Documentation of act282 – why and how participate in Global wsf session 11 – FSM 2026

PLAN

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A/Quick recap

This webinar focused on providing practical guidance on how to participate in World Social Forum (WSF) processes, with discussions on making organizations visible through various platforms including WSF Intersection, WSF Benin, and Asia Pacific Social Forum (APSF) thematic connection spaces.

Participants including Kadiri, Tharushi, Salim, Bose, and Laddawan shared their experiences and intentions for participating in social forum spaces events and processes, , with many expressing interest in learning how to register their organizations and propose activities in some of those three outlined processes.

The session covered the registration process for organizations, the difference between passive and active visibility, and the possibility of using Zoom's transcript translation tool for multilingual communication above language barriers

Participants also discussed specific initiatives like south asia trade union solidarity and women's peacebuilding efforts that could be further developed through social forum platforms.

Next steps

Bose: Announce as self organized activities the upcoming webinars and capacity-building trainings from Web of Heart Foundation which is visible in the WSF Intersection https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/entite/635 and WSF Benin websites, and ensure these are visible in the mutual visibility spaces where to share invitations build broader participation.

Bose: Assign a web of hearts staff member to focus on communication and visibility,starting by joining relevant mutual visibility spaces (e.g., APSF TCS, WSF Intersection SMV0 English) where to push invitations about activities proposed in those processes by the organization alone or with other entities.

Kadiri: After a first experience https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites/249 Propose and announce new activities in the WSF Benin website on behalf of CEPHO Centre for Positive Health Organization https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/entite/634 , including the possibility of hybrid or online activities.

Kadiri: Register interest in testing the Zoom multilingual transcript/translate tool via the provided link to practice and prepare for multilingual webinars. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mH_QO4E1Q0Wf6Jde5Jwkjw

Laddawan: Register ACFOD (or other relevant organization) in the WSF Benin website as an organization done just after the webinar https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/299/ and explore proposing activities.

Pierre: Share the square of statements document from Bangkok Square of Statements in APSF2025 - WIP27nov in the 2C2 whatsapp group for reference signatures by interested participants and in the promoter group for possible update and follow up .

Salim : invite other person from his trade union to come in the APSF thematic connection spaces and consider signing the statement 3B3 outcoming from APSF Bangkok

Tharushi: Review and collect signatories of the shared statement 3B3 declarations on trade unions https://forms.gle/6Xe4BxdCkwzfcZ6g6 and consider their involvement in follow-up actions announced in the statement.

Tharushi: Make the Free Trade Union Development Center visible in WSF2026 Benin websites and the Sri Lanka Preschool Association visible in WSF Intersection and WSF 2026 Benin websites by registering the organizations and filling out the relevant forms. FTUDC is visible in WSFI process : https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/entite/238

Tuha: Organize an internal meeting with AROSP network statement signatories 4B4 statement https://forms.gle/W2rSiVbdh3jz8efp6 to discuss and plan activities for WSF participation, and consider inviting others via the 2C2 associated WhatsApp group.

All participants in 2C2 webinar series : Register their organizations in WSF Intersection https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/form/inscription-d-une-entite and WSF Benin websites https://fsm2026benin.org/inscription/?lang=en using the provided forms/links.

All interested 2C2 webinar participants: Review documentation and links shared in the WhatsApp group and provide comments or questions for further clarification and register for multilingual training sessions

B/Summary

START

Pierre and Thu waited for participants to join explaining the format where registered participants would speak in the order they arrived. Pierre shared a list of registered participants ( see image on top of document) and explained the website pages coding system (WSFN WSFI WSFB APSF followed by numbers) that would allow participants to access easily the respective specific pages of their entiies..

Social Forum Participation

The meeting focused on discussing participation in social forum processes, with Salim sharing his interest in attending social forums since 2002 and his current involvement with trade unions in India.

