The European Social Forum (ESF) was a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement (also known as the Global Justice Movement). In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but later it became biannual due to difficulties with finding host countries. The conference was last held in 2010. It aims to allow social movements, trade unions, NGOs, refugees, peace and anti-imperial groups, anti-racist movements, environmental movements, networks of the excluded and community campaigns from Europe and the world to come together and discuss themes linked to major European and global issues, in order to coordinate campaigns, share ideas and refine organizing strategies. It emerged from the World Social Forum and follows its Charter of Principles.
The first forum was held in Florence in November 2002. The slogan was "Against war, racism and neo-liberalism," with specific reference to US president George W. Bush's plan for regime change in Iraq. The Assembly of Social Movements held directly after the ESF launched a call for a Europe-wide day of action against the incipient Iraq War. The call was echoed by the Assembly of Social Movements held after the World Social Forum a few months later and eventually led to the "largest protest event in human history",[1] the 15 February Global day of action against the war.[2]
Before its opening the ESF created a large political debate between different Tuscan local personages. The President of the Region, Claudio Martini, although criticised on some points by no-global activists, had been a supporter of the movement since the time of the Genoa Group of Eight Summit protest on one side and the right-wing Italian government on the other. People feared that the ESF could provoke riots and accidents such as those of the Genoa Group of Eight Summit protest, from 18 July to 22 July 2001. Florentine individuals, such as the controversial journalist Oriana Fallaci, intervened in the debate. Fallaci invited the people of Florence to shut up every shop and stay in their houses. She also compared the ESF to the nazi occupation of Florence. Other opponents of the ESF included the political scientist Giovanni Sartori, a liberal critic of Silvio Berlusconi's government but an admirer of the United States, and the filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, whose right-wing political views were already well-known. Another group of intellectuals from various political strands defended the ESF and signed an appeal favourable to the meeting. Among these were the journalist Tiziano Terzani and the organizers of the "professors' movement" (a group of university professors that had organized both a demonstration and discussion groups against Berlusconi's policies).
In fact, the European Social Forum, which occupied the historical Fortezza da Basso and other conference buildings with its 60.000 delegates, did not provoke any incidents. It ended with a huge demonstration against the war, which the organizers claimed included the participation of 1,000,000 people. The debate on peace and pacifism considered the most important debate ion the session, although the program of the Forum included a large spectrum of issues: (immigration, European Union's constitution, the Tobin Tax and many others). Gino Strada, president of Emergency, the Italian association that helps civil victims of armed conflicts, and a leader of the pacifist movement, was one of the most popular orators. Some large NGOs such as Amnesty International joined the ESF, together with more radical groups such as ATTAC and the left-wing parliamentarians. At the end of the meeting, even pro-globalists such as the then president of the European CommissionRomano Prodi showed sympathy for the moderation of the movement and for its pacifist stance.
A network of volunteer translators, Babels, was set up to interpret the event into the various languages of the people attending.
Second ESF
The demonstration at the ESF in Paris 2003
The second European Social Forum was held in Paris in November 2003.
Organizers claim that over 50,000 people attended and that around 150,000 marched in the demonstration held on the last day.
In France there has been some criticism of the organization for not being open enough. The participation of the French Socialist Party, the Parti Socialiste, also generated a lot of criticism, because the party was a proponents of market liberalization in the 1990s, but the most prominent group at the event was the Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire.
Some anarchist groups organised a rival event in the city at the same time, while a women's forum was held in the days preceding the social forum, in order to counteract the perceived under-representation of women at the first ESF. It is claimed that over 3,000 women attended.
Third ESF
One of many packed meetings at the ESF 2004
The third European Social Forum was held in London, mostly at Alexandra Palace but also with events throughout the Bloomsbury area of London on the 15–17 October 2004.
The organisers claimed that approximately 25,000 people took part in 500 plenaries, seminars, workshops, and cultural events, which were addressed by over 2,500 speakers. Participants came from across the continent and even from beyond the boundaries of European Union.
This forum showed a marked increased in participation from minority groups such as black, Asian, Muslim, and refugee networks. More women were represented on the speaker platforms than in previous forums. The forum also included for the first time a three-day cultural programme organised through open submission through the ESF website.
