Youth Camp and the WSF
by IMC Bamako Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006 at 7:53 AM

The way the WSF is organised leaves quite a few people asking questions. In Bamako again social differences are omnipresent in the way delegates participate, the way they came here and the way they live here.

Firstly the fundamental problem of the local impact is adressed. Most of the local population see the World Social Forum merely as anonther international (i.e. northern) meeting, but not as their proper chance to discuss issues. For local merchants and taxi-drivers and not the least for the local hospitality economy the meeting is certainly a good thing. But when it comes to participation as delegates, as voices of the global justive movement, the alter-mondialists, who they are called here, then the number of malien and westafrican people in general is not encouraging.
http://southafrica.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/9553.php
Within the world of the WSF seperations exist just as much. In the Youth Camp, where the media centre is located, mainly joung people from african NGOs stay in huts made of palmleaves. The food is cheap and great and it genreally reflects the way people would imagine a big camp side here.
A different world exists in the conference centres around the city and in the hotels, where the european and casual canadian pariticipants reside. This world is not in any way connected and the questions remains how these material differences can be overcome in the discussion, that are open for everybody.

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