In 2001, the World Social Forum brought activists together to discuss global issues. In 2002, Ithaca, NY held its own social forum, changing the face of activism locally.
The first World Social Forum was held from January 25th to 30th, 2001, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. A response to the World Economic Forum (an event held each year in which the leaders of the world's capitalist systems come together and plan for further dominance of world markets and resources), the WSF was a gathering for progressive organizations to focus on working together on the global level to oppose and find alternatives to neo-liberalism and imperialism, capitalistic or otherwise. The WSF is not a group or an organization, but a coming together of individual groups to coordinate information and action. Proclaiming "another world is possible," the WSF has given rise to regional social forums in other areas of the world.
The Ithaca Social Forum was an outgrowth of the World Social Forums. On November 22 and 23, the progressive community of Ithaca came together. The forum was unquestionably a success; it attracted more than 200 individuals from the Ithaca area and beyond. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in workshops and discussions, enjoy music by talented artists, and listen to two talks by Michael Albert, veteran social activist and editor of Z Magazine.
Members of a broad range of community organizations were present to discuss the issues important to them, including environmental concerns, community building, education reform, alternative economics, media, and peace. The groups with members present are too numerous to list, and many important areas of concern were represented by the variety of activists in attendance. (Admittedly, there is a need for more outreach to the GLBT community and people of color in order to create a deeper understanding of the situations we all face together.)
Over the course of the two days, music was presented by four individuals. Local artist Hank Roberts played two original songs, "A Dollar Bill" and "Slave Trade in America." On the piano, Christopher Morgan Loy played an original composition capturing the emotion of September 11th, 2001 with grace and power. Art Godin performed an original anti-war song while accompanying himself on hand drums, and noted civil rights activist Dorothy Cotton led the forum participants in group singing.
Michael Albert spoke at both the opening and the closing of the forum. His ideas sparked a great deal of thought, and some emotion, among the forum participants. After both talks, he held a question and answer session, in which a broad understanding of issues was demonstrated both by Mr. Albert and by many of those asking questions.
Pointing out the flaws in any system is far easier than coming up with a viable alternative. Recognizing the tendency for progressives to fall into this trap, Albert's introductory speech "Another World is Possible: Alternative Economic Visions" focused on a viable, complete replacement for capitalism, Participatory Economics, or parecon. The parecon model is an alternative to capitalism based on 3 major tenets. First, consumption is based on EFFORT, not OUTPUT. For example, If two workers perform the same task, one with proper tools and one with bare hands, the tooled worker shall not earn more based on the accident of possessing tools. Second, jobs will be balanced for empowerment and desirability, i.e. instead of splitting workers at a school into janitors and teachers, all workers will split their time between cleaning up, teaching, and the various other tasks that need to be done. Third, management is shared amongst those who work, instead of dividing labor based on those who manage and those who toil - that is, decisions are made according to the "participatory planning" model, in which those who are most affected by a decision have the most say.
Michael Albert’s closing speech, "From Anti-War Activism to Social Justice,” focused primarily on the need for cohesiveness among activist groups. He identified classism as a major problem within the social justice movement, and suggested that an important step is to become a unified bloc, supporting each other’s issues and actions whether or not we fully agree. On the subject of media, his ideas were supportive of Indymedia and other democratic news outlets. "I think we also need to take seriously the question of how we get our own mass media... the Indymedia people are in a sense addressing that problem, because that network is now 80 or 100 cities around the world which have these institutions. And I think that is truly a profound and remarkable achievement." He also pointed out another common activist trap: that once an immediate goal is achieved, the passion and commitment dies out, and people choose to ignore the other problems that can be solved more easily while the momentum is still built.
(Audio of both talks is available at the Ithaca Indepednent Media Center
Sandwiched between Michael Albert’s two speeches was the real meat of the forum. The workshops addressed a variety of concerns. They were:
Global/Local Connection
Popular Power and the Electoral System
Green Planning and Environmental Sustainability
Neighborhood Design and Community Empowerment
Public Schools and Youth Opportunities
Ithaca Community Radio Hour
Alternative Media and Activist Networking
After the workshops and a brief lunch break, we all gathered together to share with the full forum what had been discussed and what actions were seen as necessary. One thread extended through all these reports: the need for connection.
The Alternative Media workshop, especially, focused on this issue, among others. Local progressives need more "real world" ways of coming together for planning, coordination, and outreach. Not everyone has access to a computer and the internet, or the required skills for effective and comprehensive online interaction. (The usually tacit requirement for these in modern progressive circles is a subtle but virulent form of classism.) There was discussion about training sessions, at the public library or elsewhere, to assist anyone wanting to learn about the Internet and its uses in activism and information sharing. The many who felt disconnected from others with similar goals underlined the need for some form of community space in which to gather and work freely and comfortably. Lists are being set up to facilitate connectedness and discussion between the many local progressive groups, and to research the practicality and availability of a community media creation space.
Most of the workshops finished with the participants not only more informed, but also committed to meeting again to plan action. A couple examples: In the Community Empowerment workshop, it came to light that more than 890 people in the Northside neighborhood of Ithaca are living below the poverty level; a coalition of Northside residents is forming to unite the community and work toward resolution of that and other relevant problems. Individuals from the Green Planning workshop talked to the full forum about the inadequate insulation in many houses, and the lack of means for home owners to insulate these houses. Tompkins County Action is working on this issue. Most of the other workshops had similar results, with the members agreeing that action is necessary, and planning future meetings to coordinate.
Ithaca is the smallest city in the world to have held a social forum. Now that the model has been proven viable for small communities, interest has already been expressed by other small cities in holding their own similar social forums. The forum was effective in bringing together the many different groups, allowing the progressive people of Ithaca to unite in one place and network. If the participants’ enthusiasm for further work and action is any indication, the Ithaca Social Forum was a kick-start for the sometimes dormant but always enormous potential of the Ithaca community.
As Michael Albert said on Saturday night, “[W]hat makes the European Social Forum and the World Social Forum important is actually the Ithaca Social Forum and the other ones like it around the country.” True power is in the hands of the people, and there can now be no doubt that there is great power in Ithaca.
-John Illingworth, Brian Szymanski, Sylvie Ginethal
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Thanks very much to the organizers of the event.
World Social Forum home page
http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/home.asp
Z Magazine
http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm
Participatory Economics
http://www.zmag.org/parecon