There are three main social forum processes relevantly available to Salim: the Asia Pacific Social Forum, the Social Forum of Intersections, and the World Social Forum 2026. there is existence of APSF TCSs thematic connection spaces

in wsfintersections and in wsf2026 websites organizations can fill online forms in social forum websites in to create organisation pages and activities-meeting pages and how inclusion of contact persons according to existence of organisation pages can be included in mutual visibility spaces where they can share invitation to their respective activities-meetings

Organizational Visibility in social Forum spaces

There are opportunities for organizations to make themselves visible in various forums processes, including WSF intersections , APSF, wsf2026 with no immediate payment required for registration.

Tuha and Tharushi shared their experiences participating in the APSF in Bangkok with self organized activities on trade union solidarity and social protection, see the 3B3 statement xhttps://forms.gle/6Xe4BxdCkwzfcZ6g6 and 4B4 statement https://forms.gle/W2rSiVbdh3jz8efp6 highlighting the benefits of collaboration and knowledge exchange among organizations from different countries.

Laddawan expressed interest in simplifying information about the World Social Forum to encourage more participation from civil society organizations, particularly in Southeast Asia and Asia.

Pierre shared lists of organizations already registered in WSFIntersections https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/liste-des-entites and WF2026 https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/?lang=en

WSF Benin Registration Process and various intentions

Pierre explained the process for organizations to register on the WSF Benin website, https://fsm2026benin.org/inscription/?lang=en clarifying the difference between registering as an individual participant or as representative of organization and emphasizing the importance of registration for visibility of organizations.

SELECT “ORGANISATION” AND FILL THE FORM (put “other” if your country is not in the list)

Bose shared her experience of connecting with organizations in Asia through participation in webinars for which she received invitations in the APSF thematic connection spaces https://forms.gle/2Hyfd9Cf8Bikgbj59 where she is present and commented how these connections have been beneficial for her work in migration management in Nigeria.

Some of the 13 TCS whatsapp groups accessible through the form https://forms.gle/2Hyfd9Cf8Bikgbj59

Salim, who has been seaman anchoring in Lagos, asked about traditional facial marking practices in some communities that he observed there, with Bose explaining their historical and cultural significance as protective mark, now outdated practice in Nigeria.

The main focus was on visibility strategies for Bose's organization participation , with the distinction between

passive visibility (having a page describing the organisation in the social forum website that visitors of website can search for in the directory of organisation such as https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/?lang=en

active visibility (using mutual visibility spaces as communication channels to share invitation for activities-meetings proposed by the organisation in the social forum space -process ).

Bose mentioned that her organizations would make some of its upcoming activities-meetings scheduled late May, visible timely in both the WSF Intersection https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites-liste and WSF2026 Benin websites https://fsm2026benin.org/activites/?lang=en , and would use the respective organizations directories WSFI https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/liste-des-entites and WF2026 https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/?lang=en to identify some organization liable to be interested and contact them proactively

Kadiri from CEPHO Centre for Positive Health Organization explained their community-based work focusing on HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, sexual assault, and sexual reproductive health in Lagos, Nigeria.

Pierre provided guidance on how Kadiri's organization can participate in the World Social Forum 2026 (WSF) Benin and WSF Intersections processes, explaining the process of proposing activities through form filling https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/form/enregistrer-une-activite or https://fsm2026benin.org/proposer-activite/ ( accessible only to entities visible in the organizaztions directory and the options for online, hybrid, or in-person activities.

Language barrier

Kadiri expressed appreciation for the clarity and mentioned looking forward to future webinars to address language barriers and enhance multilingual participation in the dialogues/ conversations taking place in the activities. She discussed plans for a webinar and raised questions about ensuring interpretation services for participants.

Pierre suggested using Zoom's transcript translation feature as a practical solution, and shared a registration link for training sessions on multilingual conversations using that feature : https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mH_QO4E1Q0Wf6Jde5Jwkjw

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Participation in wsf2026 process seen from APSF facilitation

Avinash participated briefly introduced himself as representing the Keep Your Promises campaign and Wada Na Todo member being among the facilitation for various”social forum chapters” such as APSF process https://www.asia-pacific-social-forum.org/about-us/ and india SFprocess http://web.archive.org/web/20240612150847/https://wsf-india.in/ expressing interest in participating in and organizing activities for the upcoming World Social Forum in Benin.

