[fse-esf] Comments from FoE Sweden on theme proposals

[Tord Bj ö rk]

Comments from FoE Sweden on theme proposals

There has been a discussion going on regarding theme proposals that will be
put on the agenda by the European program group meeting in Paris 2.2. In the
end it is up to all of us to cooperate and create a program at ESF that will
bring popular movements forward. The exact wording of the themes may not be
the most important. Thus we do not want to put forward a complete proposal
but give some examples on how we think both in relation to the proposal made
by the Nordic Organizing Committee before EPA i Istanbul and European Attac
recently. 

We from Friends of the Earth Sweden proposed in the internal discussions
within the Nordic Organizing Committee that themes should include both what
we are against and what we are for, e.g. "Yes to Common welfare, No to
privatisation" or "No to neoliberalism, Yes to economic alternatives". These
our wordings we thought was close to the core of the WSF declaration.
Instead the result was e.g. "Public Services and Welfare Models" or only
"Economic Alternatives". We also proposed that popular movement cooperation
should be included without success. One of the arguments used against FoE
Sweden proposals was that at ESF in Athens similar neutral wordings was used
as in the proposal approved by NOC. This is partly true but now when we had
the time to read them we find that in Athens words like "struggles",
"liberal globalisation" and "anti-war movement" appeared in the wordings of
the themes and that one theme was "Movement strategy: from Seattle till
now." 

While the NOC proposal in our view lacked mobilizing wordings from the WSF
declaration and was too neutral the proposal from European Attac in January
have other problems. In general this proposal contains much that we agree
upon. But the core wording of this proposal is to repeat Building Europe. In
official and mass media as well as much ESF language Europe is the same as
EU. But social change in Europe might as well take place by simultanous
struggle in different societies interlinked by solidarity among popular
movements as by building a better EU. The problem is also that countries
outside EU systematically is excluded from a strategy that as a main focus
have a better EU and furthermore that in Nordic countries there is a strong
opposition against EU. Donors tend to fund NGOs that make alternative EU
policies and can travel a lot to international meetings while popular
movements that are strongly critical or against EU have to depend much on
their membership fees. FoE Sweden is against EU but is also a pragmatic
organisation and thus cooperate with many organisations in the rest of
Europe on specific issues which many times means strongly criticism of EU
but sometimes also means that we may support EU against others.

A way that may be used to more clearly show that we include the diversity in
Europe in our vision is to state e.g. "Building sustainable societies in
Europé". In Malmö among the hundred activists working with ESF the idea to
be strongly engaged for building Europe is not a very attractive vision, but
to make a better society of the place were you live together with other
people doing the same thing were they live in the rest of Europé is probably
better. Furthermore in general in the Nordic countries solidarity with the
third world is as interesting as solidarity with Europé.

We hope that our thoughts and earlier proposals to the discussion is of some
use in the further discussions. We will put our main effort in mobilising
for ESF in our local societies and internationally together with the
environmental, farmers, solidarity and urban movements and both suggest
specific issues of main interest for us and our closest movement partners
but also propose "Popular movement cooperation and strategy" issues of
interest (we hope) for all movements.

Yours

Ellie Cijvat, Co-chair FoE Sweden
Tord Björk, Coordinator, EU Committee, FoE Sweden