The World Social Forum (WSF) is an annual meeting held by members of the alternative globalization movement to coordinate world campaigns, share and refine organizing strategies, and inform each other about movements from around the world and their issues. It tends to meet in January when its "great
capitalist rival", the World Economic Forum is meeting in Davos, Switzerland. All social forums adhere to the WSF Charter of Principles drawn up by the World Social Forum.
The first WSF was held from 25 January to 30 January 2001 in Porto Alegre, organized by many groups involved in the alternative globalization movement. The WSF was sponsored, in part, by the Porto Alegre government, led by Brazilian Worker's Party (PT). The town was experimenting with an innovative model for the local government which combined the traditional representative institutions with the participation of open assemblies of the people. 12,000 people attended from around the world.
The second WSF, also held in Porto Alegre from 31 January to 5 February 2002, had over 12,000 official delegates representing people from 123 countries, 60,000 attendees, 652 workshops, and 27 talks. One famous speaker was famed American linguistic author Noam Chomsky.
The third WSF was again held in Porto Alegre, in January 2003. There were many parallel workshops, including, for example the Life After Capitalism workshop, which proposed focussed discussion on non-communist, non-capitalist, participative possibilities for different aspects of social, political, economic,
communication structures.
The fourth WSF was held in Mumbai, India, from 16 January to 21 January 2004. The attendance was expected to be 75,000 and it shot over by thousands. The cultural diversity was one notable aspect of the forum.
The fifth World Social Forum for 2005 was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil between 26 January and 31 January. There were 155,000 registered participants at the Forum, with most coming from Brazil, Argentina, the United States, Uruguay, and France. A number of participants in the forum released the Porto Alegre Manifesto.
The sixth World Social Forum was "polycentric" held in January 2006 in Caracas (Venezuela) and Bamako (Mali), and in March 2006, in Karachi, Pakistan. The Forum in Pakistan was delayed to March because of the earthquakes that recently occured there.
Upcoming in late June of 2007 (June 27-July 1), the first ever occasion of the world social forum movement to happen in the United States will take place in Atlanta. This year, the organizing committee of the United States Social Forum will sponsor a small gathering in Durham, North Carolina. The USSF intends to be the fruition of organizing by the poor, the dispossesed , the marginalized in our great country. Durham will be an organizer's gathering to prepare for Atlanta.
We have placed here the organizing principles for the USSF:
We believe that there is a strategic need to unite the struggles of oppressed communities and peoples within the United States (particularly Black, Latino, Asian/Pacific-Islander and Indigenous communities) to the struggles of oppressed nations in the Third World.
We believe the USSF should place the highest priority on groups that are actually doing grassroots organizing with working class people of color, who are training organizers, building long-term structures of resistance, and who can work well with other groups, seeing their participation in USSF as building the whole, not just their part of it.
We believe the USSF must be a place where the voices of those who are most marginalized and oppressed from Indigenous communities can be heard--a place that will recognize Indigenous peoples, their issues and struggles.
We believe the USSF should link US-based youth organizers, activists, and cultural workers to the struggles of their brothers and sisters abroad, drawing common connections and exploring the deeper meanings of solidarity.
We believe the USSF is important because we must have a clear and unified approach to social justice issues, and meaningful positions on global issues.
We believe that a USSF sends a message to other people's movements around the world that there is an active movement in the United States opposing U.S. policies at home and abroad.
We believe that the USSF will help build national networks that will be better able to collaborate with international networks and movements.
We believe the USSF is more than an event. It is an ongoing process to contribute to strengthening the entire movement, bringing together the various sectors and issues that work for global justice.