The World Social Forum will be a new international arena for the creation and exchange of social and economic projects that promote human rights, social justice and sustainable development.

It will take place every year in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, during the same period as the World Economic Forum, which happens in Davos, Switzerland, at the end of January.  Since 1971, The World Economic Forum has played a key role in formulating economic policies throughout the world. It‚s sponsored by a Swiss organization that serves as a consultant to the United Nations and it‚s financed by more than one thousand corporations.

The World Social Forum will provide a space for building economic alternatives, for exchanging experiences and for strengthening South-North alliances between NGOs, unions and social movements. It will also be an opportunity for developing concrete projects, to educate the public, and to mobilize civil society internationally.

The World Social Forum developed as a consequence of a growing international movement that advocates for greater participation of civil societies in international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). For decades, these institutions have been making decisions that affect the lives of people all over the world, without a clear system for accountability and democratic participation.

Brazil is one of the countries that have been greatly affected by global economic policies. At the same time, different sectors of Brazilian society are creating economic alternatives in rural and urban areas, in shantytowns, factories, churches, schools, etc. The richness of Brazilian grassroots organizations represents a source of inspiration for the development of the World Social Forum. 

The Brazilian Organizing Committee is building alliances with organizations in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe to develop the World Social Forum. This will be a broad coalition of organizations working on issues such as human rights, sustainable development, education, gender and racial discrimination, indigenous rights, and environmental protection. 

The World Social Forum will attempt to create international strategies for grassroots organizing on the above topics and build proposals to democratize international institutions, such as the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank to limit the influence of multinational corporations on local communities.

The World Social Forum (WSF) will take place in Porto Alegre, RioGrande do Sul state, Brazil, between January 25-30, 2001, the same period in which the World Economic Forum occurs in Davos, Switzerland.

For more information or to get involved in the organizing effort, contact: fsm2001@uol.com.br