Handbook on World Social Forum Activism

The World Social Forums began in 2001 as a civil society countersummit to the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of global corporate and political elite that shapes global economic policies. Since then the World Social Forums have become the premier focal point for a diverse array of movements and associations advancing alternative visions of globalization. The World Social Forum process encompasses a variety of meetings and networking activities taking place around the world at local, national, regional, and global levels. United by a belief that Another world is possible, World Social Forum activists are engaging in a massive global experiment to bring about a more democratic and just world. Social Forums held at multiple levels from local to global help connect activists in an increasingly dense network of advocates for radical social change. They have mobilized hundreds of thousands of people and may be one of the most important political developments of our time. The Forums' overlapping networks link conversations across vast distances as well as over time, allowing unprecedented learning and sharing across movements and across continents. Handbook of World Social Forum Activism brings together some of the leading scholars of the WSF process from North America and Europe to offer comparative and longitudinal analyses of the World Social Forum process. Succinct chapters offer lessons and insights on this important global movement drawing from a variety of innovative research methods. The collection documents and contributes to the ongoing process of reflection and learning from World Social Forum experiences and is accessible to activists, students, and scholars alike.