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SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS AND DECISIONS
OF
THE AFRICAN SOCIAL FORUM COUNCIL
AFRICAN SOCIAL FORUM
Cairo, Egypt
27-30 July 2004
SUMMARY
OF PROCEEDINGS AND DECISIONS OF THE MEETING OF THE AFRICAN SOCIAL FORUM COUNCIL
At
the post-Mumbai meeting in Nairobi (10-13 May 2004),
it was decided that another meeting will be held to
pursue the work that has been initiated. At the invitation
of Egyptian organisations, the African Social Forum
Council met in Cairo from 27 to 30 July 2004. The programme
of the meeting comprised the following points :
- Define the mission and
procedures of the African Social Forum Council.
-
Prepare the third African Social Forum
2004-2005
-
Prepare the African participation in
the World Social Forum of
Porto Alegre (January 2005)
-
Pursue the discussion relative to the
holding of the World Social Forum in Africa in
2007.
The
meeting was attenbded by 35 organisations and movements
from the following countries : South Africa, Cameroon,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea,
Kenya, Morocco, Mali, Mozambique, Central African Republic,
Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda,
I-
The session was entirely focussed on the mission, role
and operation of the African Social Forum Council, based on the outcome of the
Nairobi meeting, which decided to set up the Council.
The discussions were held in working groups and in plenary
and a consensus was reached on the mission, operation
and membership of the Council.
(See annex
1). Ad-hoc working groups meant to expand participation
and facilitate the consensus were set up at the
end of the Cairo meeting.
A- A working group on the Strategy and Programme
B- A working group on Resource Mobilisation
C- A working group on the mobilisation of social movements
D- A working group on the Youth
E- A working group on culture, education, arts and the media.
F- A working group on media
G-
Proposals ahead of the 2007 World Social Forum.
The
list of members of
these committees is presented in annex 2.
The
proceedings of these working groups will be geared towards
preparations for the organisation of the third edition
of the African Social Forum (Lusaka, Zambia, 10-14 December
2004), and the next African participation in the World
Social Forum of Porto Alegre, scheduled in late January
2005. Their proposals should be submitted by e-mail
to all members of the Council for discussion and consensus.
II- The second
session was devoted to the preparation of the third
edition of the African Social Forum and the African
participation in the Porto Alegre Forum.
After
the presentation of the Secretariat’s report and
that of a member of the Southern African Committee
on the state of progress of the preparations initiated
since May 2004, two important aspects were taken up
and discussed further in groups as well as in plenary
:
- Identification of the challenges
confronting the continent and building a common vision
- Priority action and task-sharing in
the perspective of the African Social Forum and the
World Social Forum of Porto Alegre
A- Identification
of the challenges confronting the continent and building
a common vision
After
presentations by several speakers, the discussions highlighted
two main challenges which the continent should face :
a-
The
dictatorship of neo-liberal policies ;
b-
The policy geared towards the militarisation
of the management of the world Triad (Europe,
United States and Japan), under the leadership of the
American Empire.
1- The land issue and the future of peasant societies
This
theme should facilitate the analysis of the problems
with which African agriculture is confronted in the
neo-liberal globalisation system, bring up the land reform issue in several countries
(Zimbabwe, South Africa, etc.) as well as the mobilisation
of peasant movements and organisations in the Africann
and World Social Forums.
2-
The reconstruction of the United Labour Front.
The
difficulties confronting the African trade unions are
essentially due to the effects of the neo-liberal policies
instituted over the past several years. They entailed
the massive casualisation of workers and the weakening
of the union’s struggling capacities, on the one
hand, and the near-general “informalisation”
of production and labour, on the other.
Integrating
the marginalised workers in a united labour front appears
to be a condition for social reconstruction and the
regeneration of capacities to fight against neo-liberal
policies. Sucn an integration may lead to a new political
situation and the emergence of political forces legitimised
not by donors but by the masses.
3-
National Sovereignty and Democracy.
The
prevailing ideology denies the sovereignty of the peoples
and nations and seems to have
been internalised by leaders of many countries
of the South.
Participants
wondered about the reality of the sovereignty of citizens
and peoples in the conduct of their collective lives,
the management of their resources and their external
relations in a State that is increasingly subjected
to international political and economic pressures. Such
pressures make it increasingly « useless »
to consult the citizen and national institutions
in the face of external powers, whether the latter emanate
from international institutions, States of the North
or from international or national NGOs.
4-
Reconstructing the United Front
of Peoples of the Third World.
The
reconstruction should be essentially based on Afro-Asian
solidarity as a condition for the strengthening of African
and Asian positions in world decisions.
