World Social Forum goes worldwide

01/01/2006 - 16h01

Marcela Rebelo
Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília – An important and significant change will be made in this year's World Social Forum - the 6th. Past forums took place in Porto Alegre for the first three years, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Then it moved to Bombaim in 2004. And went back to Porto Alegre in 2005. This year the event will take place almost simultaneously on three continents: South America, Africa and Asia.

Betwen January 24 and 29, the forum will be in Caracas, Venezuela. A few days later it will open in Bamako, Mali. And a few months later, the final stage will take place in Karachi, Pakistan. The idea is to make the forum more democratic, participatory - especially for the local people near the venues - and horizontal, explains Gustavo Codas, a labor leader from Paraguay, who is a member of the forum organizing committee.

Translation: Allen Bennett