10.08.2009
Multiple Activities throughout the world to mark the WSF's 10th birthday celebrations in 2010

In 2010, the World Social Forum will celebrate the 10 years of its process. To mark this date, the WSF International Council decided in its last meeting, held in May in Rabat, Morocco, that in the following year the WSF will hold multiple activities throughout the world year-round. To give the WSF process during 2010 a common identity, the IC suggested using the global crisis theme – understood not just as an economic crisis, but also as an environmental, food, energy, civilization and humanitarian crisis – but at the same time respecting the local organization autonomy in the definition of themes to be discussed during each event.

Such strategy intends for the WSF space to boost the articulation of organizations and social movements looking for responses and alternatives to the global crisis. For the IC the challenge that is set upon us is to not only give an answer to the continuous attacks on work and living conditions, but also to build a different exit from the crisis, one that make possible to substitute the neo-liberalism for a more just social model.

A countless number of activities and initiatives for 2010 has been presented so far, among them thematic, regional and national world forums. Although many events have not been scheduled or confirmed yet, the preparation of the following events is already on its way, to which many other will be added in the near future:

January:
- 24th to 28th: 10 years of the World Social Forum. Porto Alegre, Brazil.
- Catalan Social Forum on Alternatives to Crisis (to be scheduled).

March:
- 22nd to 26th: the Right to the City at the World Urban Forum. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 26th to 28th: Thematic Forum on “Civilization Crisis, Good Living and Alternative Paradigms”. Cuzco, Peru.

June:
- 22nd to 26th: US Social Forum, on migration, housing and wars – Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- European Social Forum. Istanbul, Turkey (to be scheduled).

July:
- 20th and 21st: Americas Social Forum, Asuncion, Paraguay.

September/October:
- World Education Forum. Palestine (to be scheduled).

December:
- 9th to 13th: World Education Forum, thematic on Education, Researching and Culture of Peace. Santiago de Compostela, Galicia.

To be scheduled yet:
- Thematic Forums in the Maghreb-Machrek region:
Labor issues in Algeria
Gender issues in Jordan
On Agricultural workers, Peasants and Health in Egypt
Forum on Social Movements in Morocco
Iraq Social Forum

- Thematic Forum on democracy, Bangladesh.
- Forum on the Collective Rights of People, Catalonia.
- Thematic Forum on Alternatives to Financial Crisis, Mexico City.

During the next IC meeting, to be held in October in the city of Montreal, Canada, there will be a follow up of the debate on the 2010 WSF process. The idea is that there should be common slogans and visual arts for all events, which should also get a 10 years of the WSF celebration tag. 2010 will therefore be a key year between the actions happening during 2009 and the realization of a African WSF, to be held in 2011 in Senegal.