TNI Activities at World Social Forum VII, Nairobi, Kenya, 20-25 January 2007

TNI

January 2007

New Politics

1. WSF 7 years - Relations with progressive political parties and governments: independence or hypocrisy?
Date : Tuesday 23 january 2006
Time: 17:30 - 20:00
Location: tba

Whilst political parties are specifically excluded from WSF participation,
invited political leaders have contributed to, and arguably on occasion
dominated, instances of the WSF. Direct and indirect financial support has
also been accepted from local and national governments. Within the wider
debate about the politicisation of the WSF itself, this session will focus
specifically on balancing relations with "likeminded" players from the
government sector.

Dialogue format with two government representatives and civil society actors:
Vice Minister Partrizia Sentinelli, Italy; Luis Dulci, Brazil

Invited Respondents :

Kumi Naidoo (South Africa)
Sylvia Borren (Netherlands)
Oded Grajew (Brasil)
Vinod Raina (India)
Rabia Abdelkrim-Chikh (Senegal)
Moussa Demba (Senegal)
Hilary Wainwright (UK)

2. Being a left activist today: Dialogue among militants!
Date: 21 January
Time: 11h30 - 14h00

Venue: tba

I - Context and Reasons

The globalized world under the hegemony of the market economy confront the left ideas and practices, creating new challenges each day. Since the end of the XX century we have been facing crises and inquiries on the classical organizations forms and on political action related to the resistance against capitalism. Even though the ideas, principles and values of equity, justice and solidarity among peoples, that motivated generations all over the world, are still alive, their capacity of public expression and social motivation must be renewed.

We are sure that the answers to those challenges and problems will not be offered by an hegemonic organism. This certainty strengthens the importance of opened spaces for dialogue, based on the profound respect for our diversity. The World Social Forum represents today an exceptional ambiance to implement a deep dialogue among militants of many different places, with different trajectories and representing social movements working on a variety of subjects. For besides the specific struggles that are carried out daily, we have the anti-neoliberal struggle in common. We also share the political responsibility to renew the left practice and the left ideas, in order to contribute for the invigoration of the struggles against capitalism.

II - The proposal

Ibase and Rosa Luxemburg Institute are working together to contribute for deepen the critic left reflection, recognizing a deficit of the alternative thought today. This present initiative belongs to this common effort. The proposal presented here is about a seminar in the World Social Forum, in Nairobi, from the 20th to the 25th January. It will involve at about 10 militants/activists, men and women, coming from Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. We are asking you to answer three questions related to the seminar subject. These questions are supposed to be answered in small texts, three pages maximum, and it will be sent to the other participants previously. Starting from this initiative during the WSF - that follows a deeper reflection process that is already shared among a lot of militants and organizations - we can organize the dialogue continuation and the articulation with other initiatives that can be related to it.

The debate will be recorded, edited and disclosed in the internet. It can be transformed into a small book, being part of a collection that Ibase is drifting to create in 2007.

The questions are:

What are, in your opinion, the practical and theoretical differences between a left and a right political action today?
What are, in your opinion, the fundamental bases for a political project of left today?
How this project would be accomplished and with whom?

III participants

Brian Ashley, Jubile South (South Africa)
Cândido Grzybowski,Ibase - Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses (Brazil)
Anibal Quijano, Centro de Investigaciones Sociales (Peru)
Hilary Wainwright, TNI (England)
Edgard Lambert, Universidad Central de Venezuela
Lilian Celliberti, Articulación Feminista Marcosur (Uruguay)
Meena Menon, Focus on the Global South (India)
Michael Brie, Rosa Luxemburg Institute (Germany)
Giogio Riolo, Punto Rosso (Italy)
L. Muthoni Wanyek, Fermenet - African Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET) (Quenia)
Prabir Punkayastha, All India Peoples Science Netwok (India)
Raffaella Bolinni, Arci (Italy)
Daniela Dahn, Rosa Luxemburg Institute (Germany)

3. What Next: New Global Challenges, Trendlines and Alternatives
Date: Sunday 21 January 2007, Nairobi

Organised by Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

Bold, thought-provoking future scenarios by a number of visionary and forward-looking scholar-activists. What are grim trendlines of new technologies, corporate concentration and commodification for the coming 30 years? How can civil society significantly change the course of world development? The session presents some of the highlights from the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation’s What Next project.

Speakers: Walden Bello, Praful Bidwai, Larry Lohmann, Pat Mooney,
Vandana Shiva