[fse-esf] A report on Athens ESF

[Yannis Almpanis]

A report on Athens ESF

This text is a personal report of Athens ESF. It does express neither the 
Organizing Committee nor the Greek Social Forum. It was written directly in 
English so it contains many grammar mistakes. Please forgive me.

1. The success of the Athens ESF exceeded all hopes. Even the most optimists 
among us didn’t expect to have about 35.000 people in the Forum and about 
100.000 demonstrators on May 6 (Police said that the number of demonstrators 
was 25.000, independent journalists estimated that there were about 70.000 
people in the streets of Athens). This unexpected success showed the 
strength of no global movement and its potentiality to become even bigger. 
This international movement has opened a new space for social struggles that 
cannot be cancelled. Social competition has an international aspect which 
becomes more and more important.

2. The demonstrations of May 6 can be considered as a historic moment for 
the Greek social movements. It is the biggest demonstration ever organized 
in Athens without the participation of the Greek Communist Party. The 
massive participation in this demo is not only an undeniable proof of no 
global movement’s popularity. It is at the same time a sign of the rise of a 
new political culture within the Greek society. Although the denial of a 
potential war on Iran was the No 1 political issue of this demonstration, we 
should not underestimate the fact that for a great number of demonstrators 
this massive mobilization was a way to express their will for a social 
change. This will is still too vague to constitute a real political program. 
Nevertheless, it can be the starting point of such a procedure.

3. The use of thousands of demonstrators as human shields by some groups of 
black block is an authoritarian act and shows that these groups think that 
the Forum is their enemy. Although the intensity of the events was lower 
than in the past, we as organizers we should have better informed 
international delegations about the possible dangers in the demo. On the 
other hand, the Organizing Committee assured that the demonstration ended as 
it was planned.

4. The success of the Athens ESF becomes even bigger if we take into account 
the problems that the Organizing Committee had to face:
• The groups that composed the Greek Organizing Committee are relatively 
weak and didn’t have any experience of organizing such an event.
• Greek left is probably the most fragmented and sectarian left in Europe.
• For months the procedure was blocked by people who were continuously 
putting veto whenever there was an effort to move forward.
• After the London ESF the ESF process seemed to be ineffective, unreliable 
and antidemocratic.
• The fact that almost every 6 months there is some kind of social forum 
(national, polycentric, Mediterranean, European etc) has created a certain 
fatigue.
• The participation of Rifodazzione Communista (one of the most important 
organizations of this movement) in Prodi’s center-left project created a 
sentiment of disappointment to a large number of activists, especially to 
radical youth.
On the contrary, our work was facilitated by:
• The victory of No in the French referendum
• The massive movement in France against CPE
These victories not only encouraged activists but also increased the 
interest in Athens ESF.

5. In addition to massive participation, we have to underline the 
significant presence of activists from Central-Eastern Europe and Turkey 
(more than 2.000). It was the biggest ever participation of these countries 
in an ESF. The political significance of this participation is obvious: ESF 
is a Forum of the whole continent and not just of Western Europe. This huge 
participation was the result of: a) a strong mobilization of no global 
activists in Eastern Europe and Turkey b) the initial political decision of 
the Organizing Committee to consider the geographical enlargement of the ESF 
as a primal priority c) the hard work done by the comrades of the 
enlargement group who worked day and night to obtain more than 2.000 Visas.

6. The new form of the ESF program proved to be very productive. The 
abolition of plennaries facilitated the preparation of the ESF and at the 
same time prevented the creation of false impressions about the 
“representation” of the movement. Furthermore, in some cases we achieved 
very good mergers (p.e. the seminars of Euromarches, and the “Public 
services pool”) that included almost all the organizations that work on a 
specific issue. On the other hand, we couldn’t avoid repetitions and “one 
organization’s propaganda” seminars. We should all work harder to create 
more inclusive and better prepared seminars To achieve this goal it is vital 
to reduce the number of seminars (I think that 170 seminars are enough) and 
to use European Preparatory Assemblies as opportunities to work also on the 
content of ESF and not just on its structure. European networks should work 
in a collective way all the time and not just few weeks before the ESF. In 
addition to that, we really need a permanent European web site that could 
facilitate not only voluntary merger but also the centralized merger process 
elaborated by the European program group. After working for some months on 
the ESF program, I arrived to the conclusion that it will take many many 
years before central merger process stopped to be necessary.

7. The Organizing Committee gave more importance than in the past to the 
cultural aspect of the Forum. In fact the response of the artists was 
impressive. About 150 cultural events took place in the ESF venue. We 
believe that this convergence between art and politics not only helps 
artists (specially the young) to present their work to massive public, but 
also contributes to the emerging of new forms of activism and political 
communication.

8. Although we did it well with artists, the presence of intellectuals was 
not adequate. A great number of progressive intellectuals were not at 
Athens. The ESF isn’t yet a bridge between activists and intellectuals. And 
it is a pity that alternative thinking networks do not work as much as they 
can in this direction.

9. The ESF would have never taken place without the active participation of 
all the volunteers who worked hard before and during the event. All these 
people worked more than they were supposed to do. It is also very important 
to underline the fact that it was the first time in recent years that people 
who are not members of any organization worked on the organization of a 
mobilization. If the process had not been continuously blocked the 
participation of such kind of people would have been even bigger.

10. For once more Babels proved that they are a fundamental political 
component of the ESF and that non commercial practices can be very 
effective. Despite the very serious logistics problems, ALIS (Alternative 
Interpretation System) worked well and it will probably be the basic 
interpretation infrastructure for future Forums.

11. Interpretation was not the only area where non commercial practices were 
put in action. The Organization team did its best to use such practices as 
much as possible. In deed, there were very few cases where professionals 
worked for the organization. This political choice is not only the outcome 
of a very limited budget, but also reflects the conception that the 
practices of the ESF should correspond to its goals.

12. Although the weather didn’t help us this time (unbelievable cold!), I 
strongly believe that we should continue working on the idea of thematic 
spaces. Such spaces contribute in the enlargement of the ESF by making 
easier the introduction of groups who were skeptical in the past. At the 
same time thematic spaces give visibility to movements and struggles that 
sometimes are marginalized by the mass media.

13. For the future I believe that:
• We should all work for a common European mobilization, a common 
appointment of all European movements. It seems that in addition to anti-war 
mobilizations, G8 in Germany gives this opportunity. This movement is based 
on the logic of “tous ensemble”. Without common mobilizations it will fade 
away
•  We should keep on with the reform of ESF methodology. It is necessary to 
work together for a program with fewer but more inclusive and better 
prepared seminars. It is high time that European networks work more within 
and beyond the EPA.
• We should continue to give priority to the enlargement in Eastern Europe 
and Turkey. It is a difficult task, but vital for the future of the 
movement.
• We should think more on the political perspectives of no global movement. 
The question if center-left governments can satisfy this movement’s demands 
acquires an increasing importance.
The success of the Athens ESF indicates that social forums have a great 
future. Under the condition, of course, that the ESF has the political will 
to change and to adapt to new realities.

Yannis Almpanis (Greek program group)

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