pm.
>>
>> Bhola Bhattarai
>>
>> On 13/12/2017, World Social Forum Nepal <wsfnepal2013@...> wrote:
>> > Dear Comrades
>> >
>> > As Dr. Uddhab Pyakurel wrote last month, Nepal WSF Secretariat has been
>> > busy in conducting bi-lateral and multi-lateral consultation of various
>> > stakeholders to explore the possibility to revive Nepal Social Forum
>> > process. As there were proposals for Nepal Social Forum to be organised
>> in
>> > Kathmandu in the first week of March 2018, we wish to invite you for the
>> > consultation on the December 15, 2017 at Union House, Anamnagar at
>> 3.00pm
>> > so that we start preparatory work to make the proposal a success.
>> >
>> > Also we would like to request you to please share contact emails of
>> other
>> > like-minded institutions so that we can inform them about the meeting.
>> >
>> >
>> > Sincerely Yours,
>> >
>> > *Nepal WSF Secretariat, **SADED-Nepal Office*
>> >
>> > *Sanepa, Lalitpur, **Nepal*
>> >
>> > *Email - wsfnepal2013@... <wsfnepal2013@...>*
>> >
>> > *Telephone - 977-1- 5535628*
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Thu, Nov 30, 2017 at 3:10 PM, Uddhab Pyakurel <upyakurel@...>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> Dear Comrades
>> >>
>> >> I find a very good write-up to understand what is Social Forum and
>> where
>> >> is it heading today. Please feel free to read and share your thoughts.
>> >>
>> >> Regards
>> >> Uddhab
>> >> [image: Home] <https://www.opendemocracy.net/>
>> >>
>> >> - openDemocracy <https://www.opendemocracy.net/>
>> >> - oD UK <https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk>
>> >> - oDR <https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia>
>> >> - oD 50.50 <https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050>
>> >> - democraciaAdddbierta
>> >> - TranDeesformation
>> >> - ourBeeb <https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourbeeb>
>> >> - About us <https://www.opendemocracy.net/about>
>> >> - Support us→
>> >>
>> >> Reinventing the World Social Forum: how powerful an idea can be
>> >> FRANCINE MESTRUM <https://www.opendemocracy.net
>> /author/francine-mestrum>
>> >> 18
>> >> November 2017
>> >>
>> >> The collective in Salvador has succeeded in bringing together thousands
>> >> of
>> >> organisations for preparing the Forum: the slogan is ‘to resist is to
>> >> create, to resist is to transform’.
>> >>
>> >> [image: open Movements] <https://opendemocracy.net/openmovements>
>> >> *The openMovements <https://opendemocracy.net/openmovements> series
>> >> invites leading social scientists to share their research results and
>> >> perspectives on contemporary social struggles.*
>> >>
>> >> *
>> >> <https://cdn.opendemocracy.net/files/imagecache/wysiwyg_imag
>> eupload_lightbox_preset/wysiwyg_imageupload/500209/corebranco-783x274.png
>> >*It
>> >> was in 2001. Almost a generation ago now! The first World Social Forum
>> >> (WSF) was organised in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the city of the Workers’
>> >> Party
>> >> of future president Lula da Silva and the city of the participatory
>> >> budget.
>> >> There was hope, much hope, and a belief that ‘another world’ was
>> possible
>> >> and that we could shape it. This became the slogan of all future WSFs.
>> >>
>> >> There were not that many people at this first meeting, though the fact
>> >> that almost 15,000 people from all over the world gathered at short
>> >> notice
>> >> was a real surprise. Those who had taken the initiative included people
>> >> from the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT), intellectuals from Latin
>> America,
>> >> Africa, Europe and Asia, such as François Houtart, people from the
>> French
>> >> monthly Le Monde Diplomatique… It was a real success and one year later
>> >> there were 50,000 making the trip to Brazil, with more than 1000
>> >> journalists! The World Social Forum was the reply to the World Economic
>> >> Forum in Davos and wanted to propose an alternative to neoliberal
>> >> globalisation.
