From ideas to proposals” “

The two world forums of Davos and Porto Alegre have just ended. At the one politicians and economists, at the other organizations of civil society, discussed the fate of the world from different viewpoints. The third Social Forum at Porto Alegre, attended by hundreds of thousands of people who took part in over 1500 meetings, has become the reference point for all those engaged in the construction of a world based on peace, justice, solidarity and respect for human rights. It ended with a firm rejection of war, numerous ideas and proposals and the decision to hold next year’s Forum in India, with the aim of making the Forum even more international; it will no longer coincide in date with the world economic summit in Davos. …while in Davos … an appeal was made to the participants in the world economic summit in Davos by Bishop Amédée Grab of Chur (Switzerland), president of the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE), urging them to make “a great effort of responsibility and dialogue, of openness and firm resistance to abuses of power”, especially with reference to the situation in the Near East. Bishop Grab recalled that “believers in Jesus Christ regard with fraternal gratitude those who publicly assume political, economic and scientific responsibilities and who work to increase the opportunities at the disposal of men and women”. For this reason he expressed the hope “that these processes might be accelerated so that ever more men and women could fully enjoy the gift of life and all that this gift comprises and releases”. “The search for the common good – said Bishop. Grab – involves many risks, which have at times given rise to decisions that jeopardize the dignity of millions of human lives, the civil quality of aspects of social life, and important parts of the environment. These risks must not discourage us, but rather heighten our sense of responsibility. The memory of the errors and guilt of the past must not be erased, but assumed and converted into more humble and more active dedication”. Expressing “grave concern” about the international situation, especially in the Near East, the president of the CCEE urged “a greater effort of responsibility and dialogue”, to enlarge as far as possible the area in which the juridical and social conditions necessary for peaceful coexistence between persons and nations obtain. Free societies, by virtue of the values they embrace, are called to seek every possible peaceful form for the defence and re-establishment of rights and liberties”. Bishop Grab ended by inviting “the men and women gathered in Davos, and all those who share similar responsibilities at the local or global level, to continue their efforts in a courageous way and with a critical spirit”. …at Porto Alegre …the Social Forum was experienced as “a place of encounter and dialogue” on the most varied themes, with the very active participation of European Catholic associations, said Denis Viénot, president of Caritas Europe, in an interview with SirEurope on his return from Porto Alegre, where he took part in the meetings organized together with Caritas France-Secours catholique, Cafod (the English equivalent of Caritas), on peace, international dialogue, foreign debt, food questions, social and economic rights, etc. “At Porto Alegre there was a great debate on the need to pass from ideas to proposals – said Viénot –. I think that the formulation of alternate strategies depends more on the responsibilities of the individual participants in Porto Alegre, each in his own country and in his own organization”. The Social Forum – pointed out the president of Caritas Europe – was born three years ago as an anti-Davos, but that’s no longer the case today. It has come of age and achieved self-sufficiency, so it’s right in future that it should not coincide in date with Davos”. The presence of the social organizations of the European countries, in his view, has made an “interesting and useful contribution to the Forum in terms of North-South solidarity and the analysis of social problems in the world”. In this sense “the regional or thematic forums are very important” (e.g. the European Social Forum held in Florence last year), “because they permit more specific issues to be studied in depth”.