The
African social movement is entrusted with the task of
contributing in reconstructing
solidarity among the peoples in order to create
a power relationship favourable to the organisations
and movements
opposed to the dominant neo-liberal system.
The
discussions highlighted several aspects which need to
be considered in the appreciation of the challenges
and actions to be carried out, mainly:
-
The need to fully integrate the link
between internal and external factors, and avoid the
tendency to give more importance to external factors
to the detriment of internal factors, such as corruption,
human rights violation, lack of democracy, in our countries.
-
The need to have a critical attitude
towards the AU. As conceived, the African Union cannot
address the challenges facing the continent. Actually,
by trying to copy the European model which is a neo-liberal
model, the African Union cannot conceive of a major
vision capable of mobilising the African peoples.
-
Our strategy should consist in gathering
all the forces likely to come together and building
alliances aimed at forming a tremendous strike force
in our struggle to recover our political and economic
sovereignty. From this standpoint, the issue of food
sovereignty was considered as an essential element in the
peoples’ sovereignty. In this regard, the issue
of genetically modified organisms (GMO) as well
as the disastrous consequences of the liberalisation
policies were underscored as the major obstacles to
the achievement of food sovereignty. Alliances between
peasants and the urban population, on the one hand,
and the change of Africans’ consumption habits,
on the other hand, were proposed as elements of the
strategy aimed at meeting this goal.
-
The need to take into account the essential
role of youths in our struggles.
To that effect, not only should they be fully
and completely integrated in the process of the struggle
but their concerns should be taken into account.
-
The need to envisage energetic actions
in order to project another image of Africa. On the one hand, by organising a tribunal of African women in Lusaka
and in Porto Alegre to serve as a space of expression
and exchanges on their struggles and alternatives. On
the other hand, by implementing a broad targeted media
strategy (publication
of flame of Africa, using the Web and the radio, ..).
By
and large, the discussions laid emphasis on the formulation
of alternatives in all fields. The cultural issue was
highlighted as a key element in our struggle. The African
culture has powerful positive elements which can be
used to fend off the harmful and pernicious influence
of the neo-liberal system. It can serve as a bullwark
against the penetration of alienating cultures which
try to control the spirits and hearts of our peoples.
But culture can also be a guide in our attempt to build
another vision of Africa and the world.
The
final programmes of the African Social Forum and the
African participation in the World Social Forum should
be formulated on the basis of these analyses and priorities
defined by common consent.
B-
Priority actions
and task-sharing in the perspective of the African Social Forum
and the World Social Forum of Porto Alegre
The
collective priority action sectors on which the collective activities should be hinged during the Lusaka
and Port Alegre forums are as follows :
a)
The issue of sovereignty and democracy
b)
The land issue and peasant farming
c)
The reconstruction of the labour front
d)
The
Pan-Africanism in question
e)
The reconstruction of the United Front of Peoples of the South
f)
The African Women’s Tribunal
g)
Art and Culture
h)
Media and communication
f)
The alternatives formulated by the African organisations.
Self-organised
or autonoous activities :
they fall under the responsibility of participating organisations which define their content and organise the discussions
thereon. These activities provide the concerned organisations
and movements with the possibility to express themselves
thoroughly and facilitates a more systematic work on
the alternatives. To guarantee mutual enrichment, links
should be established between its activities and collective
activities. This is the case, for example, of the youth
camp which will be organised by the youth groups during
the ASF.
The
Secretariat should be informed about these self-organised
activities not later than 15 October.
African participation in the 2005 World Social Forum of Porto Alegre
: During the discussions
on the issue, emphasis was laid on the need to ensure
a sizebale and quality African presence ;
give a positive image of Africa and another vision of
the world to be shared with the other peoples of the
South.
The
Secretariat’s Responsibilities :
The
Secretariat will not be responsible
for organising all the activities. It was proposed
and accepted that the Secretariat, supported by members
of the Council,
shall :
-
back-up the collective initiatives on the major themes identified.
-
facilitate the organisation of the opening and closing
sessions during the African Social Forum. The opening
session should serve as an opportunity to project a
strong and positive image of Africa. In this regard,
it was proposed that top-notch personalities should
be invited to address the African delegates.
- ensure a cultural presence of quality from
the continent and the Diaspora
-
organise, in Porto Alegre, two major seminars on certain
major themes. These seminars should, to the extent possible,
be organised with other movements of the South, and
involve the African Diaspora. The first seminar
will focus on an in-depth analysis of the challenges
that have been identified while the second will lay emphasis on the alternatives to neo-liberal policies.