Unlike the Paris forum, in London there was initially no money provided to pay for events. Funding eventually came from the Greater London Authority and the Mayor's office (Ken Livingstone and his officers, many of whom are in Socialist Action), several Trade Unions such as NATFHE (the college lecturer's union), AMICUS (a largely technical and industrial union), the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) and UNISON (the UK's largest public sector union), which provided funds, office space, subsidised tickets for unemployed and asylum seeker attendees and paid for some of the meeting space at Alexandra Palace.
Other groups, for instance the London Social Forum, felt that the main organizing approach was too top-down and instead set up "horizontally" organised fringe events. These were known as the 'autonomous' or 'beyond' ESF events. Participants ranged from non-governmental organisations, to political parties such as the Green Party, to unaligned anarchists and socialists.
The Millennium Dome was turned into a giant hostel for over 5,000 participants to sleep in during the course of the event.
Subhi al Mashadani, the leader of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, was due to speak in a meeting on the Iraq war, but never got to speak. He was shouted down by some members of the audience who felt he was collaborating with the occupation and who surged towards the stage when he attempted to address the 2,000 strong audience. The ESF's security took no chances and dragged a furious Mashadani from the stage for his own protection. The "End the Occupation" session was stopped, a first in the history of the ESF.
Later in the day an intervention was made by some of those who had been involved with the autonomous spaces during a meeting on anti-fascism. They intended to invade the stage during the speech of the Mayor of LondonKen Livingstone (who opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but is a member of the Labour Party which supported it). In fact, Ken Livingstone had already decided not to speak at the event. His decision has been attributed by the National Assembly Against Racism to threats from anarchists[3][unreliable source?] but the intervention went ahead. The SWP's Weyman Bennett, a steering member of Unite Against Fascism and chair of the meeting, claimed that he was assaulted by an anarchist.[citation needed] A banner was hung up stating "Ken's Party - War Party" and the stage was turned into an open-microphone event with speeches against the 'vertical' organisation of the ESF, the war in Iraq, and recent attacks on freedom of speech by the FBI (such as taking Indymedia servers down with international articles). After the intervention, the originally planned meeting about anti-fascism went ahead but with a reduced audience. These events echoed the attempts by anarchists to attack French Socialist Party speakers in the Paris forum, an attack that was stopped by security.
The end of the forum saw a massive international demonstration through central London and a rally at Trafalgar Square. However, the Metropolitan Police arrested a number of anarchists on their way to this event. Javier Ruis was arrested at the Rally itself. He subsequently claimed that the West Essex Zapatista were responsible for the threats against Ken Livingstone, claiming that this was an example of NeoistInvisible Theatre.[4][unreliable source?] The size of the rally was seen as a sign of its success as an event, though many European critics noted that all of the speakers were British and chosen by the British organisers.[citation needed] Estimations of the numbers present ranged from 70,000 to 100,000 people.[citation needed] Speakers called for an end to war, racism and privatisation. They advocated peace and social justice for Europe.
Fourth ESF
Athens ESF poster
The fourth European Social Forum was held in Athens,[5]Greece on 4–7 May 2006. According to the organizers, more than 35,000 registered. The demonstration on 7 May, Saturday afternoon, was announced by the media to have a participation of 80,000 demonstrators, a record in Athens since the anti-war mobilisation on February 15, 2003.
Fifth ESF
The fifth European Social Forum was held in Malmö, Sweden on 17–21 September 2008. Approximately 20,000 people were expected to participate in the forum.[6]
Sixth ESF
The sixth European Social Forum was held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 1–4 July 2010.[7]
İstanbul
Criticism
As a major political event that brings together highly diverse social movements from across Europe,[8] the ESF has been praised and criticized by various actors, both inside and outside the Forum. While outsiders, especially the mainstream media, tend to focus on "scandalous" singular events, groups, or persons and interpret them as representative for the ESF as a whole, insiders have mainly criticized various aspects of the ESF organizing process.[9]
Criticism in relation to the fifth ESF (Malmö)
In the demonstration after the European Social Forum 2008 in Malmö, controversial political figures such as Abdullah Öcalan and Fidel Castro were praised by some demonstrators. 300[citation needed] of the demonstrators were masked, although it was forbidden. Some demonstrators attempted to break a bank window and threw bottles and stones.[10][11][12]
The liberal Swedish daily Sydsvenskan considered it "disgusting" that the ESF 2008 hosted a panel discussion on how ”imperialism and zionism” use list of terrorist organizations to weaken "freedom movements, leftist organizations and solidarity groups" in "Palestina, Basque, Colombia, Greekland, Turkey, Belgium and Denmark".[13] These lists contain Basquean ETA, Colombian FARC, Kurdish PKK and previously also Palestinian PLO and PLFP. The seminar was organized by Mikael ”micro” Cromsjö, whose blogs host "unholy alliances of right and left extremism". According to the seminar summary, a secret elite alliance has been pursuing Global Order with a single money, government and army, for hundreds if not thousands of years.[13]
Criticism in relation to anti-capitalist positions
According to Sydsvenskan, the countries that have permitted "free trade and liberal politics", "have seen poverty and need decline, in some cases dramatically". "As the NGOs of rich countries oppose globalization by signs, slogans and stone storms in the name of poor countries, Africans and Asians call for more free trade, capitalism and globalization." According to a study by the "respected Pew Research Center" of 40,000 people, almost everywhere, particularly in Africa and Asia, a majority of people has a positive attitude on globalization".[14]
The WOMBLES were a loosely aligned anarchist and anti-capitalist group based in London. They gained prominence in the early 2000s for wearing white overalls with padding and helmets at May Day protests, mimicking the Italian group Tute Bianche.
