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Public Consultation / Irish Social Forum
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news report
 Sunday February 23, 2003 20:54 by IMC Ireland
 Following the spectacular success of last November's European Social Forum in Florence, attended by over 60,000 people, a group of individuals representing a cross-section of Irish civil society is holding meetings with a view to establishing an Irish Social Forum later this year. The Social Forum movement involves the establishment of open meeting places for groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and seeking to build a planetary society centred on the human person and not on capital. It began with the World Social Forum held in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001 where a Charter of Principles was agreed. Although not without its critics, the Social Forum movement has grown dramatically in the past two years and there are now regional, national and local forums around the world. Movement towards an Irish Social Forum began following the return of Irish participants in the Florence ESF. A reporting meeting was held at which the need for an Irish Social Forum was identified. This has since been followed by three further meetings, called 'open space dialogues' at which the idea has been explored and discussed. It is intended to continue these meetings and to hold an information event at this year's convergence festival. The goal is to involve as many civil society groups as possible before fully discussing, agreeing and formally establishing an Irish Social Forum in the summer. So far individuals from (but not necessairly representing) the following groups have participated: Attac, Anti-Iraqi Sanctions, Canals Community Network, Comhlamh, Debt and Development Coalition, Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Dublin Food Co-Op, Dublin South FM, Earthwatch Ireland, Earth Summit Ireland, Feasta, Globalise Resistance, Gluaiseacht, Grassroots Gathering, Green Party, The ICTU, Indymedia, Jesuit Faith & Justice Committee, Latin America Solidarity Centre, Oxfam, Socialist Party, Socialist Workers Party, Sustainable Ireland, Trócaire, UCG Ecosoc, The Village, Workers Solidarity Movement |
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Comments (16 of 16)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16Any organized attempt to counter the depredations of neo-liberalism is greatly to be welcomed. But the oppositon needs to be confronted. The most subtle, sophisticated proponent of neo-liberalism is former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson. As head of the Ethical Globalization Initiative,(a marvellous oxymoron), she is attempting to give a human face to neo-liberalism. To promote this she is on a sub-committee of the W.E.F.. Mary Robinson is paid agent of international capitalism and is very dangerous. The October meeting in Dublin of these elitists should be interesting. Who will be on the streets and who inside. Gerry Adams?
The radical, eloquent, authentic voice of the Irish working class, Bernadette Devlin-McAlisley, is banned from the US. Mary Robinson has an office on Madison Avenue. 'Nuff said.
This October - lets run a real forum based on inclusive activity and discussion.
"radical, eloquent, authentic voice of the Irish working class"
Fuck off.
She doesn't represent me. Most decent Irish activists reject terrorism - whether it's Bush, Blair or Bernadette that's justifying it.
Looks like the armchair terrorists are out in force today. every article has a comment either about Bomber Bernadette or the CIRA/their excuse for a radio show.
Who did Bernadette bomb?
When you look at the comment of this disrupter below talking about Bernadette Devlin-Aisley:
>"authentic my arse
by NV Sun, Feb 23 2003, 8:50pm
"radical, eloquent, authentic voice of the Irish working class"
Fuck off.
.................... " <
Where is this guy trying to lead people who want to have a dialogue and to cooperate with each other? OK so he doesn't like Bernadette and he doesn't want anybody listen to, talking to, or including her in any movement for an Irish Forum (or probably even to ban the War on Iraq). Disrupters like this want to cut out as many people as they can from Connecting with each other - and Especially to DIVIDE groups and people that might come together to work together.
Get to RECOGNISE disrupters who are trying to DIVIDE the Populist movement by Shutting other populists OUT - They may well be AGENTS for the Status Quo Government. If they are Not Agents for the present Government - they are still doing the Division Work for these governments for them by posting their ANGRY Partisanship.
Connect Together Withe EVERYONE you can. Don't let anybody convince you to Shut Anyone out.
We have plenty of these Right wingers in 'peace-activist' clothing on US posting sites. Their goal is to start a contraversy or argument on the site to disrupt popular democratic direction. The Angry 'fuck off' s is usually a sign that that is what you have here.
bernadette is a terrorist, this site has been spammed by some nutcase supporter of blowing up people eating their lunches or working...
there is no defence for cira/ira/irsp or any of these blood thirsty wannabe freedom fighters!
There are plenty of stories on the newswire about Bernadette where this discussion would be appropriate - but this isn't one of them. What about the social forum?
An absolutely fantastic idea I reckon. Some sort of Forum is needed within Ireland to bring all diverse groups and idividuals together. Globalise Resistance has already tried to do this and continues to do so, but not near enuf group's have got involved with it, unfortunately.
Though all groups have their own agenda, all share many common goals. These goals will be reached far, far quicker and way more effectively if they/we all work together.
And following from that thread, I totally agree with Trevor. For example his statement:-
"Where is this guy trying to lead people who want to have a dialogue and to cooperate with each other?"
