Global civil society calls for radical alternatives to tackle financia crisis: Media team to file from world’s largest civil society gathering.
A global team of activist journalists will be attending the World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil to report on the alternative initiatives that are emerging from global social movements in response to the financial crisis.
“When meetings like the World Social Forum previously denounced the instability and injustice of global economic and financial architecture, we were ignored. Now people around the world can see that we were right, and the bankers and corporations were wrong,” says Hilary Wainwright, fellow of the Transnational Institute and facilitator of the “Networked Politics” journalist team.
“Our team aims to share some of the alternative visions and proposals for ending the financial crisis, guided by principles of social and ecological justice and democratic control over money and production.” The team will be made up of movement journalists and writers from South Africa, United States, Brazil, China and the UK. The team is made up of writers with a strong record of writing on labour and economic issues and aims to develop vivid and accessible material easily usable by the media. The team also includes one video producer. It will work in close ollaboration with both the communications team of the WSF as well as directly with organisations involved in developing alternatives, not only related to the financial crisis but also climate change, food, knowledge and communications.
The World Social Forum in Belem is the ninth meeting that has been held, since it started in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001. Over 100,000 people from all corners of the globe are expected to participate in over 2,600 activities, including seminars, conferences, assemblies, cultural activities, marches, as well as in parallel meetings for local authorities and at the Intercontinental Youth Camp. Brazil President Lula’s decision this year to attend the World Social Forum instead of the business-led World Economic Forum is a sign of the growing acceptance of World Social Forum’s ideas and proposals.
Contact: Hilary Wainwright (hilary1@manc.org) Icamiaba Hotel, Rua O de Almeida, 476 , Campina-Belem-PA, +55 91 32301150. UK mobile: +44-7973215351
Networked Politics Journalist Team
Hilary Wainwright (hilary1@manc.org)
Brian Ashley (South Africa) <brian@amandlapublishers.com>,
Tianle Chang (China) <changtianlecdb@gmail.com>
Timothy Costello (US) <costello.gls@gmail.com>,
Brendan Smith (US) brendan@brendan-smith.org,
Oscar Reyes (UK)<oscar@redpepper.org.uk>
David Harris <davidevanharris@gmail.com>
