Lovell's Brick Church hosts discussion of 'World Social Forum'

On Monday, August 22, at 8 p.m., the Brick Church in Lovell hosts Maria Rodrigues, who will share pictures and stories about the World Social Forum movement. After attending the 2004 World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, Maria was inspired to document the 2005 Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil in order to share the experience with others. The result is a 20-minute moving slideshow accompanied by captioned commentary designed to inform and provoke discussion about the forum. The World Social Forum (WSF) originated five years ago as an alternative to the World Economic Forum held in Switzerland each year by the worlds top money-holders. The idea, to paraphrase Chico Whittaker (one of the original WSF organizers) was that since the worlds richest elites are gathering every year to discuss the future of the world, then there should also be a space for everyday people to do the same. Delegates from several international and South American NGOs came together in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to meet and hold discussions around the theme, "Another World is Possible." In the five years since then, the WSF has grown enormously, including local versions of the forum which have popped up all over the world, forming one of the largest and fastest-growing grassroots networks worldwide. The 2005 World Social Forum was the largest international political gathering in history, with over 150,000 people participating.Maria Rodrigues is a Fryeburg Academy alumna and previous resident of Lovell. She is currently working on a Ph.D in applied ethics, specializing in global justice, with the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne in Australia.