World Social Forum (WSF) in Nairobi, Kenya by Inter Press Service 1:42pm 16th Jan, 2007   January 27, 2007    Activists determined to take on Globalisation''s Challenges, by Joyce Mulama.    The mammoth World Social Forum (WSF) wound to a close in the Kenyan capital after five days of dialogue, drama and protests led by participants from around the globe who believe "another world is possible" -- the slogan of the global civil society movement.    Some 50,000 delegates braved the sweltering heat to discuss "illegitimate" debt, HIV/AIDS, shelter, joblessness, and unfair trade with the rich nations, among other concerns.    Wiping beads of sweat from their faces, many participants took part in a 15.5-km marathon for "basic rights" that snaked through the city''s teeming slums on Thursday, the closing day. There are 199 slums in Nairobi, most densely populated and severely lacking in basic services.    "The fact that the first full WSF has taken place here in Kenya, on Africa''s soil is a big celebration. For me, it is a dream that I always had since I began engaging with the WSF. It is an acknowledgement that the world is in solidarity with Africa," said Wahu Kaara, a member of the Africa Social Forum council. The council is part of the WSF international organising committee.    "The issues that emerged were very important -- water, human rights, the question of illegitimate debt, housing, and many more. I am sure we have planted the seeds of hope," Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace laureate said.    "But the challenge remains what we shall do when we go back home. Remember the story of the little humming bird," she told IPS.    Maathai was referring to a story she repeatedly narrated at the Forum of how a tiny but determined humming bird successfully put out a huge forest fire. While much bigger animals in the forest watched from afar, the bird made several trips to the river, bringing water in its little beak, to douse the raging fire.    "We should not feel overwhelmed by the huge problems facing us. However small you are, you can make a difference to create a better world for all people, for Africa," she kept repeating through the five days.    The Nairobi WSF was the first hosted solely by an African country. Initially convened in 2001 in the Brazilian town of Porto Alegre by local civic organisations, the annual forum travelled to Mumbai, India, in 2004 -- and was held in several venues in 2006: Malian capital of Bamako; Caracas, Venezuela; and the Pakistani financial hub of Karachi.    The WSF draws mainly civil society representatives who reject globalisation in its current form.    Brazilian activist Ramos Filho shared how he has been making a difference in addressing HIV/AIDS in his country. A professor of law from Itajai district in Santa Catarina, he has since 1998 distributed more than 100,000 condoms in the country. The condoms are inscribed with poems about HIV/AIDS, as a way of raising awareness about the disease that continues to be challenge to developing countries.    Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 64 percent of the world''s HIV population. But burdened by debt repayment, governments in most poor countries are not able to provide for even basic health services. In Kenya, debt servicing costs 22 percent of the total budget. There is not enough money to improve living standards for Nairobi''s poor living in slums.    Korogocho, which means "confusion" in the language of the Kikuyu, is Nairobi''s fourth largest slum. Spread over 1.5 square km, its mud-walled shacks are covered with an assortment of rusting iron sheets, polythene and cartons. There is no sewage system or safe drinking water facility.    The settlement becomes virtually impassable during the rainy season, when sewage also spills into shacks, posing a serious health threat. Mountains of garbage and scarce water provision add to the health hazards.    The marathon sought to remind governments that issues in slums needs to be given serious attention.    For some delegates at the Forum from the developed world, it was also a first opportunity to get close to rural poverty in the developing world.    "It is a good experience to see how slums in Africa look like. But I am saddened that the conditions are so inhuman. A better world must be possible for slum dwellers.    Jan. 24, 2007    Clean Water for all, by Judy Waguma.    Despite the devastating record of water privatisations in Africa, international aid donors and governments continue to promote participation as the solution to Africa’s water crisis, says African Water Network organiser Al Hassan Adam.    He was speaking at the launch of the network attended by over 250 activists – representing civil society groups from over 40 African countries - at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday.    "This network will counteract this misguided push for water privatisation in African countries and instead fight for the common good of the poor people to have access to clean water," said Al Hassan Adam who is Ghanian activist.    "The launch of this network should put the water privateers, governments and international financial institutions on notice that Africans will resist privatisation," he added. "Water is a human right and demand governments to provide water through efficient public delivery."    In a strong statement, the network outlined five non-negotiable principles which this network will promote. They included the fight against water privatization in all its form, participatory of public control and management of water resources, Oppose all forms of prepaid water meters, ensure that water is enshrined in our national constitutions as a human right, ensure that the provision of water is a national project solely in the public domain.    "Today we celebrate the birth of this network to resist the theft of our water, tomorrow we will celebrate access to clean water for all," said Virginia Setshedi of the South African Coalition against Water Privatization.    