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Rabia Abdelkrim Chikh, May 2009
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1. The Critical Issue : Financial resources for ensuring a minimum quality of logistics. Organizing, at least, a minimum, which means the capacity to facilitate, as usual – ie as in other editions/sessions of the WSF) the activities of social movements in more or less good conditions. Mumbai was the best one among all the WSF organized. Almost all the criteria were respected and it could be a reference for learning from. The challenge is the capacity of creativity for raising funds in the context of crisis (!).
2. After ten editions of the WSF (from 2001-2011), we have accumulated many experiences (good and bad, self-critiques, evaluations). There is no way in which we can repeat the “routine”. We have to invent another ‘format’, another methodology for being together and for organizing the spaces and territories. Maybe more dynamics and flow : Could there be circulation between themes, territories, spaces, groups ???
3. We (social movements) and Them Where are we ? Where do we stand today ? What is the value added by 10 rallies we have so far organised ? What we have had achieved ? On the one hand, we have our strategies, and on the other. “their policies”.
Them : They are the dominant power (economic and political). What changes are taking place ? Where are the changes taking place ? Among whom ?
What is our “new politics” ? What is our new imaginary ? And what are “their strategies” ?
It is in this space of questioning that we have to propose elaboration, renewing, and new themes.
4. The mobilisation of popular social movements, the “anonymous” people, and their struggles :
To open space to have them in the heart of the flow of activities : Convergences ? How and who ?
Working to facilitate the presence of a critical mass of popular social movements, with concrete and real capacity to express directly and themselves – their voices, their ways of thinking.
“Dialog, Multilog” – between “intellectuals” and popular groups on the context.
Changing scales and formats ? What is our capacity for innovation and creativity ?
To invest them at all the levels of organisation, logistics etc…
WSF : What does South/South “solidarity” really mean ?
It is inclusive, and not exclusive of other regions of the world; but it does mean to focus much more on the global south.
Some issues / questions :
1. Knowledge production on the changes taking place in the world today, on the context and the conjuncture : New contradictions and possible new alliances.
Alliances for renewing visions, thinking, concepts, words : Political and epistemological tasks – renaming our world, our realities, with new decolonised categories.
2. Political alliances and actions : India is an “emergent” country, a new economic power. Can we, social movements, influence the economic policies in the sense of alternatives and in terms of the interests of people?
3. Could we elaborate something like or be inspired by the spirit of Bandung : Can Dakar be a New Bandung of the People ?
Rabia Abdelkrim Chikh : Coordinator of ENDA Tiers Monde Senegal (Environment and Development Actions – Third World) based in Dakar, Senegal, a member of the Africa Social Forum Committee, and a member of the WSF’s International Council. At ENDA, in charge of coordination of programme “rethinking economy and dominant concepts, looking for new paradigms based on alternatives, proposed by African women with their visions and creativity in their daily lives”. Involved for the past 40 years with women’s movements at different levels (local, national) in Algeria, Senegal, and France, as well as with international networks and movements including FAMES (African Women for World of Solidarity Economy) and AAWORD (African Association of Women for Research and Development). Earlier taught and researched at Algiers University, Algeria, and Aix en Provence University, France. [email protected][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]