>> >>
>> >> An ‘International Council’ was created in order to strengthen the
>> process
>> >> and a ‘Charter of Principles’ was written containing the main rules for
>> >> the
>> >> events.
>> >> Not in the name of the Forum
>> >>
>> >> One of the most important of these principles is that no one can ever
>> >> speak ‘in the name of’ the Forum. Participants can speak for their
>> >> organisations, possibly together with others, but not ‘as Forum’.
>> >> Organisations involved in the armed struggle are not welcome. The Forum
>> >> wants to be an ‘open space’, something that can be interpreted in
>> >> different
>> >> ways and at the same time needs to be seen as a guarantee for
>> >> ‘horizontality’ – no hierarchies, self-management and the democratic
>> >> participation of all.
>> >>
>> >> [image: lead]
>> >> <https://cdn.opendemocracy.net/files/imagecache/wysiwyg_imag
>> eupload_lightbox_preset/wysiwyg_imageupload/500209/773806570
>> _c9d2c0e39d_z.jpg>Opening
>> >> march of the World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela in January 2006.
>> >> Flickr/Brooke Anderson. Some rights reserved.Initially, the
>> international
>> >> council was a closed gathering of intellectuals who jealously guarded
>> >> their
>> >> privilege, tried to control the Forum process and discussed world
>> >> political
>> >> matters.[i]
>> >> <https://www.opendemocracy.net/francine-mestrum/reinventing-
>> world-social-forum-how-powerful-idea-can-be#_edn1>
>> >>
>> >> *Big crowds*
>>
>> >>
>> >> After three very successful forums in Brazil, the event left for
>> Mumbai,
>> >> India, with as much success. Nevertheless, the first small cracks came
>> to
>> >> light when the anti-capitalists, refusing to envisage even the
>> slightest
>> >> compromise, organised their own anti-imperialist forum, parallel to the
>> >> official WSF.
>> >>
>> >> Afterwards, we had a ‘polycentric’ Forum in Caracas, Venezuela, Bamako,
>> >> Mali and Karachi, Pakistan. One year later we moved to Nairobi, Kenya,
>> >> which was not a success because of failing organisation and a lack of
>> >> resources. We went back to Brazil with a gigantic Forum (150,000
>> people!)
>> >> in Belem and the focus on the Amazon region and its indigenous people.
>> We
>> >> tried Africa once more but again the organisation was below zero.
>> >>
>> >> The rules which were set up to guarantee democracy and horizontality
>> were
>> >> not as solid as expected. At each meeting of the international council
>> –
>> >> twice a year – a new commission, a new working-party or another liaison
>> >> committee was necessary to mend the cracks.
>> >>
>> >> But the cracks kept emerging and the global left appeared to be as weak
>> >> as
>> >> its national counterparts: bickering egos, divergent philosophies … the
>> >> European forums did not survive the endless squabbling.
>> >>
>> >> The belief in ‘another world’ came under threat after the events of 11
>> >> September 2001, and almost disappeared with the financial crisis of
>> >> 2007-2008. The WSF continued to gather, but became less dynamic.
>> >>
>> >> The Arab spring gave new hope and we organised an excellent Forum in
>> >> Tunis
>> >> in 2013 and another one in 2015.
>> >>
>> >> The Canadians proposed a new formula for the WSF and organised one in
>> >> Montreal in the summer of 2016. It was fine, but there were hardly any
>> >> organisations involved. As is the case for many young people today, its
>> >> philosophy was focused on individuals, with little vision of the global
>> >> world.
>> >>
>> >> *Bursting cracks*
>> >>
>> >> The Brazilians were fed up. They were no longer keen to organise
>> >> international council meetings and had doubts on future world social
>> >> forums. A couple of times, there were real clashes at meetings and one
>> >> had
>> >> to be an expert with lots of empathy to understand what was being said
>> >> during the debates. What was meant was hidden under several layers of
>> >> newspeak and empty concepts.[ii]
>> >> <https://www.opendemocracy.net/francine-mestrum/reinventing-
>> world-social-forum-how-powerful-idea-can-be#_edn2>
>> >>
>> >> It has often been said that the main problem of the WSF is the
>> opposition
>> >> between NGOs and social movements. NGOs are said to be reformist with
>> >> little or no contact with their social base, whereas social movements
>> are
>> >> supposed to be revolutionary and very popular. I do not believe this.
