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CIAO DATE: 11/5/2006
Exploring the Emerging Social Movements in Africa at the Third African Social Forum
Marie Clark Brill
January 2005
Executive Summary
The African Social Forum was born out of the larger World Social Forum, which provides an annual open meeting place where groups and movements of civil society come together to dialogue and network towards collaborative action. The Third African Social Forum (ASF) took place in Lusaka, Zambia in mid-December 2004. This report includes notes and analysis of the African Social Forum and provides reflections on emerging social movements in Africa.
As a “forum” for deep dialogue on key justice issues, the African Social Forum was a great success. The quality of presentations and discussions in the conference rooms, corridors and cafés was exceptional. Economic justice issues were the most strongly represented at the ASF, with democracy, transparency and human rights following close behind. While there was not a formal and united statement or declaration that emerged, common themes included the call for 100% cancellation of Africa’s illegitimate debts and the need for reparations; critique of the Economic Partnership Agreements and Free Trade initiatives and a call for fair and just trade; criticism of the growing interest in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG); and calls for access to basic services including access to clean and safe water, health care, education, affordable housing, and universal treatment for those living with HIV/AIDS.
In addition to the vibrant discussions, strong critiques of the ASF emerged in Lusaka. Many participants would like to see the ASF unite social movements or come out with united statements or declarations. Others desire the forum to be a tool of popular education and mobilization, which implies the need for far greater attendance and a common focus for action. Critiques also included challenges to the leadership, frustration with the limited resources, and the make-up of the participants and the panels. Despite the fact that there were many concerns about the ASF, it remained a very helpful space for our purposes of meeting with colleagues across the continent, exploring African analysis and discussing collaborative work.
I came to the African Social Forum carrying a question that had been posed to the opening panel at the Africa Action 2004 Baraza. “What are the emerging social movements in Africa?” This document does not attempt to provide a comprehensive, or a definitive, answer to this expansive question, but instead to offer some initial conclusions that speak to this question.
Despite the variety of definitions and understanding of the terms “social movements”, I often got very similar answers to the question. In all cases, the connections across issues are clearly identified. Many organizations and individuals are involved in more than one social movement and carry the broader analysis to each. The primary continent-wide social movements identified are the Anti-Corporate Globalization/ Economic Justice Movement, the movement for Democracy and Transparency, the movement to fight HIV/AIDS, the Women’s Movement and the Youth Movement. I have also included in this report a quick landscape survey of social movements in South Africa, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A couple of people argued that there was really one dominant continent-wide movement that addresses both democracy/transparency and economic justice (including access to services and fighting AIDS).
The African Social Forum gave witness to the extensive and vibrant work for justice that grows despite limited financial resources and the challenges of building African movements across 54 nations and thousands of languages. The profound African analysis and vision expressed at the ASF challenges those of us working for justice in Africa to find greater opportunities for collaboration in message, analysis and campaign development.