It
was recalled that as regards the defrayal of participants’
expenses, and in view of the growing interest
of African organisations and movements in the
ASF and WSF, participants themselves should bear the costs of their participation.
The secretariat will play a back-up role particularly
for organisations with low financial capacity. It
should essentially focus its efforts on :
-
acquiring the means required for the
translation of documents in the major working languages
used on the continent
-
organising the work space for collective
activities
-
stimulating communication and information
THE
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
IN AFRICA -
2007
Discusisons
at the last session focussed on the holding of the next
World Social Forum in
Africa in 2007.
To
that end, participants emphasised that this prospect is a stroke of luck for
the continent in several respects. On the one hand,
it will provide the opportunity –thanks to the
mobilisation of all the democratic social forces -to
express the hopes and and propose
alternatives and thus play a democratic and positive
role. On the other hand, it will facilitate the creation
of a popular critical mass which will compell the internal
and external political forces to take this expression
into account. It will thus greatly influence the future
of the continent in terms of a democratic reconstruction
and the rehabilitation of citizens.
Finally,
it will constitute a high point for building new solidarities
among the peoples, in which the continent will be fully
present.
A
working group was set up (see annex 2) and entrusted with the task of
examining the options provided by the organisation of
such an event. This group should prepare an initial
report for the next Council session which will
be held two days before the forthcoming ASF edition.
At
the closing session of the Council’s meeting,
a Sudanese human rights militant made a presentation
on the situation in Darfur, which was followed by a
lengthy debate on the possible implication of the African
social movement in the resolution of the crisis with
a view to avoiding an
instrumentalisation of the situation by external
forces solely motivated by the predation of the natural
resources of this part of the continent.
Finally,
a declaration was prepared and submitted to the participants
for signing (see annex 3).
After
the closing of the Council session, the Egyptian movements
organised a study and exchange day focussed on the evolution
of trade disputes in Egypt and the prospects of building
a common social platform. The day was held in the presence
of other African participants and was attended by several
organisations of the Egyptian social movement which
showed their interest in
the African Social Forum dynamics.
The
Egytian organisers were bent on holding a cultural event
to share some aspects of their culture with the other
African participants.
ANNEX
I
MISSION AND OPERATION OF THE AFRICAN SOCIAL
FORUM COUNCIL
The
Council is an open space for reflection, facilitation
and convergence between the different components of
the African social movement in their struggle against
the neo-liberal system and its manifestations. As such,
the work of the Council is based on the commitment and
voluntary action of each organisation and each of its
members.
Mission :
1-
On the basis of its analysis of the internal and international
developments which affect the African continent, the
Council proposes the issues and themes around which
the ASF should mobilise
during its various editions.
2-
It defines the relations between the African Social
Forum and the World Social Forum and proposes strategies
aimed at mobilising the African social movements within
the ASF and ensuring an active participation in the
World Social Forum.
However,
it is not invested with the power of coordinating the
African social movement as a whole.
4-
It defines the tasks assigned to the Secretariat and
monitors the state of their implementation.
5-
It operates in a non-hierarchical, democratic and transparent
manner and should reflect all the sensibilities expressed
within the ASF. In this regard, the Council should be
open to all the representatives of the movements and
networks identified in Nairobi as well as to other movements
like the Landless, groups fighting against AIDS, organisations
of the informal sector, etc.
2-
Membership of the Council
A-
The Council is an open space. However, for this opening
to be compatible with the World Social Forum and African
Social Forum Charters, the organisations /networks and
movements should :
1)
formally adhere to the Charter of WSF and ASF principles
2)
be opposed to and fight against the neo-liberal system
and hegemonism.
B-
Membership does not entail representativeness. Within
the framework of the African Social Forum, it is based
on the following principles
:
Commitment,
Voluntary action,
Responsibility
Solidarity.
C-
To promote the opening of the Council and the Forum,
the current members will seek to share information with
the rest of the social movement and include new organisations/networks/movements
in the Social Forum dynamics and the Council.
D-
On this basis, members of the Council should come from
a wide range of organisations and
movements :
-
social movements
-
labour organisations
-
peasant organisations
-
women’s organisations
-
youth organisations
-
human rights associations
-
research organisations/institutions
-
the African Diaspora
-
thematic networks (debt ; trade ; culture;
conflicts; etc.)
Even
though the Council is open, the groups and individuals
involved in the national, sub-regional and thematic
initiatives relative to the African Social Forum
dynamics, as well as the most active African movements
in the struggle bringing into play the basic interests
of peoples of the continent at continental and international
level, should necessarily be a part of it.
Council
members will seek to expand the mobilisation of the
social movement and take individual and collective initiatives
during the African and World Social forums in order
to increase the possibilities of expression and discussions
on the struggles of the continent.
