Home > Minutes of the first national Local social forum meeting (long version)

Minutes of the first national Local social forum meeting (long version)

by Open-Publishing - Saturday 12 June 2004

Social Forum UK

Here you are the long version!

First National Local Social Forums’ Meeting

Manchester 5-6 June 2004

Called by: Manchester Social Forum

For: People from other sf groups

Held at: MERCi (Manchester Environmental Resource Centre)

Bridge 5 Mill, 22a Beswick St, Ancoats, Manchester

On: Sat 5th – Sun 6th June.

Present on Sat and/or Sun:

St. Denis SF, France: Julie

Madrid/Liverpool: Dian

Sheffield SF: Kevin

Leeds SF: Andy

London SF: Richard

Manchester SF:

Mariangela, Chad, Paul, Toler, Pete, Barry,

Ron, Edward, Nick, Brian, Rob, Jez Hall, John

and Hilary Wainwright (Red Pepper)

Jason (WP), James (WP), Bill (WP)

Statements read out from:

Georgios Karatsioubanis (Greek SF/London SF)

on reconciliation of vertical/horizontal differences

John Blake (Cardiff SF) on a left-type model (WP) for SF.

Another person from Cardiff SF suggested that Blake was in a minority in Cardiff SF on this.

These statements were distributed and a list of useful SF web addresses given out.

After introductions (SF group and political allegiances) it was agreed that 4 main areas should be discussed:

Work of local SF groups and their plans. Decision-making in the SF

UK network/international network

Local SF and ESF

Practical proposals

1) Work of local SF groups and their plans. Decision-making in the SF

These are the main points participants made about their groups.

Sheffield

Started June 03 (Workers’ Power and independent anti-war activists) and launched March 04.

Launch meeting: Plenaries kept to a minimum. Focus on workshops and network on local issues/getting groups together for the first time. Copied World Social Forum structure.

Agenda came from participants. Set up workshops on outreach – invitations to key participants. At end of day open session to reflect day’s events. Paper on walls with people’s ideas on it. 10 discussion options with 4 being chosen (hands up):

e.g.Greening Sheffield, Campaign on debt in Sheffield (successful)

People hadn’t heard of ESF – need for outreach

Decision-making – ad-hoc, be a loose network or a ‘corporate’ body – identity?

Decisions made by who’s there.

Minutes out on web and mailing list..

Need to respect people’s opinions.

www.sheffieldsocialforum.org

Have a wiki (interactive site) which is open for contributions and is useful for collaborative writing projects.

New esf site for local sfs

www.esf2004.net

London

www.londonsocialforum.org

Wiki page. Links page mentions other local SF groups in UK and around the world. London SF quite new – launched Oct 03 with around 100 people: theme-based participatory workshops.

Problem: ESF held in London and from Oct-March they devoted so much time to ESF that they neglected their local issues. Now engaged in more action for London. Stressed need to find a balance between big events and local work. Big events come and go but local groups remain.

Main campaigns:

Planning Issues – July 1st – ‘Selling London Down the River’ about London Olympic bid and the East End. Council Housing.

Economic Issues and the ESF

Need space for discussion of capital and grassroots alternatives

Facilitation and Sharing

London has done workshops on this – dissatisfaction with ESFfacilitation. Notes are available from 2 workshops from London SF. Further workshops might bring in other local SF groups.

Outreach

Vertical and horizontal – term not defined. Held a workshop on this.

How to reach out?

What type of relationships after meeting?

Political philosophy

Meeting end of June. A number of people interested in this in London.

Radical democracy

2 speakers ‘Challenging Empires’

Decision-making

Like Sheffield

Representation

A minority want to represent it at events. There are NO representatives, but they can mandate someone to a particular event for a reason i.e. one-offs. (See World Social Forum Principles on this). Is there a difference between a representative and a delegate?

Leeds

Leeds SF born out of Leeds Coalition Against the War – got together to unite around other issues as well. Note Cardiff resolution at National People’s Assembly on setting up local social forums.

Small group of 10-12: half students and angle is anti-BNP, Respect, libertarian and anti-war. Had meeting one month ago. Public meeting – high profile: demo in the High Street with asylum seeker survey and street theatre by youth organisations. Materials available on this.

Have statement of aims and principles. Use consensus where possible and voting if necessary.

Libertarians in Leeds set up Leeds Action for Radical Change (LARC) which is social centre-orientated

Community meetings on local issues e.g. school closure and arm’s length private management of schools. Unions now involved.

Trades Councils now interested in Leeds SF (as in Manchester). Noted that outreach takes many forms: bureaucratic, informal etc.

Plans: action on refugees. Leafleting the states, survey to engage people in discussion and canvass their opinions.

ESF mobilising committee Leeds: SWP and trade unions involved.

St. Denis, France

Local SF started two years ago to mobilise for ESF Florence. 70 organisations taking part in local SF group. Known as the Collectif de St. Denis. The city invited the ESF and was busy with ESF organisation. Locals got involved, but it was more about the ESF than about St. Denis.

Played major role in organising ESF and this took up most of their time last year. Want to be recognised as a local SF.

Main themes include:

Fair trade

Sans papiers (immigrants without papers)

Migrants (especially women)

Health, health insurance and social security

‘Another education system’: big strikes in schools over retirement of teachers

Oct 3 held 1 day seminar on social forums at ESF. This space for local SFs was due to the lobbying of the St Denis group. It appears that the ESF does not automatically give space to local Sfs: pressure is required!

