Earth Equity News

World Social Forum Concludes Amidst Chaos and Constructive Dialogue. By Bradley Brooks, AP, February 3, 2009. "The world's biggest counterculture political gathering [the 2009 World Social Forum] ended Sunday with a flurry of photo-snapping, tent folding and farewell embraces -- as well as uncertainty about what concrete results were accomplished in the stifling heat of this jungle city... 'I made great contacts with people from all over the world and this was a good space to trade ideas,' said Caetano Filhoa a 21-year-old student from Brazil's Bahia state who sat amid hundreds of tents in the student camping area. The guitar-strumming men, young women who went topless and mud from daily rains led some to call it the 'Woodstock of the left'... 'I think the message sent from here will have significant resonance,' Filho said, 'but we certainly didn't propose concrete alternatives to what they are doing in Davos.' This year's forum has a renewed sense of purpose and importance, participants said, coming as it does amid a global financial crisis... Five Latin American presidents joined about 100,000 activists from around the world whose discussions -- in conference rooms and around beer coolers -- feed the debate of the world's political left... Activists from every part of the planet came to share their causes: land rights for Amazonian Indians, support for Cuba's government, the struggle against marital violence in India. Vegetarians protested meat. Anarchists battled authority... 'The forum itself was chaos,' said Julia Vilela, 21, a student from Rio de Janeiro who camped out all week. 'The meetings were rarely held where they were advertised or at the hour scheduled. But the scene, man, was really cool.'"