>> >> Some
>> >> NGOs are very revolutionary and some social movements know perfectly
>> well
>> >> how to keep their members in line.
>> >>
>> >> *So what’s up?*
>> >>
>> >> A first real problem is the failing and vague definition of the ‘open
>> >> space’, including its intrinsic ‘horizontality’. These are attractive
>> >> principles but they do need a concrete meaning. In any place where
>> people
>> >> are gathering, in small or less small groups, power relations will
>> exist
>> >> and these have to be monitored in a democratic way.
>> >>
>> >> If the ‘horizontality’ means that the really existing hierarchy remains
>> >> hidden behind a non-defined principle, problems with accountability and
>> >> transparency will necessarily arise. If structures are so complex that
>> no
>> >> one knows who has to do what, misunderstandings are inevitable. A small
>> >> group within the international council continued to request a light
>> >> structure with clear responsibilities and transparency, to no avail.
>> >> Those
>> >> who have power, especially if it remains invisible, will not accept any
>> >> changes.In Europe as well as in Latin America, Asia and Africa,
>> democracy
>> >> is threatened. The differences are often smaller than they seem to be
>> at
>> >> first sight.
>> >>
>> >> A second problem is that some of the Brazilian ‘fathers’ of the Forum
>> >> fear
>> >> political positions.[iii]
>> >> <https://www.opendemocracy.net/francine-mestrum/reinventing-
>> world-social-forum-how-powerful-idea-can-be#_edn3>
>> >> Even
>> >> if the first Forum was organised just before the elections that made
>> Lula
>> >> president of the country – and promoting his candidacy – today, there
>> is
>> >> a
>> >> tremendous fear of touching anything political. This obviously is very
>> >> absurd when one wants to shape ‘another world’, but it does lead to a
>> >> permanent struggle between a small club of ‘fathers’ and the many
>> dynamic
>> >> and younger members of the international council. The former do not
>> want
>> >> to
>> >> organise general forums any more and instead focus on thematic forums,
>> >> such
>> >> as on water, migration or nuclear matters. They keep focusing on
>> >> diversity
>> >> and the idea of ‘convergence’ makes them shiver.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> <https://cdn.opendemocracy.net/files/imagecache/wysiwyg_imag
>> eupload_lightbox_preset/wysiwyg_imageupload/500209/Opening_w
>> alk_of_2002_World_Social_Forum.jpg>Opening
>>
>> >> walk of the World Social Forum, 2002. Wikicommons/Passeata de Abertura.
>> >> Some rights reserved.The third problem, finally, is purely material: a
>> >> lack of resources. A meeting of the international council will easily
>> >> cost
>> >> around 100,000 euros, except if all pay their own ticket. The budget
>> for
>> >> the forum in Salvador is around 2.5 million Euro, a very modest amount
>> >> compared to previous forums. The fact that the international council
>> paid
>> >> tickets for many of its members made it very easy to make alliances.
>> Now
>> >> that this has stopped, it is only the more autonomous members who
>> remain
>> >> and can put the ‘old guard’ in a minority position.
>> >>
>> >> Financial constraints, all over the world, make it very difficult for
>> >> many
>> >> movements to make long trips. It explains why the last forums may have
>> >> been
>> >> a success but were not really ‘global’ forums any more. The
>> participation
>> >> of Africa has dwindled, Asian participation has almost disappeared.
>> >> A new beginning
>> >>
>> >> The international council meeting in Porto Alegre in January 2017 was a
>> >> real turning point. Two and a half days long, discussions were serious
>> >> and
>> >> calm, everyone fearing to repeat the clash of Montreal, where even in
>> >> spite
>> >> of a consensus, it was not possible to condemn the ‘coup’ in Brazil.