Future workshops:

participatory democracy
women’s issues

After the ESF people were tired and didn’t do much for three months then they wrote a charter to say what thy are and recognise the points they agree on. A year ago they had 50 people turn up every week. Now it is 10-15 people every two weeks – highlights the fact that many people just work for big events then don’t keep going.

Organisations involved include:

Unions, NGOs, local associations, ATTAC, political parties, social NGOs, migrants, sans papiers, women’s organisation(s). Parties can’t sign the charter but they can support it.

Decision-making

No steering committee

People suggest the agenda

A place to bring organisations together

If people want to do something they just do it

Action doesn’t have to be approved by the SF

Finance – from the city of St Denis nearly 15,000 Euros (p.a.?)
Due to finance have had a permanent worker for the past three months, but still stay independent of Town Hall

In the last six months a network of local social forums has grown in France and outside.

Madrid

In Madrid there are several small SF groups and a big leftist SF. A university group was set up in April 04 to give an alternative to the big left groups. Anti-war movement was strong in Spain so SF has anti-war roots. Dian will send more information. Main SFs are in Madrid and Barcelona. In B grew out of anti-G8 protests two years ago. The Transatlantic Forum links Spain with South and Central America.

Liverpool

Groups active together (SF?) include: Latin American Studies Society in the University, SWP/Respect, Friends of Palestine, People Not Profit.

Cardiff

John Blake’s document (Workers’ Power) suggested that Cardiff SF was organised along WP leftist lines, but other communications from Cardiff claim that this is a minority opinion and the majority prefer the WSF Principles approach and the use of consensus. No details available for numbers or campaigns.

Italy

The SF was born out of the anti G8 demonstrations in Genova 2001 (death of Carlo Giuliani). The movement was assaulted by thugs but they didn’t run away. Social Forums sprang up all over Italy and they have been going for over two years now. There are hundreds of them in cities, towns and villages and in some cases they have managed to obtain participatory budgeting at local council level. They network and meet. There have been big movement against Berlusconi and against war.

Trade unions are strongly involved. Unions in Italy are divided according to their politics, not the trade as in the UK. Especially active are the CGIL (left-wing union) and COBAS (a non-hierarchical ‘alternative’ trade union – self-organisation in the workplace – which is now very popular).

Rifondazione comunista (left of old PC) and the DS (Democratici di sinistra) are also involved, but Rif com have made many statements saying that they do not claim to lead the ‘movement of movements’ but only to be part of it. This, and the abandonment of democratic centralism, has enabled them to cooperate with libertarian movements in a way which has not been easy in the UK. Bertinotti the party leader also made this point about not being a vanguard party very strongly at the SWP Marxism conference 2003. Party members go to the SF as individuals not to represent their party.

Councils: participatory budgets in some town councils. In Florence the council let the ESF have the buildings rent-free, but they did not try to control the ESF in any way or use it.

It was pointed out that it had been easier to achieve a people’s budget in Porto Alegre than in the Italian towns which had tried it because the people in Porto Alegre were mostly poor and therefore had a lot to gain whereas in Italy people are better off so they fear they might lose out! Instead of a completely open meeting to decide the budget they network between organisations to find out what they want. This is a new experience. Mariangela will look into it and provide further information.

Other examples of participatory democracy were mentioned: St Denis SF can help discuss budget proposals then go to the local committee which decides. Some examples in the south of Spain. In London tenants have been helping decide rent levels. There are local authority tax ballots such as in Coventry. We have to be aware of the dangers of fake consultation. Fascism wanted mass involvement too!

Manchester

Born out of the Stop the War Coalition anti-war activity and a desire to extend the range of issues around which people could cooperate. After hearing about the SF idea people tried to combine it with the SWC which resulted in two People’s Assemblies attended by 200 people and 150 people. After the first one the SWP took an anti-SF stance but WP remained in. The SF group split off from SWC because of SWP hostility and lack of cooperation and started an independent local SF in Sept 03.

Meets weekly on Thurs 7.30 at the Friends’ Meeting House Mount St, Manchester. Attending by 15-20 people a week though some come and go.

Anti-war, trades council, anarchist, left-wing, some community involvement by some members. WP left because they didn’t agree with WSF principles or consensus decision-making.

Main campaigns and activities:

Peace camp and demos in MCR against the war in 2003

Support the locked out MCR electricians (benefit meetings and donations, leafleting)

Helping create the Forum for Palestine by encouraging Palestine groups to meet
and give mutual support

Link with Thameside Trades Council and others

Link with Northern Voices radical magazine

Worked with WP to produce The Mancunian (produced 4 monthly bulletins)

Anti CCTV/Civil Liberties street theatre and exhibition

Support the M&S picket and struggle for freedom to protest in Manchester and oppose privatisation of the streets and squares

Support the Nine Ladies anti-quarrying camp in the Peak District National Park (fundraising and visits)

Initiated Manchester GROW (Grassroots Action Against War) as the SWC in MR is virtually defunct since the SWP turned its attention to Respect and the peace campaigners left because they couldn’t accept the SWP party line on organisation.

MayDay Anarchist Federation Picnic

Try to meet and liaise with other SF groups in the UK and abroad

Discussion

Groups discussed outreach and agreed that it is difficult. Street actions and campaigns can publicise the SF although so far groups are still small and tend to be people interested in politics rather than reflecting a broad mix.

The WSF principles offer a way for different groups to meet without any dominating the others – the model is useful but we need to advertise it a bit more.

PROPOSAL FOR A SOCIAL AUDIT to find out what’s going on in our city (MCR).

NO UK OR EUROPEAN NETWORK AT PRESENT. This problem needs to be addressed. St Denis have worked on a website.