Southern Africa Social Forum
Encyclopedia
The Southern African Social Forum(SASF) is a Social Forum
conference held in a different Southern Africa
county each year.
It is organised in the spirit of the World Social Forum
but is not organized by the WSF Secretariat or the International Council http://www2.forumsocialmundial.org.br/dinamic.php?pagina=foruns_nacionais_eng
The SASF emerged out of the Africa Social Forum
(ASF) which was held in Mali
in 2001 and Ethiopia
in 2002. At the Ethiopia ASF it was agreed in Forums needed to be organised on a more local level. Amongst other things this was to overcome problems of prohibitive transport costs.
Zambia
under the banner “Another Southern Africa is Possible”. Approximately 400 people participated.
At the forum motions were passed stating that The Forum "the globalisation process, dominated by the giant transnational corporations from the North, is impacting negatively on the people [of Southern Africa]" and that the New Economic Plan for African Development (NEPAD) should be rejected "as an expression of support by certain leaders of our continent for the world’s elite at the expense of the majority".
Zimbabwe
. It had the largest participation so far with around 4,000 people taking part. Participants came from South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe
The event organisers had been put under pressure from the Zimbabwean police who warned speakers that any criticism of Robert Mugabe
would lead to the event being closed down. But by the end of the meeting, buoyed by the size of the participation, speakers were denouncing Mugabe. According to Charie Kimber, writing in the Socialist Worker
"Half of the watching police were nodding along in agreement".
The speakers at the event were critical of Capitalism
itself as well as of the region’s governments. One popular chant was "phansi capitalism" (down with capitalism) and "viva socialism".
Social forum
A Social Forum is an open meeting place for civil society organizations and individuals opposed to neoliberalism and the domination of the world by capital and imperialism. The first Social Forum was the World Social Forum held in January 2001 in Porto Alegre. It was designed as a counter forum to...
conference held in a different Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
county each year.
It is organised in the spirit of the World Social Forum
World Social Forum
The World Social Forum is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemonic globalization...
but is not organized by the WSF Secretariat or the International Council http://www2.forumsocialmundial.org.br/dinamic.php?pagina=foruns_nacionais_eng
The SASF emerged out of the Africa Social Forum
Africa Social Forum
The African Social Forum is an African social movement movement opposed to neo-liberal economic policies in Africa and what they see as the exploitation of the African continent in a framework of neo-liberal globalisation....
(ASF) which was held in Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
in 2001 and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
in 2002. At the Ethiopia ASF it was agreed in Forums needed to be organised on a more local level. Amongst other things this was to overcome problems of prohibitive transport costs.
2003
The 2003 SASF was held on the 9–12 November 2003 in LusakaLusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
under the banner “Another Southern Africa is Possible”. Approximately 400 people participated.
At the forum motions were passed stating that The Forum "the globalisation process, dominated by the giant transnational corporations from the North, is impacting negatively on the people [of Southern Africa]" and that the New Economic Plan for African Development (NEPAD) should be rejected "as an expression of support by certain leaders of our continent for the world’s elite at the expense of the majority".
2005
The 2005 SASF took place in HarareHarare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. It had the largest participation so far with around 4,000 people taking part. Participants came from South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe
The event organisers had been put under pressure from the Zimbabwean police who warned speakers that any criticism of Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
would lead to the event being closed down. But by the end of the meeting, buoyed by the size of the participation, speakers were denouncing Mugabe. According to Charie Kimber, writing in the Socialist Worker
Socialist Worker
Socialist Worker is the name of several socialist/communist newspapers associated with the International Socialist Tendency...
"Half of the watching police were nodding along in agreement".
The speakers at the event were critical of Capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
itself as well as of the region’s governments. One popular chant was "phansi capitalism" (down with capitalism) and "viva socialism".