Wereldvrouwenmars Nederland

World March of Women INTERNATIONAL MEETING

As you may be aware, there has been a change in the dates of the World March of Women’s 4^th International Meeting that will be held in India. It will now take place from March 18 to 22, 2003. This change allows us to have time to continue looking for funds and prepare for the meeting. We will fill our suitcases with feminist analysis, prepare the discussions on our future structure and make plans for 2005 in relation to common world-wide actions of the March. Remember that each country is invited to send a maximum of three delegates who represent the March in their country.

In the meantime, the World March Follow-up Committee will meet in Montréal in December for these reasons:
·         To finalize the agenda for the meeting in India in March 2003 and to make headway on the 2003-2005 strategic plan        of action, which will be discussed in light of feedback from the national coordinating bodies on the working document;
·         Prepare the World March of Women’s participation in the World Social Forum;
·         Evaluate and analyze the work of the World March working groups.

world SOCIAL forum III – another world is Possible

The World Social Forum (WSF) is characterized as an alternative process of discussion and proposals from the viewpoint of another kind of globalization; it is conceived as a pluralist, diversified space. Between the inhabitants of Porto Alegre and delegates from all around the world, some 100,000 people are expected to participate.

This year—the third— the WSF is planned as a strategic process, with the aim of having the social, feminist, labour and other movements build alliances to strengthen all of the spaces represented at the Forum, thereby moving in the direction of the kind of globalization we want, of that other possible world. We need this allied force to bring about another kind of globalization so as to stop the advance of the neoliberal kind, which has brought our peoples more and more poverty and, by the same token, increasingly difficult living conditions.

The World Social Forum will be held January 23 to 28, 2003, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Five major thematic areas have been decided:

1 - Democratic sustainable development;
2 - Principles and values, human rights, diversity and equality;
3 - Media, culture and counter-hegemony;
4 - Political power, civil society and democracy;
5 - Democratic world order, working against war and for peace.  

Work methodology

The five thematic areas will be developed through the following channels:

·         Conferences: The purpose of the conferences is to socialize alternative views and analyses of the WSM to the broader public and to debate alternative globalization strategies.

·         Panel debates: They are structured by the five sub-themes associated with the major thematic areas.

·         Seminars: They are an opportunity for thinking collectively about more concrete strategic proposals in the economic, political, social and cultural spheres; the creation of new international institutions; planning of regional and/or world actions in building the other kind of globalization.

·         Workshops: They are the factory of the Forum, a kind of world civil laboratory, intended to bring all participating groups into contact to share their experiences, to network, and to plan and define strategies.

·         Testimonies are a way of highlighting the political and cultural patrimony of the groups, organizations and movements that are building the WSF.

·         Dialogue and controversy round tables: Aimed at the public at large, the purpose here is to bring delegates’ views and proposals into confrontation with those of guests from political parties, governments, civil society groups, UN organizations, international economic and/or financial organizations, etc.

·         Spaces to discuss the impact of the regional and thematic social forums organized throughout the year.

·         Cultural spaces for photo exhibits, videos, popular theatre, murals, street festivals, etc.

·         Youth camp.

Responsible for planning, organizing and running the World Social Forum are the Organizing Committee, the International Secretariat and the International Council. This year, the Council, made up of representatives of world networks by theme, had working meetings in April in Spain, in August in Bangkok and in Italy in November 2002. The World March of Women is active in the International Council, the permanent body whose priority is to establish policy directions and to define strategy for the World Social Forum.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM Across the world: THEMATIC and REGIONAL FORUMS

Thematic and regional social forums have been held since August this year. The thematic social forums’ objective is to “attend to demands [for] more thorough investigations of debates [on] specific issues, considered priorities in the global conjuncture by the International Council of the WSF.” The aim of the regional social forums is to “approximate [the WSF] to the reality of the social movements and entities in the diverse regions of the world and vice versa.” (1).[1]

Here are addresses you can go to for information on the regional social forums scheduled for 2002 and 2003:

·         European Social Forum, November 2002, in Florence, Italy: http://www.fse-esf.org/

·         African Social Forum, December 2002, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; person in charge, Taoufik Ben Abdallah: taoufik@enda.sn

·         Asia Social Forum, January 2003, in Hyderabad, India: www.wsfindia.org and http://www.wsfindia.net/

·         Pan-Amazon Social Forum, January 2003, in Belem, Brazil:  www.fspanamazonico.com.br

We suggest that the participating groups and national coordinating bodies of the March from each country and region of the world be present at the regional social forums, and discuss and plan action strategies with allied movements in relation to our demands.  We would like to know who is taking part in the regional social forums, and in what way. We invite you to send information on your participation to marche2000@ffq.qc.ca

WORLD MARCH OF WOMEN’S

STRATEGIC PARTICIPATION AT THE 2003 WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

At our 3^rd International Meeting, held in October 2001, we resolved that the World March of Women would continue its work as a network of feminist solidarity in action. We recognized that it is important that the women’s world movement establish alliances with the anti-neoliberal globalization movement. We put together a working group to follow up on WSF I in Porto Alegre, headed by the women of the Brazilian national coordinating body of the World March of Women.

The World March sits on the WSF International Council and is represented there by Diane Matte, who has brought to this body the issue of integrating gender and globalization. In her words: “The World March of Women would like to mobilize every one of the participating countries for the next WSF in Porto Alegre. Our presence in this movement fighting neoliberal globalization is necessary because of the generalized deterioration of women’s living conditions around the world. Respect for human rights and the collective rights of women is crumbling, especially in this period of escalating militarization in the world and the right-wing offensive, with the United States leading the way. Finally, for the feminists of the planet, the WSF is an opportunity to deepen our thinking and our stand, starting from an analysis of worldwide transformation and our struggles”(2)[2]

The World March of Women is the coordinator for the main thematic area “Principles and values, human rights, diversity and equality”, which has five sub-themes that will be discussed in panel debates. This involvement represents a step forward in our demands and belief that “another world is possible for women.” Within this context we have initiated a panel debate on equality between women and men where we will invite allied organizations to discuss with us the importance of integrating feminist demands for equality and feminist analyses with the struggle against neoliberal globalization.

The World March of Women International Secretariat and the March team in Brazil are working on various activities to make sure we are present at WSF III. They will:

·         coordinate the thematic area number two, “Principles and values, human rights, diversity and equality”;

·         coordinate the panel debate on equality between women and men;

·         coordinate a World March of Women seminar on feminist economic alternatives and possibly another seminar on the fight against the commodification of women’s bodies and lives;

·         organize an activity on youth and feminism at the Youth Camp;

·         participate in a collective women’s mural in Porto Alegre (a woman artist will direct the work). The date will be announced so that all World March women can take part. For more information, contact the March in Brazil: marchamulheres@sof.org.br.

To ensure that our feminist agenda will be well represented, we invite all World March participating groups and national coordinating bodies to register for the WSF III. Registration began on September 23; it costs US$50.00 for organizations and US$25.00 for each additional person. If a you are interested in organizing a workshop you must register to do so before November 29, 2002.

For more information, visit http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br. We would ask you to please send a message to marche2000@ffq.qc.ca right after you register so that we can have an idea of the size of the World March of Women delegation.

Throughout the World Social Forum there will be various demonstrations and street festivities.  We would like to make the presence of women from the World March visible at these events, in a colourful and dynamic way.  You are therefore invited to make and bring with you banners, slogans, etc. that can help ensure that our presence is felt at the WSF.  We hope to see many of you in Porto Alegre!

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