PLAN/ Key Points B/ Summary of Questions and Answers C/ ZOOM CHAT FLOW 1/ START 2/ EXPLANATION OF CODES 3/ QEI&RC WITH KEVIN 4/ QEI&RC WITH JUDITH 5/ QEI&RC WITH ZEINABOU 6/ QEI&RC WITH LUC 7/ QEI&RC WITH ZEINABOU 8/ QEI&RC WITH NELLY 9/ WITH SEEKU TRANSLATION TOOL 10/ QEI&RC WITH KHADIDIATOU 11/ GOING TO THE CARAVANS Meeting Summary A/ Key Points The webinar aims to explain how organizations can participate in processes comprising the Global World Social Forum, notably the WSF Benin 2026 and the WSF Intersections (WSF) https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/ and https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/liste-des-entites. There are two separate websites: WSF Benin and WSF Intersections, where organizations can register, create their page, and announce activities and meetings: whenever they wish in the WSF Intersections, where the next event is not scheduled after WSF Intersections 2025 in Montreal. https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites-pasees When they wish: Before - during - around - after the WSF 2026 event and for the WSF 2026 process: https://fsm2026benin.org/activites/ Organizations can propose online activities on the WSF 2026 website before the physical event in Cotonou (August 4-8, 2026) - see the first ones here: https://fsm2026benin.org/activites/ The agora concept allows organizations to meet each other according to their interests in digital rooms associated with announcements they make in relation to activities they have conducted - the WSF provides a page showing the activities that have opened the agora component in their description: https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/annonces Activities within the forum are two-hour meetings, not long-term projects or action items in an organization's work plan – this is clearly visible in the list of activities placed within the FSMI https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites-passees Spaces for mutual visibility by country (WhatsApp groups) are created by the FSMI facilitation team to facilitate exchanges between organizations within the FSMI context: for example, SMV237 and SMV243. The hybrid nature of activities within a large event like the 2026 World Social Forum allows participants who remain remote, due to a lack of time or financial resources, to follow and participate in physical events.
Hybridization is a skill that develops through the practice of preliminary hybrid activities before the 2026 World Social Forum. Automatic transcription and translation via Zoom (CC menu) facilitates multilingual participation: see an invitation here to register for practice sessions of this function (CC menu) - when 5 registrations are received, a session is scheduled: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mH_QO4E1Q0Wf6Jde5Jwkjw. Physical caravans are planned to travel to Cotonou in July 2026 from various African countries, departing around mid-July and arriving on August 2nd - a coastal caravan starting in Guinea and... A Sahelian caravan starting near Dakar, and a Central African caravan coming from Yaoundé. A group of young Senegalese volunteers for the social forum presents an initiative to disseminate and popularize the WSF process among young people. A Facebook page for this group is being prepared. B/ Summary of questions and answers. Difference between WSF Benin and the FSMI. Carline: What is the difference between WSF Benin and the FSMI? Océane: They are two distinct processes that are part of the overall WSF process and are based on the same Charter of Principles https://fsm2026benin.org/charte-principes/. The FSMI is a thematic program with its own website and calendar. https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/themes-intersections The WSF Benin also has its own website: https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/ It is possible to register the same activity/meeting in both processes for greater visibility. Pierre: Défenseur Plus is present on both sites with two pages of identification numbers (252 for WSF Benin, https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/252/ and 656 for FSMI, https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/entite/656). Each process has its own directory of organizations. FSMI has approximately 300 registered organizations: https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/liste-des-entites while the FSM Benin has 70 because it was opened only a month ago. https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/ (1300 organizations in Nepal in 2024) https://wsf2024nepal.org/organization-registered-in-wsf Same thing for activities https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites-passees and https://fsm2026benin.org/activites/ Concept of the Agora: Oceane: Could we elaborate on the idea of the agora for those who have never participated? Philippe: The agora was tested in 2021 during a fully online World Social Forum. A video of it remains: Ágora de Futuros. Foro Social Mundial. The principle is that each registered organization opens a virtual room (Jisti) where it can promote an announcement related to a self-organized activity and where Others can come and visit it, regardless of their location. This allows for interconnection across the world - here is the permanent agora page for the FSMI which is the infrastructure with which agora days can be scheduled in the FSMI on certain dates https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/annonces (an agora is planned for June 13).
There is also media coverage of the agora called TV Agora, where visits and interviews are recorded in different Jitsi rooms, and announcements are promoted to showcase the diversity of activities. These recordings can be shared and viewed later: example from WSF 2021. Agora of Futures. World Social Forum. Registration and organization page creation. Judith: How do I register an activity for the forum? Pierre: for the WSF 2026 process First, you need to create an organization account on the website, https://fsm2026benin.org/inscription/ (be sure to select “organization”), fill out the form, and click “submit” and wait for a confirmation message. In the meantime, you can log in to the FSM Benin website with the email address and password you used during registration: https://fsm2026benin.org/connexion/. Then, click on the button in the upper right corner (which displays your name once logged in), and then on the “My Account” menu to access the dashboard. From there, you can propose an activity by filling out a form. You can also do this via the Participate / Propose an Activity menu. After submission, the activity must be validated by the administrators before publication. appears here https://fsm2026benin.org/activites/: Nature of activities in the forum. Zeinabou: Can we publish the activities we have already done to show what our association is working on? Pierre: In the context and jargon of the social forum, an “activity” is not a project or a line of action of an NGO, but a two-hour meeting, a gathering on a topic chosen by one or more participating entities who are responsible for the logistics of the “mobilization,” the organization, and the documentation. It is very important to avoid confusion between these two meanings of the word activity. To describe what your organization does in general, and the activities it carries out in the NGO sense, use your organization's presentation page on the FSMI or FSM2026 website, not the activity section page. Activities - The social forum is defined as an open space for meetings and activities between participating organizations that confirm they share the values affirmed in the charter of principles https://fsm2026benin.org/charte-principes/ (you can contact these organizations by visiting the directory on the site https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/) - The same applies in the FSMI. An activity is a moment of dialogue where people from various organizations meet around a topic to discuss it according to the modalities and procedures defined by the organization(s) proposing the meeting/activity. - In the FSMI, the activity sheet presents a description, a documentation section, and an announcement section.
