The
World Social Forum (WSF) is an annual meeting held by members of the
anti-globalization (using the term
globalization in a
doctrinal sense not a literal one) or
alter-globalization movement to coordinate world campaigns, share and refine organizing strategies, and inform each other about movements from around the world and their issues. It tends to meet in January when its "great capitalist rival", the
World Economic Forum is meeting in
Davos,
Switzerland. This is not a coincidence. The date was chosen because of the logistical difficulty of organizing a mass protest in Davos and to try to overshadow the coverage of the World Economic Forum in the news media.
The WSF has prompted the organizing of many regional social forums, including the European Social Forum, the Asian Social Forum, the Mediterranean Social Forum, and many local and national social forum, such as the Italian Social Forum, Liverpool Social Forum and the Boston Social Forum. The first-ever US Social Forum took place in Atlanta in June of 2007. Most, though not all, social forums adhere to the WSF Charter of Principles drawn up by the World Social Forum.
In 2006 the WSF was held in different cities around the world, including Caracas, Venezuela and Bamako, Mali (both in January); and Karachi, Pakistan (March). In January 2007 it was held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The first WSF was held from 25 January to 30 January 2001 in Porto Alegre, organized by many groups involved in the alternative globalization movement, including the French Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens (ATTAC). The WSF was sponsored, in part, by the Porto Alegre government, led by Brazilian Worker's Party (PT). The town was experimenting with an innovative model for the local government which combined the traditional representative institutions with the participation of open assemblies of the people. 12,000 people attended from around the world. At the time, Brasil was also in a moment of transformation that later would lead to the electoral victory of the PT candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
