Voices from the World Social Forum

8 February 2011

Susan George

Although initiated as a counter-forum to Davos, the World Social Forum has evolved beyond it now, focusing on the root causes of problems facing humanity and developing real alternatives as solutions.

Susan George talks about the illegitimacy of the Davos system, and how the World Social Forum has developed its own agenda in recent years focusing on solutions and alternatives. She gives one example regarding taxation on global financial transactions - and how the money created could be used to invest in a green transition and support for the global south.

2011 World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal

TNI is an active coordinating member of the WSF, and three TNI fellows - Daniel Chavez, Brid Brennan and Susan George participated this year.

In particular, Susan joined the seminar on "Reclaiming Public and Community Water in Africa - Improving water supply through democratization and Public-Public Partnerships (PuPs)" which coincides with the release of the French edition of TNI's flagship joint publication Reclaiming Public Water which is hoped will offer much inspiration to movements and organizations in Francophone Africa struggling for public water service.

Read more about TNI's work on Water Justice >>

Networked Journalist Project in Dakar

TNI also worked with Red Pepper and Institute for the Future to promote key issues raised at the World Social Forum to key international media including the Guardian and the BBC. Below are some of the articles that were published as a result:

Interview with Susan George on Davos, WEF and WSF

About the authors

Susan George

Susan George is one of TNI's most renowned fellows for her long-term and ground-breaking analysis of global issues. Author of fourteen widely translated books, she describes her work in a cogent way that has come to define TNI: "The job of the responsible social scientist is first to uncover these forces [of wealth, power and control], to write about them clearly, without jargon... and finally..to take an advocacy position in favour of the disadvantaged, the underdogs, the victims of injustice."

Recent publications from Alternative Regionalisms

Crisis and alternatives In the long term we have to transcend capitalism as it cannot ensure a decent livelihood for all nor is it compatible with preserving necessary ecological balances. In the short-term we must start out with basic social democratic demands.	Occupy the left or ignore it? Why the traditional Left needs to understand, be willing to be challenged, and fully embrace the Occupy and Indignado movements.
Financial Governance Beyond the Crisis Dr. Pedro Paez talks about the creation of a new financial architecture in Latin America, based on principles of redistribution, environmental sustainability and social cohesion rather than market principles that dominated the old architecture.	The impact of free trade on the financial crisis … and vice versa Behind the currency wars and the worsening global economic crisis lies a largely unquestioned free trade model that both contributed to the crisis and, without radical reform, is a major obstacle to overcoming it.