In WSF2026, the activity sheet is a description, and it is possible to write articles https://fsm2026benin.org/articles/ associated with the activity that present a statement, documentation, or contributions on the subject of this activity. The activities visible in the list of activities https://fsm2026benin.org/activites/ or https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites-passees can have a physical, hybrid, or purely online modality, and can have a format of workshops, conferences or assemblies and others. Activity formats according to periods Kevin: Will the activities carried out within the framework of the WSF Benin be conducted before the Cotonou meeting online or hybrid, and the in-person activities only during the event from August 4 to 8? Pierre: Organizations can announce activities at any time, before, during or after the event. For activities before the event, the possible formats are online or hybrid (not in-person only as this would prevent participants from accessing the activity). During the event in Cotonou (August 5-7), the formats can be in-person or hybrid, but not purely online. You can announce several activities: preparatory meetings online and an activity during the physical event, post-WSF2026 review activities and Implementation, commentary on the progress of the announcements made at the event, etc. Organization of activities in Cotonou. Judith: How to organize activities on-site in Cotonou so that they are included in the WSF? Pierre: For activities in Cotonou, you share your preferences: day, time slots during the day, room, village, or physical space where the room or activity is located. The Cotonou organizing committee will allocate a room, a day, and a time slot (morning, afternoon, or evening) to each proposed activity to be included in WSF2026. If you request a room for 50 people, there will be no problem as there are many at the University of Abomey-Calavi. For Booking a 500-person amphitheater could be a criterion for the activity to be co-organized between several organizations. For translation or hybridization, it is up to the organizations themselves to organize. It is important to advertise and hold preparatory webinars to mobilize participants. It is also up to the organizations to effectively invite participants to attend. Physical participation in Cotonou: Zeinabou: What are the processes for physically participating in the Cotonou forum? Pierre: First, you must register as an organization with the WSF Benin or the FSMI. Then, you can propose activities during the event (August 5-7). For travel logistics, caravans are organized from different countries.
It is important to prepare your participation in advance through online activities to generate interest around the topics you wish to discuss and to encourage discussion among participants. Visibility and registration of organizations Zeinabou: How can I gain visibility on the webinar and register my organization? Pierre: To be visible as a group, you need to have a Facebook page or a website. When registering as a participating entity for the FSMI or FSM Benin, there is a form to fill out with a website field where you can include your Facebook page if you don't have a website. This link allows others to see that your entity exists as an active group. If you are active in several associations, it is preferable that each organization has a designated person to create its own page and that everything is not concentrated on the same person with a different email address each time. Spaces for mutual visibility This allows you to see and communicate with others involved in the social forum process. Pierre: How do the mutual visibility spaces by country work? Pierre: WhatsApp groups are created by country for organizations registered with the FSMI, for example SMV 243 for the DRC, SMV 237 for Cameroon. These spaces allow organizations from the same country to communicate, exchange information about their activities, and coordinate. It's a horizontal space without leadership where organizations can propose activities or discuss the FSMI in Benin or other topics. To access it, you must first register your organization with the FSMI. See the list of activities held in 2025-2026 here. https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites-passees Caravans to Cotonou Luc: What is the situation regarding caravans to travel to Cotonou? Pierre: There are caravan projects, including a confirmed caravan that will depart from Douala to Cotonou, passing through other countries. There are also coastal caravan and Sahel caravan projects, departing in mid-July. Participating in a caravan requires a significant time commitment (several weeks). The stops in the host cities could lead to hybrid meetings announced as preparatory activities before the 2026 World Social Forum. There is also the extended caravan feature, a virtual bus where people can follow the caravan remotely via photos, videos, and audio shared during the journey by participants on the actual bus. Automatic translation in Zoom: Zeinabou: How do I use automatic translation in Zoom? Pierre: In Zoom's three-dot menu, select Show Captions, then click the small arrow on the right. In the menu that appears, activate the Translate button. Choose your spoken language (for example, French) and the subtitle language (also French). Also activate Show Full Transcript to see all the text from the last 10 minutes. When someone speaks in another language, Zoom will automatically display the translation in French. This works quite well if the technical conditions are good and people are speaking clearly.
You can register to test this feature: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mH_QO4E1Q0Wf6Jde5Jwkjw Initiative of young Senegalese volunteers Luc: The group of young Senegalese volunteers for the promotion of the social forum, who are presenting at this session, have they confirmed their participation in the 2026 WSF? Will they participate in the caravan? Khadidiatou: The group of young volunteers works on raising awareness and mobilizing young people around the values of the WSF, promoting volunteering and civic engagement, as well as producing content and digital communication. Regarding physical participation and the caravan, we need to inquire about feasibility (time availability, available places). The group plans to be primarily active online, which is realistic and within their reach. Pierre: Participating in a caravan requires being available for about a month. You also have to contact the caravan organizers to see if there's space. An alternative is the virtual extended caravan, which allows you to follow the caravan remotely. Announcing and leading online activities is an area where young people can realistically accomplish a great deal.