World Social Forum - Free Palestine National Briefing!
|
|
In two months, people from around the world who support freedom, justice, and equality in Palestine-Israel will converge in Porto Alegre, Brazil November 29 - December 1 at the first ever World Social Forum - Free Palestine to share, build, and advance strategies and common visions.
Chosen as a strategic priority by the Palestinian BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) National Committee, the World Social Forum - Free Palestine (WSF-FP) represents a great opportunity to bring together activists and various sectors around the world to strengthen all of our work by developing strategies, tactics, networks, and cross-struggle alliances.
Click here to attend a National Briefing this Wednesday at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern on the World Social Forum - Free Palestine!
Even if you cannot travel to Brazil, the WSF-FP is a truly global event. Organizers are preparing for extended activities. These activities will integrate activists around the world through events, discussions, and interactive technology. This is an opportunity to challenge our groups to reach out to new constituencies and to step back and discuss national and local plans within the context of the global movement for Palestinian rights and our unique context in United States.
The WSF is an open forum that is self-organized, so the aims, tracks, workshops, and discussions are decided by participants themselves. This is the first thematic forum solely dedicated to the Palestinian cause and coordinators are reaching out to a wide range of civil society actors from sectors such as women's movements, anti-war groups, immigrant rights groups, environmentalists, trade unions, LGBTQ communities, academics, and artists. Tracks will include BDS, military arms embargo, faith-based organizing, and much more. Registration is now open!
Speaking about plans for the WSF-FP, Wednesday's briefing will include:
- Jamal Juma'a, founder of the Stop the Wall Campaign, calling in from the West Bank
- Maren Mantovani, coordinator for international relations at Stop the Wall, calling from Porto Alegre
- Organizers of the U.S. Social Forum Delegation, endorsed and organized by seven US Campaign member groups.
Click here to attend Wednesday's member briefing on WSF-FP!
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation proudly joins twenty member groups that have endorsed the WSF-FP, including Community Leadership Institute, Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility, People of Faith CT, North Carolina BDS, U.S. Peace Council, and Utahns for a Just Peace in the Holy Land. U.S. endorsers represent more than one fifth of all endorsing organizations in the world, all listed here.
Endorsement entails doing some -- but not necessarily all -- of the following:
- Popularizing WSF-FP as a build up to the forum
- Building a delegation to the forum
- Organizing activities in your area during the forum
- Sending messages of solidarity endorsed by organizations and individuals
If your group has not yet endorsed, click here to do so now.
You can also join the WSF-FP Facebook page here, and follow WSF-FP on Twitter here. The hashtag for social networking is #wsfpalestine.
Hope to talk to you Wednesday at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern!