Jubilee South at the World Social Forum 2004

The World Social Forum is counted by Jubilee South (JS) as among the critical international events for the articulation of analysis of the debt problem and for gathering the strengths and resources of debt organizations and movements to pursue the struggle against debt domination.

It was thus most gratifying for JS that this year’s Forum highlighted the call for a campaign and mobilizations to mark the 60th anniversary of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) along with other red-letter days for groups and social movements, including the
International Women’s Day on March 8 and the global anti-war march on March 20.

As in previous Forums, JS engaged the tens of thousands who came to the Forum - the official figure being over 100,000 participants from over 130 2 countries - through activities that were part of the official WSF activities and
through meetings parallel or just before or after the Forum proper.

Jubilee South’s contribution to this year’s Forum was mainly through itsparticipation and contributions to discussions at the WSF International Committee (IC) and through the conference and seminars it sponsored or co-sponsored to strengthen and further build the social and political constituency to challenge debt and globalization.

Jubilee South is one of the few inter-continental movements in the WSF IC. Aside from the official JS representatives to the IC, South Asia JS people were also most active in this year’s event as part of the local organizing teams.

As for forums and seminars, the tri-continental rganization of Jubilee South shared the responsibilities with old and new partners. Among its partners/ co-sponsors were the Comite pour l’ Annulation de la Dette du Tiers Monde
(CADTM-the Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt), Jubilee USA and Aksjon Slett U-landsgjelda (SLUG-Norway), World Council of Churches, Natural Resources and Development Institute (NADI-Indonesia), Narmada Bachao Andolan-India, Center for Concern, CAD Mali, RNDD Niger, GRAPr DR Congo, Alianza De Los Pueblos Del Sur Acreedores De Deuda Ecologica, the Peoples’ World Water Forum, etc.