Jan. 23, 2007    What makes for World Peace, by Martin Adhola    Three Nobel Peace Prize Laureates on Tuesday hit out at the world’s superpowers for their increasing ineffectiveness in promoting world peace and equitable resource distribution.    Speaking at a panel discussion on the role of women in building a better world, Prof Jody Williams, American winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work on the landmines campaign, criticized South Africa’s recent vote – with Russia and China – against a UN resolution that condemned Burma’s injustices to its people.    She said "It’s shameful that the South African government could use their first vote at the Security Council to stifle democracy in Burma that is under military rule; where people are suffering and being degraded the way they went through the apartheid era."    Iranian rights activist Sharin Ebadi, winner of the prize in 2003, said that despite human rights violations in Iran, America had no right to interfere with Iran’s nuclear programme.    "The people of Iran have to arm themselves with two swords – one to fight the Americans who are trying to impose their will on them and the other to fight for their rights within Iran that are being trampled on by the government," she said.    According to Ebadi, peace in the world would only come if the world put in more money into education and health. "If we increase the sums that we spend on education and health, rather than the enormous budgets that we have on military equipment, then the world would be a better place to live in."    Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Mathai, the winner in 2004, said that global super powers should ensure that there is equitable distribution of resources in the world.    "Until we see equitable distribution of resources in the world we will never know world peace," she said.    Jan. 23, 2007    Human Rights Cities: A Model for a New World, by Gavin Yates.    From Argentina to Senegal via India, Mali and Austria, a new model for community empowerment has begun to emerge.    From its earliest beginnings in Rosario, Argentina, to newer developments here in Kenya at the 150,000 strong Korogocho slums of Nairobi, people are coming together to ensure that their basic human rights are upheld.    In Human Rights Cities, residents demand their basic human rights through advocacy, activities and awareness. At the World Social Forum on Tuesday, representatives from Human Rights Cities came from Rwanda, Ghana and Kenya to share their experiences of this way of living.    A representative from a Korogocho youth group said that before residents proclaimed that they would be a Human Rights City, the experience for the slum-dwellers was a harsh one: "People were being robbed for their clothes which were sold almost from their backs. But now people can walk at night, business is starting to grow and investment is coming in."    This experience of people reclaiming their communities from lawlessness has been replicated across the globe with one participant saying: "If you learn your human rights then you can claim them. If you do not you cannot go forward."    The concept of Human Rights Cities was formed by the People Movement for Human Rights Learning (PDHRE) based in New York. As of 2005, there were 15 Human Rights Cities and communities in 11 countries, including a capital city – Accra, Ghana.    Individual projects have now taken on lives are their own and are completely self-determined.    Raymond Atagobo is the Ghanaian representative at the WSF and he told the audience of the success of the four projects in his country particularly in terms of citizen advocacy. "When there are legal problems sometimes you have to use a lawyer but through our city of human rights we act can as a community and seek justice. You can depend on the power of the community. Recently 100 local people went to court and through numbers the application was granted."    Kathleen Modrowski from the PDHRE told IPS TerraViva that she believed that the Human Rights Cities project was a model for success.    "It really is creating a new dimension … in Rosario in Argentina we all know of the repression where people disappeared. Now people there know that human rights are our only option."    Even in Washington DC in the United States a City of Human Rights is being established. Modrowski explained why: "In Brooklyn NYC a young African-American has a 60 per cent chance of going to jail but only a 22 per cent chance of graduating high school. Life expectancy is 47 years old for men."    Even in the so-called ‘Land of the Free’ it appears that active human rights is starting to become an essential for survival.    Johannesburg, Jan 11 (IPS)    As many as 150,000 delegates from more than a hundred countries are expected to attend the upcoming World Social Forum (WSF), to be held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, from Jan. 20-25.    WSF organisers have identified 12 topics on which the Nairobi discussions will focus: HIV/AIDS, women"s issues, privatisation of common goods, the landless, peace and conflict, migration and the diaspora, memory of people and struggles, youth, debt, free trade agreements, labour and housing.    HIV/AIDS is perhaps the most pressing issue at hand, given that sub-Saharan Africa is by far the region most affected by the virus. As the "AIDS Epidemic Update" issued last month by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organisation notes: "Two thirds (63%) of all adults and children with HIV globally live in sub-Saharan Africa, with its epicentre in southern Africa…One third (32%) of all people with HIV globally live in southern Africa and 34% of all deaths due to AIDS in 2006 occurred there."    African participants will also share with counterparts from other regions their experiences of peace and conflict. While violence has been quelled in certain parts of the continent, hotspots still exist -- notably those in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and Sudan.    The 2007 WSF will mark the first instance in which an African country is serving as sole host of the event.    For more news click on the link below. Visit the related web page
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