Final Blog on WSF

So what to make of it all? Was it worth coming? Will it change anything? Have things become clearer? Was there anything new? Well, yes, I think so. I have seen today's International Herald Tribune and there is talk of the Davos World Economic Summit, taking place in Switzerland.

Who is invited? World leaders and representatives of multinational companies. Apparently Bono is likely to stick in his head as well. The multinationals have a combined annual revenue of 12$trillion, the equivalent value of the entire US economy. The world social forum in Nairobi presents a counterpoint to the world economic summit. We are human beings that live in a society, we don't live in an economy, our economy is part of our society and not the other way around. This is what free market neo-liberal economics has to get to grips with. As humans we are more than simply factors of production. The forum in Nairobi brought in excess of 45,00 from all corners of the world. It was a celebration of diversity, of ideas and of activism. Global citizenship, this is what it was; an attempt by people from all over the world to share their perspectives on the major global challenges facing our societies; poverty, inequality, global governance, human rights, the multinationals, peace and war, debt, food sovereignty, labour, the status of women, the environment. It was a forum for exchange of ideas, of debate and discussion, democracy in action. While it was not a tightly structured event in the sense of a parliament it was however a representation to the world community of the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people the world over.

The Herald Tribune highlights this morning that while the likes of the Bush Administration is not giving any leadership on say climate change, the leaders of the corporate world are highly attuned to global public opinion and are preparing to change. Will the political class listen? Is the corporate sector really open to change and will they do it voluntarily as part of industry codes of practice?

The forum was democracy in action. It is a contribution to bridging the global democratic deficit. It is also a space for people to learn of the concerns of others and to join them in solidarity for their cause. In our case, the partners from West Africa who attended have shared with each other their perspectives on addressing the actions of multinationals. James, from a Liberian Environmental Advocacy NGO has exposed the deplorable conditions for the workers in the Firestone rubber plantations in Liberia. He has learned of the approach of the CSCR in Nigeria who have engaged shareholders in Shell to hold Shell to account for their actions and inactions. James has also met up with the Irish Debt and Development Coalition and is interested to address the debt crisis facing his ravaged country. Liberia is paying 125,000 US$ a month in interest repayments on its one billion dollar debt. This is a debt lent to a military dictator in the 1980?s who came to power by assassinating the democratically elected leader of the time. James can see new strategies and issues to be taken on if he and his colleagues are to make a difference to the critical issues that will hold his country back. He can also now see how to link his work to an international group of actors who share his vision for a new Liberia.

Trocaire will be there with him and others like him as we tackle not only the symptoms of poverty but also its underlying causes.

Going forward, I am conscious of the need for those with power to exercise it for good. So many people commented on the example of Mary Robinson. Here is someone who has achieved very high office but does not sit back on her laurels and continues to lend her voice and her energies for very public struggles for those on the margins. I am conscious of the need for the NGOs to collaborate more closely with trade unions and with wider social movements such as slum dwellers and or landless movements. The NGOs alone cannot achieve the wider mobilisation for change that these can. A useful and mutually beneficial partnership needs to be developed.

I am conscious of the need for faith-based organisations to articulate a prophetic voice. Over the week I heard from some of those in religious life "what is the connection between faith and justice?" This is something that those of faith need to reflect on. Faith that does not come to terms with a response to a world, polarised, divided with many excluded and marginalized is a questionable one, in my view.

I leave Nairobi, motivated, enthused and will plenty of ideas to pursue. I caught up with old friends and made new ones. I shared some of our plans and on-going programmes and received comment and suggestions for the future. Principally I leave Nairobi knowing that not only is another world possible but it is within our grasp if those of goodwill will come forward and make it happen.