Dear Joanna:
ATTAC is one of the main movements behind the WSF-World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The WSF's motto is the ATTAC's one: "Un autre monde est possible / Um outro mundo é possível / Another world is possible". In January, 2001, the first WSF gathered almost 1,000 organizations all over the world. The great absentees were the organizations from the English-speaking world.
I'm the moderator of the discussion list of the Brazilian ATTAC and also a translator in close contact with some other WSF translators, who have launched a specialized discussion list. We also think to launch a WSF international discussion list.
The list of the Brazilian ATTAC is the second political-cultural discussion list of Brazil as to the number of subscribers and the best in quality. I'm also a member of the Brazilian edition of Le Monde Diplomatique, that launched the idea of ATTAC in December, 1998.
Everyone may subscribe that discussion list, both Brazilians and foreigners, and he or she doesn't need to be a member of ATTAC. Those who are interested may ask me. The most part of the messages are written in Portuguese (Galician) or Spanish (Castilian). Portuguese may be understood by anyone who have a good command of either Spanish or Italian.
The other languages allowed in the ATTAC list are: Catalan, English, Esperanto, French and Italian. German too, but with an introductory notice or a translation into anyone of the other languages.
The discussion about the WSF is a recurrent theme in the ATTAC list. By these days the main discussion threads are centered around the themes of:
the relationship between state and society; the "Black Book of Communism"; the Workers Party (PT) drift to liberalism; the situations of Venezuela and Argentina (when Argentina gets influenza, Brazil gets a headache and viceversa); the energy crisis; and on the themes of emancipation and utopia.
Brazil also harbored in 2000 the II Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity and against Neoliberalism --- the Zapatista one, that could not have been held in Chiapas, Mexico. Nevertheless, the World Social Forum surpassed the Zapatista. Comandante Marcos himself is expected to arrive at São Paulo now in July to the interim international WSF meeting.
Best regards,
Roberto Magellan
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At 10:06 20/06/2001 +0900, you wrote:
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com From: Joanna Sheldon <cjs10 at cornell.edu> Subject: World Social Forum 2002
I've just been solicited to volunteer some translating for the World Social Forum / Fórum Social Mundial 2002, planned to take place on the same date as the Davos WEF in Jan/Feb. Does any of you know folks who are working with this group? Here's some info from their web site.
cheers Joanna S
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>
><snip>
>
>> ABONG Brazilian Association of Non-Governmental Organizations
>> ATTAC Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid
>> of Citizens
>> CBJP Brazilian Justice and Peace Commission, National Council of Bishops
>> (CNBB)
>> CIVES Brazilian Business Association for Citizenship
>> CUT Central Trade Union Confederation
>> IBASE Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Studies
>> CJG Centre for Global Justice
>> MST Movement of Landless Rural Workers
>>
> -----</Joanna Sheldon>
>
>ATTAC is a group created in 97, based in france but with branches in a
growing nb of countries (attac japan is being created) more info at
www.attac.org
>
>it started as a reaction to an article published in Le Monde Diplomatique.
if you can read french i can send you a paper published a few weeks ago in
a french weekly describing attac's influence on french politics, otherwise
the web page is in english and they have an english newsletter.
>
>jc helary
>