Concept paper on the WSF
Written by
Demba Musa Dembele
Director of the Forum for African Alternatives, Dakar, Senegal, Member of the International Council of the WSF
October 21, 2010
Briefing by Mamadou Goita, based in Mali and member of the Africa Social Forum and International Council of the World Social Forum held on Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Read Notes Here
Are you planning on Going to Dakar, Senegal ?
Read the D2D Vision
World Social Forum in Dakar 2011 - Detailed Information
Contact Priority Africa Network (PAN) for more information
Tel: (510) 663 2255 or email Detroit2Dakar@yahoo.com
For more info on D2D contact Priority Africa Network in Oakland CA Tel:(510) 663 2255 or DetroitANDDakar@gmailcom ***************** Participating
Organizations in the Africa Women Development & Resource Center, Nigeria; Due Process and e-Governance Bureau, Nigeria; Sahara Reporters, Nigeria; Institute for Research and the Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD), Bamako, Mali Reseau des femmes pour le developpement durable en Afrique, Senegal; Fahamu - Network for Social Justice, Senegal; Institute for Research and the Promotion of Alternatives in Development, Mali; Abahlali baseMjondolo, South Africa; Institute for Security Studies, South Africa; Biowatch, South Africa; Gender & Trade Network, South Africa; ZIMCODD - Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development, Zimbabwe; Lungujja Community Health Caring Organization, Uganda; and Groots, Kenya | Participating Organizations in the U.S. Africa Action Africa Faith & Justice Network AfricaFocus African Services Committee Forum for African Associations American Friends Service Committee Association of Concerned Africa Scholars Black Alliance for Just Immigration California Newsreel Food First Inst. for Policy Studies/Foreign Policy in Focus Friends of the Congo Global Exchannge Global Fund for Women Health Global Access Project International Development Exchange International Labor Rights Forum Jubilee USA Justice In Nigeria Now Nat. Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights Priority Africa Network Save Africa's Children Transafrica Forum United African Organization USA for Africa United Methodist Women ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ D2D s an initiative that has brought together Africa-focused organizations from around the U.S, to coordinate activities and enhance participation at the U.S. Social Forum in Detroit June 22 - 26, 2010. The goal of D2D is to promote issues related to Africa and the African Diaspora, at the U.S Social Forum in Detroit while also making strategic links towards the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal in early 2011. The U.S. Social Forum will be held in the city of Detroit to highlight the massive economic downturn the city has suffered over the past few years. The World Social Forum will be taking place in Dakar, Senegal and hosted for the second time in an African country. D2D is showing the parallels of the economic downturn across the U.S. and Africa by making strategic links between these two cities, Detroit and Dakar, which will move us toward global concepts for solutions. In Detroit, U.S.-based organizations are collaborating, along with many African partners, to dialogue and strategize for grassroots-led change under the vision "Another World is Possible." |
Why Detroit to Dakar?
Detroit, is known as the city which has been hit hardest from economic bust. USSF site quotes Detroit “has the highest unemployment of any major city in the country—23.2% (March 2009)—with nearly one in four Detroiters unable to find work. Michigan has had the highest number of unemployed people in all 50 states for nearly four years.” It is also the city with large African American communities who are un- or under employed. The city has a growing population of new African and Caribbean immigrants as well.
Dakar, the capital and largest city of Senegal, is an economic center not only for the country but for the region. It is also a city which has high unemployment, nearly 20% (known) with large numbers of rural migrant workers displaced throughout the city. Goree Island, just off of the coast of Dakar, has deep historical significance for the global African diaspora.
The two cities may seem literally worlds apart, but in closer examination, many of the issues communities struggle for are similar –overcoming depressed economies, migration, better education and healthcare for all and cleaner environment.
The key principle behind the Social Forums is to connect issues and people across geographic and thematic divides; to come together and strategize on action plans on the vision that “another-world-is-possible.” It is not an event but a “a movement building process” that is dynamic and vibrant where positive message of “we want” and “we demand” are echoed instead of only “we oppose.”
For communities organized under this D2D initiative, visibility of Africa related issues is critical. We have taken this initiative in order to put forth the best coordinated, planned and executed activities for our presence in Detroit. We bring into this conversations with key partners in different African countries in ways that will enable us to build on our strategies for change for the WSF in Dakar. A core aspect of our vision is furthering the concept that Africa is more than a continent but includes the global African diaspora in a changed vision of the world.