Peoples' Global Action (PGA) was the name of a worldwide co-ordination of radical social movements, grassroots campaigns and direct actions in resistance to capitalism and for social and environmental justice. PGA was part of the anti-globalization movement.
Anarchism in Africa refers both to purported anarchic political organisation of some traditional African societies and to modern anarchist movements in Africa.
The Cairo Conference against U.S. hegemony and war on Iraq and in solidarity with Palestine, generally known simply as Cairo Anti-war Conference, is an anti-war and anti-neo-liberalism conference held regularly since 2002 in Cairo, Egypt. The Cairo Conference set up the International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq which helped to coordinate the worldwide demonstrations on 15 February 2003. In 2009, the Conference was banned by the government of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
On 15 February 2003, a coordinated day of protests was held across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent Iraq War. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the invasion, war, and occupation took place. The day was described by social movement researchers as "the largest protest event in human history".
The Internationalist Workers' Left (DEA) (Greek: Διεθνιστική Εργατική Αριστερά) is a Trotskyist organization in Greece. It was founded in 2001 after splitting from the Socialist Workers' Party-International Socialist Tendency (SEK-IST). The organization was particularly active in the Greek Social Forum and the Coalition of the Radical Left. It maintains a sisterhood relationship with the International Socialist Organization (ISO) in the United States. Through the ISO, the DEA has developed connections with both the Socialist Alternative in Australia and the Movement for Socialism in Switzerland.
Anarchism in Greece traces its roots to ancient Greece but was formed as a political movement during the 19th century. It was in the ancient era that the first libertarian thoughts appeared when philosophers based on rationality questioned the fundamentals of tradition. Modern anarchism in Greece emerged in the 19th century, heavily influenced by the contemporary European classical anarchism. Because of the Bolshevik success in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of the Communist Party, anarchism faded after the first decades of the 20th century. The collapse of the military junta put an end to the monopoly of the political power from the Right, whereas the dissolution of the Soviet Union diminished the allure of the Communist Party of Greece allowing anarchist groups to gain pace in Athens and other cities.
Anarchism was an influential contributor to the social politics of the First Brazilian Republic. During the epoch of mass migrations of European labourers at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, anarchist ideas started to spread, particularly amongst the country’s labour movement. Along with the labour migrants, many Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German political exiles arrived, many holding anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist ideas. Some did not come as exiles but rather as a type of political entrepreneur, including Giovanni Rossi's anarchist commune, the Cecília Colony, which lasted few years but at one point consisted of 200 individuals.
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. Some of the methods used to achieve these goals include advocacy of pacifism, nonviolent resistance, diplomacy, boycotts, peace camps, ethical consumerism, supporting anti-war political candidates, supporting legislation to remove profits from government contracts to the military–industrial complex, banning guns, creating tools for open government and transparency, direct democracy, supporting whistleblowers who expose war crimes or conspiracies to create wars, demonstrations, and political lobbying. The political cooperative is an example of an organization which seeks to merge all peace-movement and green organizations; they may have diverse goals, but have the common ideal of peace and humane sustainability. A concern of some peace activists is the challenge of attaining peace when those against peace often use violence as their means of communication and empowerment.
British Tamils Forum or BTF, is a largest organisation representing the Tamil Community in the United Kingdom. The BTF intends to be the voice of the Tamil Community in the UK by raising the issues on Tamils in UK and to bring awareness to the issues affecting Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka and around the world. The BTF's work is focused on addressing the root cause to the conflict through an international justice mechanism to bring truth and justice to all victims of war and to bring end to the entrenched culture of impunity in Sri Lanka.
Contemporary anarchism within the history of anarchism is the period of the anarchist movement continuing from the end of World War II and into the present. Since the last third of the 20th century, anarchists have been involved in anti-globalisation, peace, squatter and student protest movements. Anarchists have participated in armed revolutions such as in those that created the Makhnovshchina and Revolutionary Catalonia, and anarchist political organizations such as the International Workers' Association and the Industrial Workers of the World have existed since the 20th century. Within contemporary anarchism, the anti-capitalism of classical anarchism has remained prominent.
Types of socialism include a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership and democratic control of the means of production and organizational self-management of enterprises as well as the political theories and movements associated with socialism. Social ownership may refer to forms of public, collective or cooperative ownership, or to citizen ownership of equity in which surplus value goes to the working class and hence society as a whole. There are many varieties of socialism and no single definition encapsulates all of them, but social ownership is the common element shared by its various forms Socialists disagree about the degree to which social control or regulation of the economy is necessary, how far society should intervene, and whether government, particularly existing government, is the correct vehicle for change.
The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or movement against neoliberal globalization. There are many definitions of anti-globalization.
The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued the work of the dissolved First International, though excluding the powerful anarcho-syndicalist movement. While the international had initially declared its opposition to all warfare between European powers, most of the major European parties ultimately chose to support their respective states in World War I. After splitting into pro-Allied, pro-Central Powers, and antimilitarist factions, the international ceased to function. After the war, the remaining factions of the international went on to found the Labour and Socialist International, the International Working Union of Socialist Parties, and the Communist International.
The Anti-Racist Alliance (ARA) was a British anti-racist organisation formed in November 1991. It was established mainly by black activists in the Labour Party.
Anarchism in Hungary emerged from the social democratic movement in the late 19th century, coming to play a prominent role in the anti-militarist movement during World War I and in the subsequent revolution that culminated in the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The anarchist movement was then repressed by the Horthy regime, before re-emerging as part of the anti-fascist resistance movement during World War II. This second wave of anarchism was also repressed, this time by the newly established communist regime. Anarchist ideas were briefly expressed during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 but remained largely suppressed until the fall of socialism, which gave way to a third wave of anarchism in Hungary.
Anarchism in Denmark emerged in the late 19th century from the revolutionary factions of early social democratic spheres, crystalizing into a widespread anarcho-syndicalist movement that reached its height during the late 1910s. After the disintegration of organized syndicalism, anarchists in post-war Denmark began to organize the squatters' movement, which led to the creation of Freetown Christiania.
Anarchism in Latvia emerged from the Latvian National Awakening and saw its apex during the 1905 Russian Revolution. Eventually the Latvian anarchist movement was suppressed by a series of authoritarian regimes in the country.
Anarchism in Croatia first emerged in the late 19th century within the socialist workers' movement. Anarchist tendencies subsequently spread from neighboring countries, taking root in a number of cities throughout the country. The movement experienced repression from a succession of authoritarian regimes before finally reemerging around the time of the independence of Croatia.
Anarchism in Austria first developed from the anarchist segments of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA), eventually growing into a nationwide anarcho-syndicalist movement that reached its height during the 1920s. Following the institution of fascism in Austria and the subsequent war, the anarchist movement was slow to recover, eventually reconstituting anarcho-syndicalism by the 1990s.
References
Notes
↑ Walgrave, Stefaan & Rucht, Dieter (2010): Introduction. In: Stefaan Walgrave & Dieter Rucht (Eds.): The world says no to war: Demonstrations against the War on Iraq. Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, pp.xiii–xxvi. p.xiii
↑ see also: Murray, Andrew & German, Lindsey (2005): Stop the war: The story of Britain's biggest mass movement. London: Bookmarks. p.107
↑ See the survey results reported in: della Porta, Donatella (Ed.) (2009) Another Europe: Conceptions and Practices of Democracy in the European Social Forums. Abingdon: Routledge.
↑ Haug, Christoph; Haeringer, Nicolas & Mosca, Lorenzo (2009): The ESF organizing process in a diachronic perspective. In: Donatella della Porta (Ed.) Another Europe: Conceptions and Practices of Democracy in the European Social Forums. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 26–45.
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