World Social Forum 2007, Kenya: People's Struggles, People's Alternatives

The World Social Forum 2007 will take place from 20-25 January 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya. Following up from WRI's conference 'Globalising Nonviolence' in Germany in July this year, War Resisters' International will be taking part in the World Social Forum with several activities, aimed at highlighting nonviolence and promoting antimilitarism. WRI will use the opportunity especially to strengthen contacts with other groups in Africa, and to build networks in support of Eritrean human rights activists and draft evaders.

However, War Resisters' International is not uncritical of the World Social Forum process. It will be especially important to make efforts to criticise the increased role of traditional leftist/marxist groups in the WSF, and even more so the support to militarist regimes, however progressive they might present themselves.

Following up from WRI's participation in the Alternative Social Forum in Caracas in January 2006, War Resisters' International aims to organise a seminar 'Against All Militarism' at the WSF, which will also be a place to discuss the 'militarism of the left'.

We assume that many WRI activists will be in Nairobi. Please let us know in advance, and help us to make the WRI presence more visible and effective. We are planning on having a stall at the WSF, but we need volunteers to help us staff it, and we are sure there will be lots of other things to do. But if we know of each other, then we can also use the WSF to exchange our experience as WRI activists.

And if you can't go -- we urgently need donations to make the activities at the WSF possible, If you want to earmark your donation for the WSF activities of WRI, please mark your contribution clearly with "for WRI at WSF".

If you have any questions, please contact the WRI office at info@wri-irg.org.