Contents

a) Five thematic areas

b) The FSM’s Four Main Venues

c) Alliance Facilitators

d) Elements of Methodology

e) Meeting Places

Information for the Next
World Social Forum
Porto Alegre, 23-28 January, 2003

d) Some Elements of Methodology

The WSF still projects itself as a place of debate and of elaboration of proposals, at the same time as a social and media event. The media impact has been very important, but the elaboration of proposals has been practically non-existent.

First Forum

Ever since the first Forum, in January 2001, we have tried to help the Brazilian organizers to materialize a coherent visibility of the complexity of the initiatives gathered in this event. We proposed that the various workshops be grouped according to the central issues identified at the time (the program of the first forum was no more than a list of unclassified workshops, without even an alphabetical listing of them). Furthermore, we distributed a guide presenting the workshops and insisted on opening a discussion on the first Proposal Papers.

Second Forum

At the second Forum, in January 2002, in close connection with the Brazilian Committee, we pursued our attempts to keep a record of the debates and proposals and to enable a coherent visibility of the whole. On this occasion, the conferences, seminars, and workshops were classified and presented in the program according to the central issues. We worked, among others, to appreciate the debates, the conferences, and some of the seminars by providing reports organized according to the challenges, the proposals, and the strategies to be implemented. This work, although incomplete, has been translated into the four languages of the Forum (Portuguese, Spanish, English, and French) and posted on the Web site of the Forum. Similarly, we presented the Proposal Papers and the Charter of Human Responsibilities on the Web site of the Alliance, as well as on posters placed in the conference rooms.

This presentation can be seen at:
http://www.alliance21.org/en/proposals/fsm.html

Evidently, this effort was mostly made at the last moment and the work done previous to the Forum and for the appreciation of its results after it, was insufficient or non-existent.

Third Forum

The next Forum offers a new opportunity to take a meaningful step forward in this effort of visibility of the themes, the proposals, and the strategies presented by the actors present at Porto Alegre. The need to discuss the proposals and the strategies to implement them is increasingly felt as a challenge by many actors. The credibility of the WSF is at stake: not only should it remain a great gathering of social protest, which is one of its essential features, it should also become a process of elaboration of proposals that are true alternatives to neoliberal globalization.

The Brazilian Committee has already drawn up a form to record the seminars and workshops and another form intended especially for the participants of the panels, aimed at obtaining a 3000-word text on the proposals and another 3000 words on the strategies.

These texts will be required from all the facilitators of seminars, workshops and panels as a confirmation of their registration at the WSF. The forms for the panels must be filled out and sent to the Brazilian organizers by December 15. At that date, it would be highly desirable to be able to count on a large number of forms filled out by the facilitators of the seminars and workshops.

Given the experience of the first two Forums, the Brazilian organizers are particularly sensitive to the difficulty in obtaining this information on time. The aim is to present in the WSF program or in files provided for the panels, some clear, innovative and mapped material.

However we must keep in mind that this mapping will necessarily be limited to the work of the panel debates (in the warehouses on the river bank) and to the possible connections that might be established with the diversity of the work accomplished in the workshops and seminars (at the PUC). Otherwise, so far, we do not know how to articulate this mapping with the work of the Youth Forum nor with the many ideas and discussions that will be expressed at the Gigantinho Stadium or during the various activities that will take place in Porto Alegre.

e) Meeting Places

Several stands will be facilitated by Allied groups and networks at the Gigantinho Stadium and at the warehouses. There will also be a meeting place for Allies at the PUC and in the Youth Camp. To identify them, we will display the logo of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World: the smiling blue and green Brazilian Yin Yang circle.