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Southern Africa Social Forum
Zimbabwe hosted Southern African Social Forum (SASF) October 13-15, gathering more than 3000 civic activists and social movements from all over the region.
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11. November 2005
On 13-15 October 2005 Zimbabwe was hosting the second edition of the Southern African Social Forum (SASF) – gathering more than 3000 civic activists and social movements from all over the region. The organising team was working day and night to make this huge event a success and care for the many participants and visitors who toured the discussions and activities happening during the three days.
Though some logistics and organising matters leave room for improvement, the Forum was praised as a great success. One reason being the high number of participants, bringing together thousands of civic activists from within the region to share experiences and best practices and to come up with agendas for joint action against poverty, capitalism and all forms of oppression. Another major reason for the event to become a remarkable success is the fact that it took place without any interference from the authorities. Especially in Zimbabwe, where public gatherings and meetings are often suppressed by the strict legislation, such as POSA (Public Order and Security Act). This act prohibits any gatherings counting more than 3 people and requires police clearance for all kind of public meetings and events. It is due to this piece of legislation that demonstrations and civic meetings are often stopped by police.
Some observers say that the Social Forum could take place without disturbances because of the many international visitors. Police interferences and possible arrests of the participants could easily lead to serious diplomatic challenges, which the authorities would not want. No matter what might be the reason might be, it leaves a legacy that civic action is possible - even under the current circumstances in Zimbabwe. This is a great success for civil society in Zimbabwe as well as its regional partners in Southern Africa.
The Social Forum
The idea behind the “Social Forum” is to provide a significant platform for civic movements to speak against unjust global politics imposed by world leaders and international financial institutions. In other words, to give people at the grassroots a chance to air their views and address the present challenges of globalisation and neo-liberalism. The first World Social Forum was initiated in Brazil in 2001 and has since become an annual event, which has inspired sub-regions and individual countries to also organise their own forums at local level.
In Zimbabwe social activists have successfully mobilised civic movements and organisations to set up the Zimbabwe Social Forum, which was launched in Harare in 2003 under the theme “A People’s Forum on Peace, Reconstruction and Prosperity in Zimbabwe” and followed by a second edition in 2004 under the theme “A People’s Forum Against Poverty, Gender Inequalities and All Forms of Oppression.”
In essence the Forum is an open meeting place for people from all walks of life to reflect, debate and share experiences, and more importantly to come up with strategies and effective actions against the prevailing causes of poverty. The negative effects of neo-liberal globalisation and unjust policies are related to many aspects of life, which the forum seeks to address through different groups working in areas such as HIV/Aids, women’s, youth and children’s rights, labour, debt and trade, peace building, democracy and human rights, land, environment, food security and social services delivery.
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The Southern African Social Forum
The need to host a Southern African Social Forum (SASF) arose from the second African Social Forum (ASF) held in Addis Ababa in 2003. Participants resolved to establish sub-regional forums as a way of getting diverse views on Africa’s socio-economic and political problems from a wider African constituency. The first Southern African Social Forum took place in Lusaka in 2003 and this year Zimbabwe was hosting the second edition of regional meeting. One the reasons for choosing Zimbabwe was, that the state is amongst the key countries in the struggle against imperialist oppression causing poverty and social under-development.
Under the theme “Popular and Democratic Alternatives to Neo-Liberalism” this year’s Southern African Social Forum aimed to advocate for a better quality of life and development for all people in Southern Africa. The organising team had managed to set up as many as nine cluster tents where discussion and debates on different issues could take place simultaneously. Discussions were held on the topics of HIV/Aids and gender, housing and evictions, labour issues, trade justice, debt relief, poverty, economic rights, governance as well as range of various themes concerning youth and child development.
Some of the recommendations and demands that were voiced during the final plenary sessions on the last day included, demands on a people-driven economy, no to privatisation of basic services, no to trade barriers that discriminate against African products, an immediate cancellation of all debt, reparations for damages caused by debt, end to neo-liberalism, yes to civic education and participatory democracy, and mainstreaming of gender, disability and other categories of discrimination. These were but a few conclusions that came out of the SASF and clearly showed that despite the presence of extreme poverty, thousands of southern Africans still claimed that “Another Southern Africa is possible.”
MS-Zimbabwe partners, who participated in this year’s SASF all agreed that the event was a great and important success. Read some of their stories here:
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