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Thematic space war and peace: Occupation, Apartheid and Palestinian struggles for justice

The WSF is an international open space organised by civil society, social movements and NGOs in order to articulate alternatives to neoliberal globalisation.

January 24, 2021 at 11:43 am

The WSF is an international open space organised by civil society, social movements and NGOs in order to articulate alternatives to neoliberal globalisation.

The 2021 World Social Forum (WSF) events discussed the Palestinian issue at length.

Speakers included:

  • Dr Daud Abdullah, Director of the Middle East Monitor
  • Hanadi Halawani, Jerusalem Affairs Analyst
  • Yafa El Masri, Doctoral Researcher in Geographic Studies
  • Ahmad Hweidi, Journalist and researcher
  • Khawla Elaian, Portuguese Editor of the Middle East Monitor

The WSF is an international open space organised by civil society, social movements and NGOs in order to articulate alternatives to neoliberal globalisation. It was founded in 2001 in Porto Alegre, in a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This year, it aims to enable responses to the serious and urgent challenges of the global conjuncture and to begin the celebrations of its 20th anniversary. Thousands of people are expected to participate in hundreds of self-organised activities.

The Global March, which opens every year, with several videos and the participation of activists from around the world in the panel “What kind of world do we want today and tomorrow?”.

The activities are divided into the thematic axes: Peace and War; Economic Justice; Education, Communication and Culture; Feminism, Society and Diversity; Indigenous and Ancestral Peoples; Social Justice; Democracy;  Climate, Ecology and Environment and the Future of the WSF. On the last day of the event the social struggles for the next period will be defined.

Every year, the space always receives several activities aimed at discussing and giving visibility to the Palestinian cause. In this edition, the Middle East Monitor organised the panel “Occupation, Apartheid and Palestinian Struggles for Justice”. The webinar is registered within the thematic spaces “War and Peace” and “Social Justice and Democracy” of WSF.

MEMO director Dr Daud Abdullah attended from London.  From São Paulo, the Brazilian editor in chief, Khawla Elaian, and the journalist Ahmad Hweidi were  present. Yafa El Masri, a Doctoral Researcher in Geographic Studies, spoke from Beirut, and Hanady Halawani, an Jerusalem Affairs Analyst, broadcast live from Jerusalem.

They discussed the goals and challenges of the international Middle East Monitor project; the normalisation processes with Israel among Arab countries; the situation of the people of Jerusalem under the racist occupation policy; the expansion of settlements in occupied Palestine; the lives of Palestinian refugees and their struggle for the right to return.

Later today, at 5 pm (GMT), the Palestinian Social Forum and the Forum social Maghreb/Machrek  will present the panel “New challenges for justice in Palestine”. This activity, inscribed in the “War and Peace” axis, will be presented in English, French and Arabic.  Palestinian voices will also be present on the “Indigenous and Ancestral Peoples” and “education, communication and culture” themes.