The organisers of the Latin American and Asia Pacific International Solidarity Forum, "Fighting and organising globally against neoliberalism", are calling on all activists, organisations and communities who are committed to building a better world to join together in Melbourne on October 11-14.
The forum, initiated by the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN), the Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference (APISC) and the Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET), is a response to the cracks beginning to appear worldwide in the capitalist system, Lisa Macdonald, one of the organisers told Green Left Weekly. "In the Asia-Pacific region, neoliberal governments face a crisis of legitimacy and mass movements of resistance are on the rise. In Latin America, a people's rebellion is growing across the continent."
"There is a rich discussion and debate around workers' control and management; Indigenous autonomy and self-determination; building trade unions and social movements; electoral campaigning and counter-power strategies across Latin America. And these are giving birth to some of the most dynamic and successful social movements and political organisations in decades", Macdonald said.
Many of these movements and political organisations are winning. They are strengthening people's participation, strengthening their communities, developing people's power and inspiring a new generation of political activists. Popular governments have won elections with the support of social movements, and in countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador we are seeing progressive and radical changes. The Venezuelan idea of a new socialism for the 21st century is giving renewed hope and energy to other liberation processes around the world.
Against this backdrop, Macdonald explained, one of the main aims of the forum is share ideas and experiences between Australian, Latin American and Asia-Pacific social movements, political organisations and individual activists, and strengthen global coordination and campaigning.
A second and equally important aim is to increase the support for, and solidarity with, grassroots movements and political organisations fighting neoliberalism and resisting the transnationals' and governments' plunder of their natural resources. "There is a history of Australian support for such movements, and we hope this forum will extend that."
Some of the many discussion themes will include the histories of struggles and movements of resistance, campaigning and organising strategies, anti-capitalist and revolutionary theory and practice, alternatives to neo-liberalism, ecological sustainability, Indigenous struggles and cultural action.
Activists from Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Indonesia, the Philippines, East Timor, Pakistan, India, Mauritius, Malaysia and New Zealand are already confirmed to attend, and many more have been invited.
The forum organisers are encouraging trade unions, NGOs, progressive political parties, social movements, academics and activists from across Australia and around the world to mark the dates in their diaries and submit proposals for workshops.
To register for the forum, to sponsor it, to submit a workshop proposal or to be added to the forum e-list for updates email <solidarityforum2007@yahoo.com> or phone Jorge Jorquera 0431 720 787, Lisa Macdonald 0413 031 108 or Lucho Riquelme 0402 754 818.
"We intend this forum to be a contribution to popular global resistance and struggle against neoliberalism, war and injustice", Macdonald concluded.