welcomes you The organizing of the Boston Social Forum (BSF) began with a humble proposition: dealing with international crisis areas like Haiti and Palestine, and the Women's we do not have the answers, if the right people come together in the right way, they Web, exploring ideas from a woman's point of view. The major convocations of the wil develop at least some of the answers, and perhaps even a new societal vision. Boston Social Forum will feature simultaneous translation into Spanish, ASL, and And certainly, they will build on existing organizing projects and create new ones. possibly other languages. Close attention has been paid to making the Forum With this in mind, the Boston Social Forum welcomes both you and the World Social compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Future forums, however, will Forum (WSF) process. have to improve accessibility to people speaking languages other than English. Following the model of the WSF, the Boston Social Forum is not a platform, not an The events, organized into more than thirty subject areas, do not take place in organization, but an ”open space… a meeting place for reflective thinking, demo- a vacuum; instead, they address real problems associated with the neo-liberal cratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and package of deregulation and privatization, destruction of the public sector, puni- interlinking for effective action by groups and movements…committed to building tive welfare and justice policies, and corporate globalization. The people of New a society centered on the human person.” While the Forum will issue no final state- England attending the forum will find that the real-life struggles they face—inclu- ments or declarations binding on all its participants, it will doubtlessly spawn many ding the bankrupting of local government, outsourcing of their jobs, privatizing of projects and new relationships. their water and power, denial of their civil, labor and human rights—are reflected in the programming. They will also find many approaches to challenging the ultra- This is the case with the run-up to the forum, with events involving thousands and aggressive military posture of the United States, as it continues projects in Iraq bringing personalities as diverse as Felix Arroyo, Michelle Shocked, Diane Dujon, and the greater Middle East, subverting democratically-elected governments Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, and Chuck Turner, and cultural moments including in Venezuela and Haiti, all while averting its eye to ongoing genocides in Sudan showings of The Corporation and Fahrenheit 911 and a 24-hour 4th of July “Celebration and elsewhere. of Interdependence” music-a-thon. Organizing stretched from the Socialist Scholars Conference in New York through to festivals in Maine, Rhode Island and New Where the World Social Forum began as a positive response in the Global South Hampshire. Social Forums from as far afield as Turkey and Brazil sent their gree- (held Poto Alegre, Brazil) to the gathering of world capitalists in the World Economic tings and best wishes for successful forum on American soil. Forum (held in Davos, Switzerland), the Boston Social Forum sharpens the contrast between the polar parties of Davos and Porto Alegre, held as it is on a public As with other social forums, a majority of the nearly 600 events listed in this program university, bringing together labor, peace activists, immigrants, people of color, are self-proposed—autonomously developed by their sponsoring organizations and environmentalists and intellectuals, all at the same time that one-half of the US not coordinated by any central body. Nonetheless, the Forum also features a number of power structure gathers in the same city, Boston. Speaking truth to power, the collaborations and conferences that developed as part of the BSF-planning process: forum will demonstrate that another world is possible from within the proverbial an Active Arts Youth Conference, organized by hip-hop activists; an International belly of the beast. Another world is possible. Peace Conference, drawing activists, parliamentarians and organizers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America; three subject-area tracks—economy, immigration, and education—developed into full-fledged conferences (one with a bold and assertive title, ”Other Economies Are Possible!“). Also organized are conferences Contents Special Tours Overall Schedule page III Friday, July 23, 2004 Environmental Justice Walking Tour – Roxbury Convocations page III While the media spotlight shines on downtown, residents in many of Boston's communities of color and lower income neighborhoods continue to struggle for a Convergence Directory page III clean and healthy environment where they live, work and play. Join us on a walk through and around Roxbury's Dudley Square. We'll visit some of the key sites in Exhibits and Cultural Activities page 1 the battle for better public transportation, breathable air, sustainable re-use of vacant or abandoned land. Your guides will be staff of Alternatives for Community Events - Friday, July 23 page 4 & Environment (ACE), a Roxbury-based environmental justice group. Please reserve your spot in advance by calling or emailing Warren Goldstein- Events - Saturday, July 24 page 18 Gelb at 617.442.3343 x231 or email: [email protected]. Meet at 10 am, July 23 (Tour will last about an hour and a half) Events - Sunday, July 25 page 34 ACE office, 2181 Washington Street, Suite 301, Roxbury MA My Timetable inside backcover Saturday, July 24, 2004 History of Roxbury—from Colonial Times to the present time with Byron Rushing, State representative, leader Map & Directions backcover Join Representative Byron Rushing, on an engaging and thought provoking tour highlighting Roxbury’s history. We will journey back in time to learn about Roxbury’s rich past—native peoples, colonialists, Roxbury’s part in the American Revolution, the many immigrant groups who made Roxbury home, the African American and Caribbean migration, and the legacy of social activism and the struggle for justice and equality continuing today. Leaving from the iron sculpture at the entrance to UMASS. Cost $6 Pre-register by calling 781-861- 8893 or buy tickets on our website www.discoverroxbury.org. 5:45PM-7:30 PM II Convocations Gymnasium-Clarck Athletic Center Friday 23 Saturday 24 Sunday 25 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm 10.00 am to 12.30 pm 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm Billie Jean Young Ruba Eid Robert Reich Winona LaDuke Anna Burger Dennis Brutus Rabbi Michael Lerner Granny D Sonia Sanchez Eric Mann Guglielmo Epifani Shujaa Graham Paul Farmer Walden Bello Jim Hightower Angela Davis Akinbode Oluwafemi Maude Barlow Achin Vanaik Robert Haynes Gyung-Lan Jung Manning Marable Diane Dujon Rae Street Sangita Nayak Margaret Prescod Paolo du Marke Overall Schedule Outline Friday, July 23rd Saturday, July 24th Sunday, July 25th 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Registration Opens 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Registration Opens 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Registration Opens 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Events I 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. Events IV 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. Events VIII 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Events II 10:00 – 12:30 p.m. Saturday Convocation 10:00 – 12:00 p.m. Events IX 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Events III 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Break 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Break 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Break 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Events V 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. Closing Convocation 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Opening Convocation 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Break 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Events X 9:00 – midnight Community Based 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Events VI Events/Concerts/etc 5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Break 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Events VII 7:30 – whenever Community Based Events/Concerts/etc Tracks/Subject Areas Tracks Abbr. Tracks Abbr. Tracks Abbr. Active Arts Youth Conference AAYC Funding Our Movement FOM Other Economies are Possible OEAP Anti-Poverty Track AP GLBT track GLBT Peace PEAC BSF Film Series FILM Global Justice GLBJ Science & Technology SAT Challenging Corporate Power CCP Haitian Development Strategic Non-Violence SNV Climate Change CLCH Health HLTH Student & Youth SAY Criminal Justice/Domestic Repression CJDR Immigration IMM Water WAT Culture CUL International Peace Conference - Women's Liberation WOML A World Working Together For Peace IPC Women's Web/Feminist Agenda WWFA Democracy DEM Israel-Palestine Conference ISPA Economy ECON Lifestyles & Personal Choices LPC Education EDU Localization LOC Environment ENV Media MED Faith FAI Movement Building MVTB Fund the Dream FTD Special Offsite Events Convergence Zones Friday, July 23, 2004, 8:00-10:00 p.m. More than the events listed in this program, the forum is about spontaneous net- working and relationship building. To facilitate this process, the organizers have Play: Fannie Lou Hamer's ”This Little Light of Mine” designated a ”convergence zone directory.” At this location, anyone can choose hosted by City Councillors Felix Arroyo, Chuck Turner and Charles Yancey a space on the BSF site and list it as a meeting space for people who share their The Harriet Tubman House outlooks and/or identities and/or intellectual interests and/or geographies. Visit 565 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118 to directory to see spaces that others have created or to initiate one of your own. Free Saturday, July 24, 2004, 8:00 p.m - 2:00 a.m Benefit/Party: Another World is Possible The Middle East Restaurant/Club & T.T. the Bear's Place Performances by Billy Bragg, The Foundation, The Reagan Babies & many more. $30, tickets available from the Middle East and via Ticketmaster III Exhibits and Cultural Activities Exhibit A Forgotten Population Cultural Activity Brass Band Performance ISPA Through a stunning retrospective of 11” x 14” black and white CUL OTH We (the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Contact Information: photographs printed on archival fiber paper, Palestinian Contact Information: Band, or SL SAPS) would like to provide a big musical kick-off to Israel/Palestine Task Force of United photographer Rania Matar takes us on a poignant and eye Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Friday night's opening session of the BSF.