Initiated by a core group of grassroots activists from Brazil and France, the WSF is “a space for discussing alternatives, for exchanging experiences and for strengthening alliances between social movements, unions of the working people and NGOs.” With the vision that “Another World Is Possible,” WSF evolved as an answer to the snowballing international movement against capitalist-led globalisation. It was a historic event, auspicious even, since it “sprang from global activism on behalf of huge grassroots constituencies.”^3 Initially held to challenge the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 2001, participation ballooned from around 20,000 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where it has been held yearly since 2001, to 150,000 during the 4th WSF in India in 2004. This increase could be considered a testimony to the dynamism of traditional activist movements and culture toward more change, innovation, openness and creativity.


Link to the WSF website 2007<http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br>