There are a few people who come on this newswire roaring vile abuse at people. Unfortunately that's democracy I suppose, and the democratic way that this newswire is run. And unfortunately as with all areas of life you are always going to get people like this. But they are a tiny minority (as with football hoolaganism etc.). The final misfortune of it all is that they often make good points but dress it up in vile, abusive and agressive language.
Anyhowz, hopefully this Irish Social Forum will take off, unify all groups and individuals around the country and help to radically change Ireland and the World forever.
The timing of this could hardly be much worse, even if it's just in terms of surfing the World Social Forum wave.
What is to be found under the coat-tails of the social forum? Obsolete leftism in its innumerable guises, organoisations determined on viewing the present through the lens of their program from the 1930s (trots), 70s (environmentalists) or 80s (NGOs and povertty industry).
Whilst some are celebrating the obvious fact that politics - in the sense of a political game manageable by paties and instititions - is over due to a collapse of credibility (not least the result of the abandonment of any lingering sense of social responsibility on the part of capitalist organisations), these jokers are trying to resurrect it.
Social Forums, run by Le Monde Diplomatique economic nationalists (ATTAC), the ghosts of latin american rebellions past and the crust on the arse of the european social democrats and stalinists is not the recipe for the happiest of futures.
As EP Thompson once said Internationalism is not about prostrating yopurself before exotic ideologies. If people in Ireland want to attempt to initiate a broader discussion, including ideological fossils, fine, the cover of the ESF is not required to do it. Ironically the one group that people have something to learn from in terms of social life, the Republican movement (IRSP/SF) aren't even involved. Even if you don't like them, you have to admit that their experience is instructive in terms of a conflictual politics in modern Ireland, all the threats of criminalisation of social movements in Europe pale before their persecution/prosecution.
Libertarians would be better off continuing their own networking and connecting to social struggles, localised explosive tensions generated by capitalist society every day.
The Hijacking of the WSF
by Naomi Klein
http://www.nologo.org/newsite/detail.php?ID=133
The European Social Forum: Sovereign and Multitude
http://slash.autonomedia.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/16/2028231&mode=nested
Linden Farrer, "World Forum Movement -- Abandon or Contaminate?"
http://slash.autonomedia.org/article.pl?sid=03/01/13/2020254&mode=nested
is about right. It's just another way for NGO fuckers and politicos to try and use the dissent as fuel for their own sordid ambitions.
What has the WSF done except make a lot of noise about itself?
This is a forum for careerist hacks. It's like a Student Union of the world.
Really, I wept when I heard that Chomsky was addressing the last one, but he did get a pointed dig in about how the MST was so cool.
careerists, hacks, corpotativists in disguise, willing slaves to some defunct ideology(trot, stalinist, liberalism.) When they scream that it was a roaring succeess with tens of thousands in attendance, what are they talking about? Success? have they changed the power structure? have they overthrown property relations? At best this group is a gang of poverty pimps. Now they are going to inflict themselves on Ireland. Not a one of them is fit to clean the shoes of Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, a true, authentic, Irish, working-class revolutionary.
An absolutely fantastic idea. A new label that's all we need. A new name for stale practices. Why not? Rename the trots. The 30s in slow motion indeed. From tragedy to farce to pulp fiction.
The SWP boycotts direct action? Don't worry, if it works they'll say it was their idea.
The irish social forum is a fantastic idea. The Haters above are giving out solely because it will mean coming toghther with groups they see as 'counter revolutionary' or not of the 'pure faith'it will mean having to deveolp ideas above the usual rant of Direct action as a solution to all problems, and also engage people on a level at which they are at and not where the activists are coming from.
One word of caution, to see the irish social forum as a panacea to create things, or move thhe movement forward is a bad idea. Its success depends more on a desire to see it created and a determination to build it. If it exists in a vaccum it will just be another laudable attempt to do something.
Will The swp claim credit. Nah i don't think they will, after all it was not there idea. The idea was kick of at the wsf and spread to italy for genoa, and after. Where the SWP should take credit is for their forsight, in not writing of the european social forum as so many critics did.
maybe its why they were so silent on the 15th.
To those who disagree with Irish Social Forum, ESF, WSF, GR etc., would they agree in principle that it is good for different groups and individuals which have "similar" leanings to work together is some way, to try and achieve common goals? Or alternatively is it better if all different groupings and all different individuals work seperately from eachother each trying to achieve their own goals on their own?
Point 10 of the Charter of the WSF states:
10. The World Social Forum is opposed to all totalitarian and reductionist views of economy, development and history and to the use of violence as a means of social control by the State. It upholds respect for Human Rights, the practices of real democracy, participatory democracy, peaceful relations, in equality and solidarity, among people, ethnicities, genders and peoples, and condemns all forms of domination and all subjection of one person by another.
Yet the SWP believes in "dictatorship of the proletariat", defends the right of a Socialist State to excercise totalitarian control and has a reductionist (Marxist) view of economy.
So how can the SWP be members of this fluffy, liberal think-tank?