The upcoming third edition of the African Social Forum (ASF), from 10-14 December in Lusaka, Zambia, faces as one of its challenges the broadening of the forum to make it more popular than it has been up until now by enabling movements which do not appear on the African or international scene to express their voices and concerns.

"A popular Forum in 2004 would constitute an important condition for the successful organisation of the World Social Forum in Africa in 2007. This third edition would make it possible to examine the stakes of such a perspective and bring out together the visions and objectives that could be pursued for 2007," says a briefing document on the upcoming Lusaka meeting on the ASF website.

The ASF has taken place annually, since Bamako in 2002, as a prelude to the annual World Social Forum.

At the first forum in Bamako in 2002, over two hundred social movements, organizations and individuals from forty five African countries established the 'Bamako Consensus', that endorsed the Charter of the World Social Forum to build a different world.

Under the theme "Another Africa is Possible", participants undertook analyses, shared experiences and heard testimonies on wide-ranging economic, social, political and cultural matters affecting the African peoples. The ASF identified a number of recommendations and proposals for activists and networks to include in their work, and a steering committee was put in place to move the process forward.

At the second ASF meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a final statement was issued detailing how past and present economic policies implemented by African governments had failed to improve the lives of ordinary Africans. The Forum concluded that only a dynamic civil society organised in strong and active social movements "can and must challenge the neo-liberal political economy of globalization". The consensus was for the need to build a new African state and society, where public institutions and policies would guarantee cultural, economic, political and social rights for all citizens.

Following the Bamako and Addis Ababa Forums, a process of consultations have taken place around Africa to find a way of effectively exposing the current social, political and economic injustices for better government and state action. These have resulted in various regional forums designed to create a platform for interest groups of civil society to discuss issues together relating to social, political and economic justice.

The ASF has in the past faced criticism that it is dominated by wealthier NGOs at the expense of less well resourced social movements, whose members face constraints in terms of their ability to travel to and participate in such events. But the counter argument has also been made that activists need to get involved before they express disappointment at the outcomes of the meetings.

The ASF briefing document issued ahead of the upcoming Lusaka meeting explains that as a space for "discussion, reflection, mutual consolidation and democratic debate", it is important for Africa that the Forum continues to be the instrument of the growth of African social movements and of "vigilance in relation to the policies conceived and implemented on the continent".

The document also notes that the world has experienced major upheavals in the last two years, linked to American policy with regards the 'war on terror' and the war in Iraq.

"The effects of these upheavals on the African peoples are not negligible and aggravate the effects of the liberal policies implemented on the entire planet over the last twenty years. Already the aggravation of several conflicts, the growing presence of foreign military forces and the increased grip on the petroleum and mineral resources of the continent are perceptible."

As a result, the document notes that it is necessary to review the situation and that the Forum "must allow a better understanding of the new stakes and the outlining of alternatives and resistance strategies which the African social movement will try to promote for the benefit of the peoples of the continent."

Other priority areas and themes for discussion at the forum include the question of sovereignty in relation to external influences, the future of peasant farming in light of WTO and regional trade agreements and the question of Pan-Africanism.

For the first time at the ASF meeting in Zambia, a youth camp will be established where participants will be charged with developing an African youth council, an African youth communication line and a follow-up to the resolutions to the ASF council. The youth camp is intended to develop a youth movement within the ASF.

* Compiled by Patrick Burnett, Fahamu. For more detailed information, please visit http://www.africansocialforum.org/english/fsa2004.htm

THIRD WORLD NETWORK WEB SPECIAL ON ASF

Third World Network-Africa, the Accra-based advocacy organisation, will have a dedicated page on its website www.twnafrica.org to report the forthcoming African Social Forum (ASF) which starts in Lusaka, Zambia on December 10, 2004. The four-day event will bring together hundreds of activists and organisations campaigning on human rights, gender, race, the environment, trade, and many other issues. The website will present regular news and features from the African Social Forum, and will also welcome contributions and reactions. For more information, please contact Emmanuel.k.Bensah at [email protected]

* Background reading from Pambazuka News on the African Social Forum

- Living the alternative: Background to the World Social Forum and the African Social Forum
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=139
- Another Africa is possible
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=12669
- ASF condemns US aggression
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=12705
- The African Social Forum
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=11315
- Putting the ASF in order
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=19930
- In search of deeper dialogue beyond Addis and Bamako http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=19929