A Political Programme for the World Social Forum ?

[The Bamako Appeal : Answers from François Houtart on Monday April 3, 2006 of the WFA (World Forum for Alternatives) to questions asked by Jai Sen, CACIM, March 25-26 2006 @ http://www.openspaceforum.net/twiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=137
Notes :
1. The list of questions here includes both CACIM’s first list (dt March 14 2006) and also the one question asked later (q 11, March 21 2006).
2. Responses listed below are as per François Houtart’s letter to JS, March 24 2006.
3. Some spelling corrections done to FH’s responses, js 250306.]

Qs & A’s :
1. Who were the sponsors of the Bamako Appeal ? Was it only the WFA, or were there other organisations (and/or individuals) associated with it taking shape ?

The sponsors were: the World Forum for Alternatives, the Third World Forum, the Malian Social Forum, and ENDA (a NGO working in Africa).

2. The Introduction to the Appeal says that it is “built around the broad themes discussed in subcommittees”. Can you give us some details on this ? Who initiated this process (I assume WFA ?), what were the mandates of the various subcommittees, who were the members of the subcommittees, when was this work undertaken, and are their respective reports available anywhere ? Or could you send them to us ? (And would you like them also posted on a webspace (probably OpenSpaceForum? or our own space at CACIM, which we are slowly now setting up), so that the full background is available ?

The 10 subgroups have worked during one day and have produced a report, which has been edited by Samir, Rémy Herrera, and myself and published in the Appeal.

3. To my understanding, the Bamako Appeal was launched at the Bamako Meeting itself, on January 18. Is this correct ? Or was it available before this, and if so where, to whom, and how did discussion on this take place ?

Yes.

4. Was the draft of the Appeal that was placed at the Bamako meeting on January 18 modified at all there ? If so, in what ways ?

No modified, simply complemented by the reports of the groups.

5. Was the Appeal actually approved at the Bamako Meeting ? If so, who were the signatures of the Appeal as it stood at Bamako ? (The version we have does not have any names mentioned.)

It has been approved in Bamako in a general outline one day before the Forum. The final draft has been worked during the Forum, but it has been sent afterwards for signatures.

6. Was the Appeal endorsed by all the participants at the Bamako meeting ? If not, were there any dissenters or objectors ? Could you summarise their points of objection, and/or direct us to them / give us their contact details ?

No dissent.

7. Was the Bamako Appeal then presented and discussed at the Bamako Social Forum at all ? If so, at what meetings, and what was the outcome ? If not, why not ?

It has been presented and also discussed in the Forum. Some objections have been raised, before the Forum, by some members of the Secretariat who think that it was an initiative to change the character of the Forum.
This has been clarified. Others within the Forum have reacted against what they were considering as an initiative taken by intellectuals without enough consultation with the bases. I have presented the appeal at the meeting of the Social Movements and it has been well accepted.

8. I understand that the Appeal was then carried forward and presented at the Caracas Social Forum, perhaps at the Social Movements Assembly that took place there, but we do not have any details, nor can I find any on the web, as yet. Can you please tell how and where it was presented / tabled, whether it was discussed, whether it was further modified there, and whether it was approved, either at the Social Movements Assembly or anywhere else ?

Samir and myself have presented the appeal in various panels in Caracas.
Personally I have presented it in the meeting of the Social Movements. It has been well accepted. In some panels the same reactions as in Bamako have been presented, but without too much echoes.

9. What, then, is the present status of the Appeal ? Is it now final, or is there place / opportunity for further modifications to come in – and if so, where should such proposals be directed ?

There [is] no opportunity to change … what has been published.

10. What do you now plan to do with the Appeal ? What are the further steps you have in mind ? I note that in the appeal, it talks of working committees to carry forward the work. What are these committees, how have they been constituted, what are their terms of reference, when do they report ?

For the continuation, the plan is to organize working groups by internet on each of the 10 points and to begin an exchange of ideas and proposals between the persons ready to work on them. It should go along the line of defining actors and strategies. The constitution of those groups will be proposed in the following days.

Additional question :

11. Who has supported (and is continuing to support) the Bamako Appeal initiative, which is obviously quite a major undertaking ?

[No response as yet]

12. Finally, please of course make available to us any other relevant information that we might not have requested above but that we should have, to have a complete picture.

(List of signatories sent separately by FH March 23 2006. To view this list click here).