Board member/ Montreal chapter activist Abdul Pirani and I were at an exploratory meeting at the Centre St. Pierre on rue Panet in Montreal this evening to discuss the possibility of organizing a Canada-Quebec-First Nations social forum.
Among the 25 people at this evening’s meeting were representatives from Alternatives, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, the Indigenous Environmental Network, CSN, the Quebec federation of labour, the Quebec teachers union, the Quebec students federation, and Attac Quebec.
The proposition was that an ‘expansion commission’ be formed to outreach to more groups across Canada in preparation for a general assembly meeting that could launch a social forum process.
After a good discussion, it was decided that another meeting would take place the week of November 14 in Montreal to further explore the idea of a social forum, confirm if there is sufficient support to form an expansion commission, and to hear back from an exploratory committee that will be formed over the next several days.
Over the next several weeks, the exploratory committee will begin to look at the goals those assembled would like to achieve as well as to allow for a future discussion on whether a social forum is the best medium to advance those goals.
The most evident goal this evening was to form an effective pan-Canadian extra-parliamentary opposition to the Harper majority government.
The Council of Canadians has agreed to participate in this exploratory committee.
While a date and a city have not been set for a social forum, given proceeding with a social forum itself has not been agreed to (that would happen at a general assembly meeting likely in early-2012), it was emphasized that this is as much about a meaningful two year social movement building process as it is about a four day gathering.
The next World Social Forum will take place in 2013 in either Tunisia or Egypt.
What is a social forum?
The World Social Forum defines itself as “an opened space – plural, diverse, non-governmental and non-partisan – that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, proposals building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and organizations engaged in concrete actions toward a more solidarity, democratic and fair world…a permanent space and process to build alternatives to neo-liberalism.”
A Canada-Quebec-First Nations social forum would be a regional social forum.
The US Social Forum has defined their goals as: create a space for social movement convergence and strategic discussion; advance social movements agenda for action and transformation; build stronger relationships and collaboration between movements; deepen our commitment to international solidarity and common struggle; and strengthen local capacity to improve social conditions, organizing and movement building locally.
More soon.
