European Social Forum - Paris, Nov. 12-15 [View All]

[Paschall]

Any Euro-DUers plan to attend? If so, send me a DU mail.



http://www.fse-esf.org/francais/rubrique1.html

Statement from the French Organising Committee for the 2003 European Social Forum

After the World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, which revealed the strength of the world’s citizen movement and after the success of the first European Social Forum (ESF) in Florence, France will host the second ESF, 12-16 November 2003.

As in Porto Alegre and Florence, there must be an open gathering space where delegates from several organisations can get together for in-depth debate affirming that "another world is possible" and opposing "a process of capitalist globalisation, led by large multinationals and governments and international institutions for self-serving interests" (Charter of Principles of the World Social Forum). This process speeds up the concentration of wealth, gives rise to wars, economic, social and cultural exclusion and destruction of the environment. It restrains individual rights and freedoms, allowing the extreme-right to flourish. It then becomes a question of building, through confrontation and democratic debate, alternatives in the real world and formulating articulate concrete proposals for effective action so that fundamental human rights prevail over financial and commercial interests. More