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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2004Chicago Social ForumChicago--Activists from a variety of movements gathered at a high school here on Jan. 31 to participate in a conference modeled on the series of anti-globalization events known as the World Social Forum. The Chicago event was timed to coincide with the most recent World Social Forum, held in Mumbai, India, the first to be held in a location other than the forum’s birthplace of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The daylong schedule of well-attended discussions on the anti-war movement, the global economy and other topics was primarily organized by the American Friends Service Committee. Plenary sessions featured talks by healthcare activist Dr. Quentin Young, Njoki Njehu of the IMF reform organization 50 Years is Enough Network, and other local speakers. While several attendees and speakers had just returned from the World Social Forum, it was not clear exactly what relationship the Chicago event had to the Mumbai gathering. This ambiguity may reflect that of the social forum movement as a whole, which, while still possessing some momentum, seems to be struggling to find direction between big NGO politics, electoral participation, and the maneuvering of the radical Left. The organizers of the Chicago Social Forum hope to continue the discussions begun in January with an ongoing series of smaller meetings, the first of which will discuss public housing in a human rights framework. --Kevin Michaels |
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