What is the World Social Forum?
The World Social Forum (WSF) is a venue for social movements, networks, NGOs and civil society organisations opposed to neo-liberalism, capitalism or any form of imperialism to come together to pursue effective action. Since the first world encounter in 2001, the WSF has become a permanent world process of developing alternatives to neo-liberal policies.
The WSF is characterised by plurality and diversity, is non-confessional, non-governmental and non-party. It proposes to facilitate decentralised coordination and networking among organisations engaged in concrete action towards building another world, at any level from the local to the international.
Source: Forum Social Mundial. 22 August 2002. “What the World Social Forum Is.” Posted at <http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/ main.php?id_menu=19&cd_language=2>
The Fifth World Social Forum (WSF), known as the largest gathering of civil society, held 26 – 31 January a year ago in Porto Alegre, Brazil was no exception. With over 155,000 in attendance, the 6,880 accredited members of the press scrambled to summarise the events of each day amidst the communication problems that had “consistently plagued the WSF.”
An analysis by Marcelo Pereira of the Fifth WSF (IPS, 2005) says that attempting to inform the world of a whirlwind of events falls to each individual journalist, an “almost impossible task” given the set-up of the forum.
“The WSF is not conceived in such a way as to facilitate an overview of what takes place there, yet reporters typically attempt to approach the meeting from this perspective, or present it to their audience as if they had,” says Pereira.
According to the World Forum on Communication and Information (WFCI), the coverage of the WSF programme includes thousands of initiatives and debates on a wide range of themes, which can really complicate the work of journalists assigned to the event.
“In the absence of actual spokespeople, journalists seek out famous names and faces, particularly those that have been associated with the WSF since its inception. And it is hard to convince a major international news network that no single person can be considered particularly ‘representative,’” adds Pereira.
With the proliferation of communication problems, criticisms of the event’s media coverage have understandably increased. An article by Mario Lubetkin (2005) shows that media coverage of the fifth WSF shrunk from previous years despite it being the most widely attended.
A polycentric WSF in 2006
In an effort to make the forum more decentralised, the 2006 World Social Forum will take place in various venues: Caracas (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), Bamako (Mali), Karachi (Pakistan), and Bangkok (Thailand).
According to Eric Touissant, President of the Committee for the Cancellation of the Third World Debt (CADTM), the biggest challenge of the polycentric process is for groups to remain unified.
“The main aim is to develop regional dynamism while avoiding fragmentation. There is a definite risk of this in 2006, since by not having a single venue, there will be no opportunity for campaigns and movements to exchange views and to discuss and define their priorities for action, just when the need to progress in defining collective action is felt to be most pressing,” says Touissant.
Since the forum is polycentric, it is not just civil society groups that will be spread out but media practitioners too. According to Pereira, the need to remedy the forum’s on-going deficiencies in communications will be even more pressing. “The problem of internal communications becomes absolutely crucial, especially in terms of interactivity. And there will be no way to solve the problem with paper,” says Pereira.
Such difficulties are not limited to technology, but also in the ideology and organisational policies of media practitioners. “There is no way to broadcast everything to everyone at the same time, and someone, somewhere, will have to establish priorities,” says Pereira.
While the decentralisation proposed for the 2006 WSF may open up spaces for new television stations, problems would arise if these do not share similar ideologies with the WSF. Media outlets with strong state or government support might be more sensitive to their sponsors’ concerns rather than to the views of civil society.
How media can communicate
To address the concerns of media coverage, WFCI recommends the creation of a world network to connect the media present at the forum. It says permanent mechanisms will allow media to access information not only during the event but the whole year through.
It also suggests establishing a “virtual global community of journalists” involving some 10,000 journalists who have attended the five Forums. Since many of them are familiar with the criticisms, analyses, and proposals of the WSF, they can inform audiences and engage in dialogue with WSF participants.
The WCFI also suggests the creation of a virtual university for journalists. WCFI notes the importance of preparation and training for the press to be able to better grasp the significance of civil society initiatives, goals, and operations, among others.
Sources:
Ferrari, Sergio. November 2005. “World Social Forum 2006: A polycentric forum...for a convergent social movement.” Interview of Eric Toussaint. IV Online Magazine: International
Viewpoint 372. Posted at <http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/article.php3?id_article=923>
Lubetkin, Mario. 28 December 2005. “Media and the World Social Forum.” Posted at <http://www.mediaactioncenter.org/?q=node/573>.
Pereira, Marcelo. 1 February 2005. “World Social Forum: Are better communications possible?” Posted by InterPress Service News Agency at <http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=27276>.
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