The
Boston Social Forum was the first North American social forum to use the methodology of the
World Social ForumThe World Social Forum is an annual meeting, based in Brazil, that defines itself as "an opened space – plural, diverse, non-governmental and non-partisan – that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, proposals building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and...
process and adhere closely to its Charter of Principles. It was held at the
University of Massachusetts BostonThe University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on 177 acres on Columbia Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts...
in Boston, Massachusetts in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from July 23-25, 2004, and coordinated by the Boston-based labor-community network, the Campaign on Contingent Work (later renamed Massachusetts Global Action).
Over 5,000 people from over 300 community organizations and labor unions participated in more than 550 workshops, plenary sessions, and convocations at the event--which was timed to take place just before the
2004 Democratic National ConventionThe 2004 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place from July 26 to July 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter , in Boston, Massachusetts...
, also being held in Boston. The majority of attendees came from the Northeast of the United States, but a large minority came from around North America, and there were delegations from over a dozen other countries (with simultaneous translation available in as many languages).
Numerous cultural events were also part of the proceedings, the largest being a show at the famed Middle East Restaurant in nearby
CambridgeCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent...
featuring UK punk troubadour
Billy BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician who blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs. His lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, actor
Chris CooperChristopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s, having appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including American Beauty, Capote, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and Adaptation., for which he won an Academy...
, filmmaker
John SaylesJohn Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director and screenwriter who frequently plays small roles in his own and other indie films.-Early life:...
, and nearly 30 other acts and featured guests. In the leadup to the forum, singer
Michelle ShockedMichelle Shocked is a U.S. singer-songwriter whose music and performances are influenced by her Texas roots, her political activism, and a self-assured style that her first major-label producer likened to troubadours such as Joni Mitchell, Spider John Koerner, and Dave Van Ronk.-History:Shocked is...
, comedians
Jimmy TingleJimmy Tingle is an American comic and occasional actor.In the 1990s, Tingle was often featured on the NPR radio show Heat with John Hockenberry. He was a commentator on CBS News during the 1980s , as well as for the CBS News program 60 Minutes II...
and Barry Crimmins, and many other artists and performers lent their talents to the effort--as did noted historian
Howard ZinnHoward Zinn is an American historian, political scientist, social critic, activist, playwright, and Democratic Socialist intellectual, best known as author of the bestseller A People's History of the United States....
and linguist
Noam ChomskyAvram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as...
.
Simultaneously a local and a regional social forum within the
World Social ForumThe World Social Forum is an annual meeting, based in Brazil, that defines itself as "an opened space – plural, diverse, non-governmental and non-partisan – that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, proposals building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and...
process, the Boston Social Forum was a place for left-wing activists to strategize and network with (and educate) each other across the spectrum of human knowledge in a convivial environment--united in the belief that "Another World is Possible."
According to its organizers,
"[the Boston Social Forum] was called to help progressive activists to begin to answer some very basic questions: What kind of future do we want for Boston? For our region? For our nation? For the world? What is our vision of a better society?
"Through a series of workshops, cultural events, plenary sessions, and giant convocations of the entire forum, we encouraged progressive organizations of all kinds to showcase their best analysis of the present, and their best ideas for the future, across the breadth of human knowledge—politics, economics, science and technology, culture and faith—in the context of corporate globalization.
"The goals of the event were simple: encourage various social movements to exchange information, network with one another, form new alliances, and push our movements forward a bit more towards the next stage of our development.
"We wanted to do our part to help progressives seize the high ground of ideas in this society, and then, having captured people's imaginations, move forward to become a more significant political force."
Like their counterparts at sibling social forums, the Boston Social Forum organizers subscribed to the idea that the corporate-driven neoliberal ideology of runaway
capitalismCapitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...
in the economic realm coupled with growing restrictions on
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
in the political realm were quite literally destroying the planet (at least for human life. . .). They also believed that the left-wing has important ideas in politics, economics, science and technology, culture and faith that could help save the planet, and build a human-centered, democratic and ecological society that will be capable of taking our species to the next phase of our evolution.
By bringing together a broad array of left-wing activists and interested members of the public just before a large gathering of the
Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
--one of the two major
political partiesPolitical Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
in the United States--organizers believed that the Boston Social Forum would demonstrate that the left-wing was a growing political force in the United States and worldwide, that it had good ideas, and that politically uncommitted people should consider joining its ranks.
Critics within the World Social Forum process had previously thought that it would not be possible to hold a significant social forum in the United States given its history of
American ExceptionalismAmerican exceptionalism refers to the theory that the United States occupies a special niche among the nations of the world in terms of its national credo, historical evolution, political and religious institutions and unique origins...
and because they thought that the United States, as the main imperialist power of its day, did not have large enough social movements to provide a grassroots base for a major social forum.
Boston Social Forum organizers believe they
proved their critics wrong, and that their forum's success showed that the World Social Forum process could and should flower in the United States (and Canada).
See also
- Jason Pramas
Jason Pramas is an American writer, media consultant, and political strategist. He was born in 1966 in Boston, MA to a family of Greek extraction. He has been in regional and national leadership of a number of movements for democracy and social justice in the United States -- including the labor,...
- World Social Forum
The World Social Forum is an annual meeting, based in Brazil, that defines itself as "an opened space – plural, diverse, non-governmental and non-partisan – that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, proposals building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and...
- European Social Forum
The European Social Forum is an annual conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement...
- Southern Africa Social Forum
The Southern African Social Forum is a Social Forum conference held in Zimbabwe.The SASF is an annual conference held in a different Southern Africa county each year....
- Midwest Social Forum
The Midwest Social Forum is an annual gathering that creates a space for grassroots organizations, community activists, educators, students, and others committed to social justice to come together to exchange experiences and information, strengthen alliances and networks, and devise strategies for...
- Southeast Social Forum
The Southeast Social Forum is a gathering of about 550 people that took place in Durham, North Carolina, from June 16th to June 18th, 2006, at North Carolina Central University. The attendees were people of all ages, and were mostly members of organizations from around the Southeastern United...
- US Social Forum
The United States Social Forum is a gathering which grew out of the World Social Forum process, bringing together activists, organizers, people of color, working people, poor people, and indigenous people from across the United States...
- World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland which brings together top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world...
External links