>> But
>> >> the last half day, the old guard flatly refused to envisage a next
>> Forum
>> >> in
>> >> Salvador in spring 2018. They were defeated …
>> >>
>> >> Now, in October 2017, another meeting of the international council took
>> >> place in Salvador in order to concretely prepare the Forum. It was a
>> very
>> >> positive and constructive meeting, without any conflicts. The movements
>> >> in
>> >> Salvador are very dynamic, all are very optimistic about the chances
>> for
>> >> the next Forum.We have to act as adults, forget all egocentricity and
>> >> learn to search for what we have in common.
>> >>
>> >> A very interesting cooperation with the Federal University of Bahia, a
>> >> public establishment with more than 200,000 students, is very
>> promising.
>> >> After the international council meeting, we had an international
>> >> conference
>> >> with activists and academics, with very good results. For the rector of
>> >> the
>> >> University, this is a unique opportunity for reaching out to society.
>> The
>> >> opening ceremony was particularly moving, with, obviously, many
>> >> discourses,
>> >> but also lots of music, theatre and poetry, and lots, lots of politics.
>> >>
>> >> These are politically difficult times for Brazil, the memory of the
>> >> military dictatorship remains vivid and moreover, in the same way as in
>> >> other parts of the world, a struggle needs to be organised against
>> >> budgetary cuts in education and research.
>> >>
>> >> The collective in Salvador has succeeded in bringing together thousands
>> >> of
>> >> organisations for preparing the Forum, trade unions will be massively
>> >> participating, the slogan is ‘to resist is to create, to resist is to
>> >> transform’. In the same way as in the past, the Forums offered an
>> >> opportunity to directly listen to Chavez, Lula, Correa and Morales, the
>> >> proposal now is to invite Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.
>> >>
>> >> All are very optimistic about the chances of the next Forum. The
>> >> movements
>> >> are very dynamic and the international council can also take a new
>> start.
>> >> From the one hundred and fifty movements on the list, fifty have
>> >> confirmed
>> >> they believe in its future.
>> >> A global transversal gathering
>> >>
>> >> The WSF is not the only global Forum. Thanks to the many initiatives
>> that
>> >> were taken from the 1990s onwards, many thematic networks have been
>> >> created
>> >> and they continue their very useful work. But the WSF is the only
>> global
>> >> transversal gathering where different groups can discuss their
>> >> objectives,
>> >> their strategies and their campaigns. There is now a general
>> >> understanding
>> >> that climate justice is not possible without social justice, that peace
>> >> is
>> >> not possible without climate and social justice and that media play a
>> >> very
>> >> important role in all these sectors. It therefore is urgent to sit and
>> >> plan
>> >> together. In Mexico, a major Forum on migration will be organised in
>> >> November 2018 and we all know that labour law, climate change and peace
>> >> will have to be discussed there.In Mexico, a major Forum on migration
>> >> will be organised in November 2018 and we all know that labour law,
>> >> climate
>> >> change and peace will have to be discussed there.
>> >>
>> >> Too many movements have now withdrawn to the local level and have
>> >> forgotten that local and global levels are not opposed or hierarchical.
>> >> They need to go hand in hand. Moreover, in Europe a new tendency to put
>> >> up
>> >> more barriers is growing, whereas we need the opposite. The WSF can
>> make
>> >> an
>> >> important contribution to this.
>> >>
>> >> This Forum can be a new start. The old guard of the opponents has
>> >> certainly not disappeared and one may expect it will make itself heard
>> >> once
>> >> again after March 2018. That is why major mobilisations in Latin
>> America,
>> >> Europe, Africa and Asia are very important, because yes, another world
>> is
>> >> possible. Does anyone believe the world today is in a better shape than
>> >> fifteen years ago? That the demands of the alter-globalist movement are
>> >> now
>> >> irrelevant? We should not be afraid of politics, on the contrary. But
>> we
>> >> have to act as adults, forget all egocentricity and learn to search for
>> >> what we have in common.
