[fse-esf] Start mobilizing committees and make reports!

[Tord Bj ö rk]

Dear all!


We in the European Contact Group in the Nordic Organizing Committe would
like to call upon everyone to make a common effort in mobilizing for the 5th
ESF in Malmö 17-21 of September 2008. We propose two main ways of doing so.

Start mobilizing committees and tell us about it

One is to establish national or if possible also local mobilizing committees
that can spread information, organise practical cooperation concerning
travel and funding as well as discuss issues of special interest for the
committee. In the Nordic countries local mobilizing committees have been set
up in Gothenburg, Malmö, Stockholm and Uppsala. The organisers of the
Danish, Finnish and Norwegian Social Forum are also participating in the
work. We now call upon all to inform us if national or other mobilizing
committees have been established or is in the process of being established.
If not so please tell us which organisations in your country are likely to
take initiatives to establish national mobilizing committees so joint
efforts can be made to contact them.

Start mobilizing sister organisations and tell us about it.

The second way is to mobilise sister organisations or like minded movements
in other countries directly or through All-European networks and
organisations. Please inform us what sisterorganisations in other countries
or which European networks and organisations that you already are in contact
with regarding preparations for ESF 2008. We would also like to know what
sisterorganisation in other countries or att European level that you could
contact. We are now calling upon all organisations in the Nordic countries
to mobilise their international contacts and cooperations partners for ESF
in Malmö but see it as very good if simultanous efforts can take place from
other countries. We urge you to inform us about what contacts have been
made, especially regarding European organisations and networks. Thi to
enable joint efforts from both Nordic and other countries to get as good
mobilisation as possible thorugh these channels. Any ideas about new
networks or movments that can be contacted are useful. We hope to inform you
soon about what have been done so far concerning mobilizing different
movements as a complement to the reports from the movement assemblies at EPA
meetings.

Emphasize Central and Eastern Europe

We especially urge everyone to contribute to the effort of bringing
participants from Central- and Eastern Europé to the ESF. Here help is
immediatly needed on all levels, from collecting addresses to organisations
and make a call for CEE mobilization to ask for what issues are important
from a CEE perspective and find cooperation partners able of funding both
travels costs for participants and a programme on those issues at ESF. At
the EPA meeting in istanbul the NOC European contact group met with people
from Russian Social Forum the idea was put forward to make the issue of anti
globalization movement/global justice movemnt and EU-Russia relationship one
possible issue were organisations from different countries can make common
efforts. The issue can be expanded to the relationship between the whole
Post Soviet Union area and EU as well as Post Yugoslavia. Maybe the need to
contribute to CEE participation generally in the international forum process
can motivate funders of WSF to help some funding concerning CEE
participation at ESF as a step towards WSF in Amazonia 2009. A common theme
here can be the relationship between social movments and the social forum
process. But all ideas on issues an possible cooperation partners are of
course welcome, especially from CEE-countries.

All replies on this appeal, comments and information on what has been done
and is going on are welcome. The working groups and the board of the Nordic
organizing Committee will meet 15-16 December and any reply before this is
useful. Next meeting for all member organizations in NOC will take place
12-13 January. Until then we hope we can get a good picture from you and
report to everybody back how the mobilisation is in progress.

We enclose in a separate mail the mobilisation plan for ESF in english.

Yours

Tord Björk

Coordinator of the European Contact group in the Nordic Organizing
Committee.


Finlandsgatan 2
291 31 Kristianstad
Sverige/Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)44 12 32 94 (evenings, Monday-Tuesday am sometimes)
Mobil: +46 (0)738 44 68 50 (occasionally)
E-mail: tord.bjork at mjv.se (best contact method)