The Peoples’ Social Forum

1) Who and what organisations/groups are involved in building the Peoples Social Forum?

Raul: Those involved in organising include community groups, racialized communities, Indigenous nations, labour, NGOs, students, workers from across Canada and Quebec.
Darius: Most unions, student organizations, Indigenous peoples and nations, lefty activists of all stripes, environmentalists, women’s organizations, migrant justice organizers, artists, NGO’s, and others who are just fed up with the direction of society.

2) The Forum is clearly inspired by Occupy, INM and the Quebec Student movement. Is it the hope that the forum can pull those inspired and active in those movements together?

Raul: The SF has its roots in Latin American activism, called “encuentros”, a meeting which emphasizes dialogue and exchange of ideas among activists in the global south with an emphasis on alternatives. From Canada yes, those movements have been a source of inspiration as an example of collective action and resistance. The SF seeks to bring together all progressive social movements to help bridge the links between local and national struggles and linking them to global issues with a emphases on collective action to challenge the status quo in this country.

Darius: The Forum is indeed inspired by the many mass movements that have rocked “Canada” these past few years. But it is also very much inspired by the Social Forum movement which pre-dates these recent happenings. The hope is that the Peoples Social Forum can pull together all our social movements to build together, identify points of unity that strengthen our diverse struggles and perspectives, build trust, build solidarity, and come out of the forum with plans for action and stronger bonds between all participating peoples.