>> >>
>> >> Today, some global initiatives are worth defending, such as the social
>> >> protection ‘floors’ of the ILO, or the Sustainable Development Goals of
>> >> the
>> >> United Nations. But these certainly deserve a boost from social
>> movements
>> >> in order to make them really transformative. We have to act as adults,
>> >> forget all egocentricity and learn to search for what we have in
>> common.
>> >>
>> >> Hopefully, many movements and people will participate in the Forum,
>> >> directly, in Salvador, or at a distance, thanks to the new
>> technologies.
>> >> The very interesting local initiatives, in Europe, Africa or Asia can
>> >> learn
>> >> from what is happening in Latin America, and vice versa. Working
>> >> together,
>> >> movements are strengthened and better able to tackle the dominant
>> system.
>> >> If the World Social Forum succeeds in giving a voice to many different
>> >> voices, in helping movements search for their commonalities, respecting
>> >> their diversity, this Forum can play a major role.
>> >>
>> >> In Europe as well as in Latin America, Asia and Africa, democracy is
>> >> threatened. The differences are often smaller than they seem to be at
>> >> first
>> >> sight. By working together, we are stronger and have more chances to
>> win.
>> >> We do not need new borders but have to build new bridges.
>> >>
>> >> The fathers of the World Social Forum have created a very powerful idea
>> >> <http://fsm2018.org/en/>!
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> [i]
>> >> <https://www.opendemocracy.net/francine-mestrum/reinventing-
>> world-social-forum-how-powerful-idea-can-be#_ednref1>
>> >> An
>> >> extensive literature now exists on the World Social Forum. Here are
>> >> mentioned some of the first and most important books : Fisher, W.F. &
>> >> Poniah, T., *Another World is Possible, *London, Zed Books, 2003;
>> Polet,
>> >> F. (ed.), *Globalizing Resistance, *London, Pluto Press, 2004; Pleyers,
>> >> G., *Alter-Globalization. Becoming Actors in the Global Age,
>> *Cambridge,
>> >> Polity Press, 2010.
>> >>
>> >> [ii]
>> >> <https://www.opendemocracy.net/francine-mestrum/reinventing-
>> world-social-forum-how-powerful-idea-can-be#_ednref2>
>> >> For
>> >> a kind of overview, see Boaventura de Sousa Santos, ‘Indispensável
>> >> Reinvençao’ in *Carta Capital, *18 Outubro de 2017, p. 40.
>> >>
>> >> [iii]
>> >> <https://www.opendemocracy.net/francine-mestrum/reinventing-
>> world-social-forum-how-powerful-idea-can-be#_ednref3>
>> >> To
>> >> better understand the origins of the WSF, read Milcíades Pena, A. &
>> >> Davies,
>> >> T.R., ‘Globalisation from Above? Corporate Social Responsibility, the
>> >> Workers’ Party and the Origins of the World Social Forum’ in *New
>> >> Political Economy, *2013.
>> >>
>> >> On Mon, Nov 27, 2017 at 8:07 PM, Uddhab Pyakurel <upyakurel@...>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Dear WSF comrades
>> >>>
>> >>> I wish to inform you about the bi-lateral/multi-lateral consultation
>> to
>> >>> revive Nepal WSF process. Some of our friends are for the national
>> level
>> >>> Social Forum to be organised in Kathmandu in the first week of March
>> >>> 2018.
>> >>> If we feel like we can do it, we need to sit together and finalise the
>> >>> themes, registration process and deadline, etc.
>> >>>
>> >>> We expect your constructive suggestions shortly so that we can move
>> >>> ahead....
>> >>>
>> >>> regards
>> >>> Uddhab
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Uddhab Pyakurel, PhD
> School of Arts, KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY, NEPAL.
> +977-9841566932 <+977%20984-1566932> (Nepal)/+977-15535628
> <+977%201-5535628>
> Skype: uddhab.pyakurel1
>
>
>
text.html (text/html) 36.0 kB