Mobilization letter for European Social Forum 2010 in Istanbul July 1 – 4
Issue no 1, April 16 This newsletter is issued by the All-European ESF mobilization committee Editors Mirek Prokes and Tord Björk 1. Preparations Follow the ESF preparations at a website which includes both registered activities and organizations: http://esf2010.org. Information about costs for different venues and complete report from the European preparatory assembly in Berlin January 29 – 31 you can find in a newsletter at: http://europeansocialforum2010.blogspot.com/search/label/Newsletter 2. Deadline for submission of proposals April 24 Submit proposals for activities at http://esf2010.org/registrations. Deadline have been postponed by the Turkish organizing committee until April 24 3. Support the ESF secretariat in Istanbul Austrian Social Forum have started support funding for the ESF secretariat in Istanbul by giving 500 euros. There is a need for strengthening the administration capacity and more organizations and foundations are called to support the secretariat. Contact Austrian Social Forum, Hermann Dworczak: dworczak[at]hotmail.com. 4. Join the facebook ESF mobilization! So far 1870 have stated that they will come to ESF in Istanbul on facebook. Spread the message you as well. Join at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=11049408437&ref=mf 5. Report from the Prague spring ESF mobilization conference Alternatives to right wing extremism in a time of social and ecological crisis was the title of a conference organized by the All-European ESF mobilization committee in Prague March 27 – 28. Some hundred people attended from 19 countries. Themes as overcoming both the social and ecological crisis and how to address the extreme right was addressed by a number of speakers and the participants. Translation was made in many languages, mainly Russian, German and Czech and some English and French. The host was the Czech Social Forum which is now going through a stage of growing interest with new activists involved from different strands. The well functioning practical arrangements contributed to a hopeful atmosphere inside the venue under the Charles bridge in the very centre of Prague spring.The outcome of the meeting was:6. Report from Greek Social Forum and World March of Women ESF mobilization meeting
A Balkan ESF mobilization was organized in Thessaloniki on April 10 by the Greek Social Forum with a World March of Women session. Participating were people from Greece, Turkey, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Hungary. First, there was a presentation of organisational preparation by the representative of the Turkish organising committee, Eyüp Özer, in which he stressed the differences of the present social forum to the previous ones. He referred to the expected presence of countries from Asia and Northern Africa , as a qualitative element. At the meting there was a report by Matyas Benyik from the ESF mobilization conference in Prague on right wing extremism and social and ecological crisis. Other issues as environment, democracy and left wing issues in Albania, nationalism and economic crisis in FYROM and Greece were addressed and the need to challenge militarism and military expenditure and occupations in the Balkans. The proposal for ecological way out of the crisis was put forward and an analysis made of the power of banks in the economy and their decisive impact in the crisis. The women’s' day to be held in Istanbul on the 30th of June, organised by the World March of Women (European network), was presented by Sonia Mitralia, who spoke of the serious preparation for it including the Caravan from the Balkans to Istanbul ESF. A Statement was made at the meeting about the nationalistic and hatred speech in Greece on the occasion of the military parade in Athens on 25th March.The report and statement from the meeting you find at: www.aktivism.info/socialforumjourney/?p=1593 7. Join the All-European ESF mobilization committee and Skype chats There is a need of widening the mobilization for ESF in Istanbul. After the mobilization conference in Prague with broad attendance from Central and Eastern European countries we now need stronger participation in the mobilization from Western Europe. A main tool for the mobilization committee have been Skype chat conferences were also the Turkish organizing committee participates. From the west have German and Nordic speaking people participated and we now need from other countries in the west as well. Next Skype conference will take place at 16:00 on April 14. To participate contact: Mirek Prokes, Czech Social Forum, prokes[at]united.duha.cz 8. Calender of events
Deadline for activity registration postpone one more week. So the new deadline will be 17th of April!