3-
Operation
1-
The Council meets at least twice a year. In case of
necessity, exceptional meetings could be held.
2-
Members pay for their own expenses to participate in
the Council’s meetings.
3-
The decisions of the Council are taken by consensus.
4-
In order to ensure an effective participation in the
decisions of the Council and the efficiency of the proceedings, ad-hoc
committees are set up:
A- A working group on the Strategy and Programme
B- A working group on Resource Mobilisation
C- A working group on the mobilisation of social movements
D- A working group on the Youth
E- A working group on culture, education, arts and the media.
F-
A working group on medias
G-
Proposals ahead of the 2007 World Social Forum.
The
list is not exhaustive. Any other committee considered
necessary could be set up by the Council.
Pursuant
to the African Social Forum and World Social Forum Charters,
the committees are open to all the members of the council
who wish to participate inn them.
The
committees are mandated to prepare the best options
on the issues in question in order to facilitate the
Council’s decisions and consensus. They should
be actively involved in the organisation of the African
Social Forum and in facilitating the African participation
in the World Social Forum.
4-
Relations with the secretariat
A-
The Secretariat carries out a voluntary work of facilitation. The Secretariat does not, under any circumstance, represent a coordinating
body.
B-
There should be a regular information flow between the
Secretariat and the Council, as well as between members
of the Council and the entire social movement. For this
reason, the Secretariat should establish
the tools required to develop communication at
all levels.
C-
The Secretariat presents a follow-up report to the Council
every four months. These Reports should be considered
as indications on the implementation of the tasks assigned
to the Secretariat.
D-
The Secretariat is in charge of the logistics concerning
the meetings of the Council. The
programme of each meeting is established after
prior consultations between the Secretariat and members
of the Council.
E-
Finally, the Secretariat is in charge of writing the
minutes of each meeting. The report is sent to the other
members of the ASF after observations of Council members.
5- Relations with political parties
During
the discussions on the Council’s
mission, the issue relative to relations with
political parties was raised. The consensus reached
in this regard was as follows :
1-
Political parties can be among the forces of change
and share the vision and goals of the Social Movement.
They can, in particular, be opposed to the neo-liberal
vision and imperialism. In this case, alliances may
be possible and even necessary between social movements
and political parties.
2)
They can participate in the activities of the social
movement on the basis of the realities of each country
and and each sub-region, but there is no general rule
applicable to all countries. The parties cannot however
lead the social movement or subject it to their political
agendas.
3)
Members of political parties may participate in the
activities of the Council, in their individual capacity,
provided they comply with
the Charter of the African and World Social Forum
principles.
ANNEX
2 : List of members
of working groups set up by the Cairo African Social
Forum Council
Program
and Methodology
Rabia
Abdelkrim
Samir Amin
Amir Salem
Corinne
Kumar
Saadi Mohammed Said
Hassan A. Sunmonu
Oduor
Ong'wen
Buuba Diop
Godlberg Rindayi
Ouattara
Diakalia
Sara Longwe
Fatma Alloo
Bedoui
Abdelgelil
Helene Rama Niang
Lassaad Jamoussi
Demba
N. Dembele
Taoufik Ben Abdallah
Mobilization
Regis
Mtutu
Lebohang Liepollo Pheko
Kiss Brian Abrahams
Mwadhini
O. Myanza
Kassahun Belete
Wahu Kaara
Taoufik
Ben Abdallah
Youth
Lassaad
Jamoussi
Rabia Abdelkrim
Ouattara Diakalia
Buuba
Diop
Kassahun Belete
Kiss Brian Abrahams
Resources
Muleya
Hachiinda
Hassan A. Sunmonu
Yves Alexandre Chouala Edward Oyugi
Elizabeth Eilor
Bakary Fofana
Sara Longwe
Taoufik Ben Abdallah
Media
Rabia
Abdelkrim
Sengor Diana
Fatma Aloo
Viriato
Kiss Brian Abrahams
Sara Longwe
Culture/
Education/ Art
Lassaad
Jamoussi
Fakhry Labib
Buuba Diop
Mwadhini
O. Myanza
Hassan Sunmonu
Kiss Brian Abrahams
Kassahun
Belete
Helene Niang
Working
Committee on WSF 2007
Abdeljelil
Bedoui
Elizabeth Eilor
Fatma Alloo
Rabia
Abelkrim
Viriato
Muleya Hachiinda
Taoufik
Ben Abdallah
Oduor Ongwen
Edward
Oyugi
Ouattara
Diakalia
Bakary Fofana
Rama Niang
Saadi
Mohammed Said
Sara Longwe
Yves Alexandre Chouala
Hassan
Sunmonu
Lebohang Liepollo Pheko
Regis Mtutu
Amir
Salem
Kassahun Belete
ANNEX
3: Declaration by Participants at the Regional Council
for the African Social Forum
African
resistance and African alternatives in the face of brutal
globalization *
The
Regional Council for the African Social Forum met in
its first session from 27-30 July, 2004 in Cairo (Egypt)
*
The
meeting’s purpose was twofold: to prepare for
the upcoming third African Social Forum which is to
be held in Lusaka in Zambia from the 10th to 14th December,
2004, having already completed the editions in Bamako
(2001) and in Addis Ababa (2002), and secondly to prepare
the African contributions to the fifth World Social
Forum (edition 2005, Porto Alegre, Brazil).
