Another world is possible, WSF says at end of gathering

Sat, 30 Jan 2010

After five days of debates, the World Social Forum (WSF) has ended in Porto Alegre, the capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The events of the 10th annual World Social Forum were attended by roughly 35,000 people from 39 countries.

The Forum's panelists and speakers included sociologists, economists, intellectuals, and politicians from around the globe participating in 915 different conferences, seminars, and workshops throughout the five-day event.

On Friday, the World Social Forum concluded its debates under the slogan “10 years later: challenges and proposals for another possible world.”

As with previous Forums, capitalism and consumerism were held responsible for most of the world's economic, cultural, and environmental woes.

The various "crises of civilization and collective rights" and a number of other topics were discussed at this year's Forum.

As in previous years, an anti-capitalist sentiment reigned supreme, particularly in regard to environmental issues.

Businessman Oded Grajew, the founder of the WSF, told the media that the proposal of another possible world is valid, created in comparison to the advance of neoliberalism, represented at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117464§ionid=351020706.

Unite to change the world, WSF says

Wed, 27 Jan 2010

The 10th World Social Forum (WSF) has kicked off five days of criticizing capitalism in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Participants want to remind the world that capitalists are exploiting the poor.

Meanwhile, its antithesis, the 14th World Economic Forum (WEF), a meeting of rich nations, opens on Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland. It is an annual meeting held to debate issues facing the global economy.

The WSF, set up to counter the "worldview" of rich nations, on Tuesday called on activists worldwide to "unite to change the world."

Brazilian human rights activist Sergio Bernardo proclaimed that "the rich have driven the capitalist system into chaos, but the WSF will be letting them know that we can create a world free of exploitation that will help the poor."

More than 25,000 trade unionists and social, environmental, and political activists from around the globe kicked off the first of almost 30 WSF events that will take place throughout the world this year.

Catholic liberation theologist Francisco Whitaker pointed out that "lingering fallout from the financial crisis is proof that the world economy must be re-tooled to benefit people, not big companies."

The WSF is only "a tool" and must not be confused with the global movement for another world, Whitaker said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117145§ionid=351020706.