Home > A different ESF is possible

A different ESF is possible

by Open-Publishing - Tuesday 7 December 2004

Social Forum G7 - G8... UK

People participating in the UK Local Social forum network met in Sheffield during on the 4/5th december and found consensus on this document to be brought to the Assembly which is going to be held in Paris the 18/19 December

1. The British process to build for the ESF has been, from the proposal of having it in London, organized without an open, democratic, inclusive process. No link has been created with the UK Local Social Forum and, in fact, the very same groups which played a prominent role in the process created ESF mobilizing commettes in the places where a LSF were working already. This attitude has generated more problems and divisions in the movement in Britain and, even though some were inspired by the expirience and are joining the Local Social Forum, we register a lot of negative repercussions for what happened with people pulling out from the LSF in several different places.

2. The process to build the ESF is as important as the ESF in itself and we cannot have a different world if we don’t force ourselves in practising a different way of working together based, not on selfappointed representativity, but on a wider inclusive process in which all the differences can express themselves and reclaim the right of participation. In the British process most of the power was baed on the monetary resourses they could bring in which is far away from the world we are claim to change.

3. The Assembly of movements: although the final document was built more openly than before the calls for actions have to come from the work of the networks and the assembly is the space for all to express the work which has be done. The London Assembly in the way was organized didn’t give to the local social forum network the chance to comunicate their work. We also want to point out that Stop the War coalition in Britain has called a rally for the 19th of march - the same day when the central demonstration in Brussels on 19 March against war, racism, and against a neo-liberal Europe, against privatisation, against the Bolkestein project and against the attacks on working time, for a Europe of rights and solidarity between the peoples will take place. We support the action in Brussels and we will work for that.

4. We support the call to mobilise massively on the occasion of the G8 summit in Scotland in July 2005 and we suggest a counter-summit organized by the ESF Assembly in order to present the alternatives we are working for.

5. We reject the criminalisation of part of the movement and we denounce the asbence of solidarity towards peple who were held by the police in an undergroud station and arrested during the demonstration. No demonstration can carry on without response when some of us is in trouble only because they want to comunicate what happened. A lot of people were really upset also for the demonstration in itself which didn’t express the ESF and the diversity of the movement. No speakers were agreed for the demonstration so there was no respect for the decisions taken.

6. It is crucial to learn from the mistakes of this ESF.

7. The way the ESf work is crucial. Less plenaries, which were just stages for the well known politicians, can be an answer. Start from big thematic or affinity assemblies and then split in working groups in order to establish network aiming to work on successful action to fight neoliberalism and build alternatives. Various document has been written already and ignored but there is the chance and the time to call for an open debate on how to build the next ESF .

8. The location and the space in the ESF has to respond to the need of the people. In Alexandra Palace the LSF network seminar couldn’t work as it was decided because the space couldn’t be used in any other way than a staged, hierarchical meeting.

9. The system of translation is important to support a different kind of meetings. Babel can find the way to implement a different approch using different methods. This is crucial for having translation in the workshops. We cannot accept an English speaking ESF.