The first steps would be that organizations from Asia make themselves visible on the wsf Benin website organization directory each in their own way https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/?lang=en (so far there is only ACFOD visible https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/299/ and propose and organize activities,with online and hybrid modalities,before and around and after WSF2026 event, alone or with other entities from Asia or from Africa that they might have made contact with through the WSFIntersections or the WSF2026 directories of organizations..https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/liste-des-entites and WF2026 https://fsm2026benin.org/organisations/?lang=en

This basic self organized Asian présence in WSF2026 process would the basis for envisioning some one line or hybrid “APSF events” , that is concentrations of activities where facilitation committee for APSF will invite those organisations,having or not possibility to send delegates in Cotonou WSF2026 event, to concentrate self organized activities in time or space early july, as is being envisioned from APSF facilitation committee see photo here

( insisting that this is preliminary hypothetical draft sketch)

Online participation learning curve and self documentation of activities -

Pierre described the visibility options for organizations in both WSFI ad WSF2026 , emphasizing the importance of creating an attractive and populated social forum space- process welcoming self-organized activities that are the “encounters” mentioned in the WSFprinciple 1 ( social forum process as permanent open space for encounters) https://fsm2026benin.org/charte-principes/?lang=en

There is a learning curve in participating in or proposing -conducting online meetings-activities and Zoom's transcript translate tool may help address multilingual challenges.

Kadiri mentioned an upcoming webinar in June and shared plans to start sharing flyers inviting to this webinar by mid-May.

Self documentation of activities

Pierre also mentioned that participant organizations after holding an activity can relevant document what happened during those, emphasizing self documentation as as relevant way for building useful content in the social forum as a popular university

in the WSF intersection website , this is done by editing the activity page after the activity takes place and the documentation section is shown first in the page

in the WSF2026 website this is done by creating articles associated with the activity seehttps://fsm2026benin.org/articles/?lang=en and sending a link to these articles in the activity page

outcomes in APSF 2025 Bangok event : Initiative about Trade Union and Labor Rights in APSF 2025 event

Selim expressing concerns about government policies affecting workers in India.

Pierre shared a document called "Square of Statements" containing 17 declarations issued by groups of organizations as outcome of activities held in Bangkok 2025 event Square of Statements in APSF2025 - WIP27nov

One of this declaration is about trade unions and calls for regional exchanges

Tharushi encouraged Selim to review the shared links and potentially involve with the trade union initiative by signing the 3B3 statement formalizing some next steps and staying in contact with her

Outcomes in APSF 2025 Bangkok event : 2C2 Webinar series initiative in Bangkok

The current webinar series “why and how participate in global wsf “ is mentioned in a declaration outcoming from activity 2C2 in APSF 2025 event .

It has started early march involving five organizations and has since grown to include 11 webinars conducted in three languages with approximately 150, 90, and 15 participants in English, French, and Spanish speaking groups respectively.the upcoming webinar series will continue with weekly sessions in different languages

The series is documented here DOCUMENTATION 2C2 webinars on participations in Global WSF/FSM - Pourquoi & Comment - Why and How

Outcomes in APSF 2025 Bangkok event : other follow ups from APSFBangkok

Thu mentioned plans for a separate internal meeting about AROSP coalition activities, along 4B4 statement

Future Follow up from activity 245 in WSFI

Also some activities could be following up after a activity proposed by seven organizations from Nigeria focused on women and peacebuilders in conflict-torn Africa. https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites/245

Pierre demonstrated some WSF2026 website's features, including how to publish articles and manage accounts

Documentation of session 11 and circulation of invitation to next webinar

Participants are encouraged to share next webinar invitations with other interested organizations

DOCUMENTATION 2C2 webinars on participations in Global WSF/FSM - Pourquoi & Comment - Why and How

2C2 webinar documentation will be shared in the 2C2 WhatsApp group for further discussion and feedback.

Documentation of act282 – why and how participate in Global wsf session 11