[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Important message from European World Social Forum

[Alfred Kagan]

>From: Tom_Childs at douglas.bc.ca
>Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 00:46:49 -0800
>Subject: Fwd: Important message from European World Social Forum
>To: mai-list at moon.bcpl.gov.bc.ca
>Sender: owner-mai-list at moon.bcpl.gov.bc.ca
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>Dear Subscribers,       ...a bit off topic....but....
>   ...Significant *good news* here from the recent European Social Forum
>that has just finished up in Florence, Italy.  See fwd message below.
>Regards, Tom
>~~~~~~~~~~~~
>   ----- Forwarded message: -----On behalf of wsf-vancouver
>To: WSF <wsf-vancouver at yahoogroups.com>
>From: Saren Azer <sarenazer at shaw.ca>
>Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 23:40:56 -0800
>Subject: [wsf-vancouver] Important message from European Social Forum-ESF
>
>Dear friends
>Please read the following message and also forward to your mailing list. It
>contains some very critical and inspiring information. It was sent to us by
>our dear brother Orlando Herrera who is our liaison with WSF.
>
>All the best
>
>Saren Azer
>Amnesty International,
>International Society for Peace and Human Rights
>Tel: (604) 733-7727
>Email: sarenazer at shaw.ca
>Website: www.peaceandhumanrights.org
>
>
>  Sisters and Brothers,
>
>  The first European Social Forum (Nov.6-10) that took place in Florence,
>  Italy, has been a tremendous success. In many aspects it went beyond the
>  wildest expectations of its organizers. In term of numbers the organizers
>  expected 12,000 to 15,000 delegates and almost 40,000 delegates from 105
>  countries registered at the Forum. At the main rally that took place last
>  Saturday against war, the organizers expected 200,000 people, and according
>  to the Italian police almost half a million anti-war protesters marched
>  through the street of Florence.  The organizers' figure is one million
>  people.
>
>  The ESF was oppossed by the right-wing government of Silvio Berlusconi,
>  mass media and business sectors from the very begining. They initiated a
>  campaign criminalizing and demonizing this event and creating fear in the
>  Italian people by telling them that last year events in Genoa will be
>  repeated again in Florence. The objective was to put the organizers and
>  participants on the defensive and to create conditions of uncertainty that
>  deviate the attention from the main topics of deliberation to the issue of
>  the obstacles introduced by the police state. They totally failed in their
>  attempts.
>
>  The program consisted of 18 morning conferences (six per day,from Nov.7 to
>  9), 12 night conferences, 160 seminars, 180 workshops, 75 cultural events
>  open to the public.
>
>  The main topics of discussion defined by the organizers were, neoliberalism
>  and globalisation, war and peace, and citizens rights and democracy, racism
>  and immigration.
>
>  One of the main agreements reached at Florence was to initiate the
>  organization of the international coordination of social movements,
>  initiative proposed by the Landless Peasants Movement from Brazil.
>  A new experience introduced for the first time at this Forum was a radio
>  and TV transmission of the ESF via satellite to all Europe.
>
>  The next ESF will take place at Sain Denis, France in 2003.
>
>  According to a Mexican observer " The global movement of resistance...has
>  been strengthened by the ESF. This "movement of movements" was able to
>  bring together radicals, unions and political organizations."..."It was a
>  consensus at the closing meeting of the ESF that after Florence the
>  movement was alive and growing."... " It is one of the most important
>  international political phenomenon and brings a lot of hope at this
>  moment."
>
>  A journalist from the The Guardian writing on the ESF said, "Clearly,
>  anti-globalisation, anti-capitalism, pro-democracy movement...may be said
>  to be maturing in fits and start into a very broad social justice movement,
>  and shedding its TV-inspired image of grungy anarchists smashing symbols
>  they do not like. Clearly,too, it is based not just on emotionalism but on
>  growing political theory and analysis, and is becoming popular enough to
>  draw in many on the left who had given up hope that change was possible."
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>--
>Tom Childs - Audio/Visual Resources
>Douglas College Library
>New Westminster, B.C. Canada
>T: 604 527-5713 - library
>T: 504 524-9315 - home
>E: childst at douglas.bc.ca
>U: BCGEU Local 703
>W: http://www.globaljustice.ca
>    "There's no way to delay, that trouble comin' everyday."
>				--Frank Zappa


-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu