00.00.0000 Methodology of the Polycentric WSF 2006
The sixth edition of the World Social Forum will be polycentric, this means it will be decentralized, in different part of the world, in January 2006. Three cities will host the 6th WSF: Bamako (Mali-Africa), Caracas (Venezuela – America) and Karachi (Pakistan-Asia). The decision of having a polycentric WSF had been made during a meeting of the WSF’s International Council (IC) from January 24th to 25th, 2005, in Porto Alegre.
At following IC meetings, which took place in March and April, 2005 in Utrecth (Holland) and this year’s June in Barcelona (Spain), the IC’c Methodology and Content Commission elaborated some guidelines for the polycentric events’ local organizing committees. Read them below:
1. Have previous consultations in order to determine the thematic axes.
2. Anticipation of deadline for registering activities.
3. Open the space of the Forum for different kind of activities.
4. Stimulate the merging of self-organized activities.
5. Merging of activities is not compulsory.
6. Plan the Forum’s space and time in order to promote articulations among organizations.
7. Build a Proposal’s Billboard of Action for the Forum
8. Celebration-like opening and closing ceremonies
9. Each event should take place in an urban space, where a World Social Territory would be built, following the example of what was done at the WSF 2005.
10. Propose communication spaces, where interconnections among the three events will take place.
THEMATIC CONSULTATION
Each polycentric forum also have their own methodological particularities. The Methodology Work Group (WG) of the WSF Americas venue and the 2nd Americas Social Forum’s Organizing Committee (OC), which will take place in Caracas, Venezuela) has elaborated some methodological points during the Americas Hemispheric Council’s meeting, which occurred from August 14th to 17th, in Caracas (Venezuela). Read them below:
- The forums program should guarantee a combination of worldwide and continental dimensions in its themes.
- In the program, there will be a combination of self-organized events and also events co-organized by the OC.
- The thematic axes will be built based on a consultation done by multiple means.
- As for articulation and merging initiatives, deadlines should be guaranteed and convergences that have already been experimented by most part of organizations should be respected.
- This forum has the opportunity and the challenge of being the first one to put in practice a policy of equality.
Following the methodology adopted by the Caracas OC, a thematic consultation was organized from June to July, 2005. Its results were analyzed during an Americas Hemispheric Council’s meeting, which took place from August 14th to 17th, in Caracas (Venezuela), and which came up with the definition of six thematic axes and two transversal axes. As for Bamako and Karachi, a pre-defined list given by each events’ bodies already exists. Besides, the registration of activities will point new themes. Click on the links below and see the polycentric events’ thematic axes:
updated on 05/22/2013
