First Social Forum In Japan (It's very small social forum... So What!!)

Today and Tomorrow, 1st Kyoto Social Forum (KSF) is held in the Kyoto University.

http://kyoto.socialforum.jp/ (Only in Japanese)

The original social forum is World Social Forum(WSF) held in Porte Alegre, Brazil made by international network driven by poeple' power dated back to anti-WTO demonstration in Seattle 1999.
About 100 thousand people of the world (mainly NGO activists, Trade Unions and Ethnic/Sexual or other kind Minorities) is joining and discussing about all of social issues (mainly related two big issues,the Economical Globalization and the War).
Participants can share their issues among them, bring those issues to their own countries or regions, and connect them to future activities.
So then Social Forum is now spinning out to many places of the world (like the European Social Forum, the Asian Social Forum and Social Forums in each cities).





And now, I'm happy to report that the dissemination of this political movement reaches our far-east isolated islands.
(I confess that I could do nothing for this event even though I have some responsibility for this event as a office member of a NGO, ATTAC Kyoto)
I guess that the KSF is one of the smallest Social Forum.
The KSF has only less than 200 people participating, only two days schedule and only less than 20 workshops.
This is, however, very small but very significant step for Japanese Social Movements for the alter-globalization.
Because of Japanese culture which has historically very strong and socialistic government, Japanese people did not positively recognize Social Movements.
In Japan "Public" is exclusively meaning government activities.
In effects of the economic globalization, Japanese governmental powers to keep social welfare is also decreasing, but Japanese people is even now very skeptical to efficiencies of social movements.
So I hope to make this KSF a chance to connect Japanese people to the open and world-wide public discussion.



Using this occasion, we had first Attac Japan National Meeting (Attac Metropolitan Area, Kansai, Kyoto, Hokkaido and HIroshima was attending).