I had never seen so many people in one place. The official figure of attendees was 100,000 but there seemed to be many more as we competed for space on the narrow roads that ran through the NESCO grounds in Goregaon a Northern suburb of Mumbai (Bombay). We were literally carried along on a tide of humanity as people tried to reach their chosen workshop, talk, panel that stimulated and provoked attendees from 9am in the morning till 8pm at night.
The first day of the Forum was hectic as we all registered and tried to find our bearings. The atmosphere was electric with expectation and anticipation. There was definitely a feeling that we were a part of something, something with a great deal of potential.
Although the organisation of an event of this scale was mind blowing and commendable there were a few early hiccups such as the programmes being delayed at the printers. However, by the middle of day 2 delegates were well into the swing of things - the programmes had arrived and people pondered over the bewildering choice of talks, forums, workshops, discussions, panels and symposiums. More and more people kept arriving and there were an increasing number of protests. The decision to hold the WSF 2004 in Mumbai was a good one. With a population of over 1 billion Indian people know how to deal with crowds. They also know how to protest. There was extensive participation of movements of the most oppressed groups of Indian society - the Dalits (untouchables) and lower castes. Tribal groups protested about loss of lands, civil society groups from Kerala protested about the presence of Coca-Cola in their state and the devastating effect this had had on their access to water. Unions protested about privatisation whilst women’s groups protested about their lack of unions and all protests used dance, drumming and song.

Most of the talks I attended were concerned debt and the International Finance Institutions. There was an impressive array of speakers who I wanted to hear.
Dembe Dembele who had spoken at WDMs Scottish Conference in October was part of a panel of speakers at an event held by 50 Years is Enough on the IMF and World Bank at 60 entitled “Time to retire”. Participants called for global days of action from 22 - 25 April during the Spring Meetings of the institutions. Fellow panellists from Haiti, Kenya, Mali and India spoke of how World Bank and IMF policies have interfered with modes of production in their countries causing migration and displacement and associated problems of HIV infection and brain drain. They were highly critical of the debt relief mechanism HIPC and Poverty Reduction Strategy papers (PRSPs). Through Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers the World Bank and the IMF are controlling debates on poverty. They are closing off alternatives and decisions get made behind closed doors and are non-negotiable. The fact that PRSPS are accepted by donor countries as THE plan is very dangerous. The South want their own national plans.
A Jubilee South organised event Debt, Trade, Investments and Privatisation had a good range of speakers. Eric Toussaint of CADTM spoke of the Iraq’s odious debt and stressed how the odious debt doctrine must be applied to other countries such as Kenya and the Philipppines. Beverly Keene (Dialogo 2000) talked about the background to the financial crisis in Argentina and stressed that although Argentina has stopped paying 0% of all their debts, the government still pays the World Bank and IMF as its preferred creditors. Maria Lucia Fatorelli (Brasil) spoke of debt under the Lula presidency and presented the results of a citizen debt audit.
An event with the ambitious title How to Redistribute Wealth and Power Globally was chaired by Duncan McLaren (Secretary General of Caritas International and former head of SCIAF). Introducing the issue of redistribution he cited the fact that between 1983 and 1993 $300 billion was transferred from the South to the North. He called for a real Marshall Plan for the developing world. Debt is a tool for domination. Another world is possible if the domination of the International Financial Institutions over Southern countries is broken. Vandana Shiva (feminist and environmental activist) gave an impassioned talk on trade rules and how they are taking resources away from where the poor majority make a living and where women have a very central role. She told Reuters: The struggle between people and capital is now an epic struggle between life and death. Eveline Herfkins UN Director of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) called on the Jubilee Campaign to re-ignite to secure more debt relief and free up resources to fund the MDGs. Jack Jones Zulu of Jubilee Zambia explained the complex story of Zambia’s indebtedness and the effect debt repayments are having on civil society.
Many other events also dealt with issues of debt; debt and HIV/AIDS, debt and the MDGs, debt and reform of the International Finance Institutions. The reluctance of developing world markets to open up to developing nation’s goods was also top of the agenda for many events. The problems facing Africa led to the idea of an African WSF being mooted for 2006. Next year the WSF will return to Brasil.
The event was not driven by an anti-globalisation agenda as was reported by the Indian and British media, it was more an exploration of alternatives for globalisation. The WSF 2004 explored ways of making globalisation work either by campaigning for change of existing institutions or looking for alternatives. The movement may have been born out of a shared opposition towards the failings of globalisation but it seemed to me that it was moving in the direction of establishing positives to work towards.
By the last full day of the Forum delegates seemed exhausted, dusty and ready for the end. The final day was marked by a huge march of 30,000 people that culminated in the closing ceremony. Performers and speakers shared their reflections on the event. There was no communique, no formal set of solutions or resolutions. Critics had called it just a talking shop and it had been exactly that but it had been a talking shop that had inspired, stimulated and provoked 100,000 people from all over the world who would go back to where they had come from and share some of that spirit.

February 2004