São Paulo - The creation of a space for groups with common themes to debate ideas is one of the innovations already decided for the World Social Forum (FSM), which will once again be held in Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, from January 26-31, 2005.

After being held this year for the first time elsewhere than Porto Alegre, in Mumbai, India, the FSM is returning to its place of origin next year. The first round of discussions to prepare for the event occurred last week in São Paulo. The organizers want the next forum to be more dynamic and better attended than the 2003 Brazilian edition, when an estimated 130 thousand people participated, including a significant foreign presence. They also want to transform it into a more useful instrument for the changes desired by most of organized society. They also plan to strengthen the regional forums, turning them into multiplier events that succeed in widening the participation of excluded peoples.

There already exist some initial proposals of themes for the event, such as: Sovereign Economies by the People, for the People, and against Neoliberal Capitalism; Peace and Demilitarization; the Struggle against War, Free Trade, and Debt; the Defense of Diversities, Plurality, and Identities; Social Struggles and Democratic Alternatives to Neoliberal Domination: Human Rights and Dignity for a Just and Egalitarian World; and the Construction of Cultures of Resistance among Peoples.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Marli Moreira
Translator: David Silberstein
08/30/2004