The
Regional Council finds that the deteriorating international
situation, characterized by the widening of the gap
between the rich and the poor, greater concentration
of the world’s wealth in the hands of a few multinationals,
the use of military force to create * areas of tension
and the planning and conducting of wars for the control
of natural resources and strategic locations. This is particularly critical in terms of neo-liberalism’s
* and the daily * imposed on the Iraqi and Palestinian
people and It
launched an appeal to the United Nations to cease its
policy of * and of complicity * in Rwanda, Kosovo, and
now in the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of
Congo in order to put itself resolutely in a real dynamic
to This
international context makes economic exploitation and
political domination, the hegemony of dominant cultural
models, * in addition to national, social, cultural
and economic resistance struggles issues central to
the World Social Forum.
The
Council draws attention to the implications of the New
American Century and of the EU/ACP agreements and invites
African people to mobilize against neo-liberalism and
the militarization illustrated by NATO (the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization), ACRI (African Crises Initiatives
Responses), the initiatives of the European leadership
and American military (US-EUCOM), the ACSS (African
Center for Strategic Studies), ACOTA (African Contingency
Operations Training Assistance), IMET
*, JCET (Joint Combined Exchange Training) and
the Initiative Pan Sahel (military assistance program),
which not only work towards securing American access
to primary resources in various African sub-regions,
but also permit them to pass through the continent by
way of maritime and/or air *.
The
Council has paid particular attention to expressions
of African people’s needs, especially those articulated
by workers’ social movements *, youth searching
for employment and being used as *, and marginalized
and impoverished women. The needs and priorities these movements identify
as pertinent are agricultural issues, * self-sufficiency,
just and equitable commerce, and access to basic social
services (water, electricity, education, health, housing).
In brief, they demand social and democratic progress
and the promotion and defense of human rights and human
dignity.
The
Council launches the following appeal:
-
To African civil society to reinforce
its solidarity, capacity*.
-
To youth movements that must be among
the movers of the African awakening.
-
To women’s movements that have
the ability to open the door
of new African initiatives.
-
To workers in cities and villages in
order to form the locus
of the liberating social
front.
- To intellectuals to wholly integrate
themselves in emancipatory social movements.
- To members of the African Social Movement
in the Ivory Coast and in the Democratic Republic of
Congo to intensify dialogue with * to influence the
peace processes in their respective countries.
- To the Sudanese social movement to mobilize
to peacefully regulate the political, social, cultural,
ethnic and economic conflict in Darfur, and the establishment
of a democratic state capable of reconciling and federating
Sudan’s populations.
- The African Social Movement cannot be
an accomplice of silence, of ethnicism or racism, of
genocide. It cannot turn a blind eye on humanitarian
crises, and must denounce nay political, economic, cultural
or symbolic form of violence against any part of the
African population, and against humanity.
- It has its support in its struggle by
the African press for the freedom of information and
the liberty of conscience.
- It has launched an appeal to all African
democrats to strengthen the culture of democracy and
republic values, and to counteract any repressive tendencies,
as manifested for example in the form of autocrats’
unlimited powers.
We
await that the African Union takes African civil society’s
points of view into consideration and to promote an
actual African citizenship and solidarity. The Council invites the African Union to seize
the opportunity of the upcoming international economic
and information technology summits to defend African
people’s causes. The Council realizes that a true African renaissance must serve
the interests of the African masses and not those of
international capitalists and their African accomplices.
Our struggle takes on African cultural heritage.
The
Council launches an appeal to African social movements
both within the continent and in the diaspora to make
the upcoming African Social Forum at Lusaka in December
2004 a vibrant one that reflects the African resistance
against and alternatives to liberal globalization.
Cairo,
28th July, 2004
ANNEX 4
: List of participants in the Cairo Social Forum Council
(see atached)
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