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Charter of Principles and Values of the Zimbabwe Social Forum
Zimbabwe
Social Forum
September 29, 2006
After examining
and evaluating results obtained and hopes aroused by the two editions
of the African Social forum (ASF), (organized in Bamako Mali in
January 2002 and Addis Ababa Ethiopia in January 2003) and the World
Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre Brazil in January 2001-3, the
initiators of the Zimbabwe Social Forum (ZSF) considered it necessary
to draft a Charter of principles and values which establishes the
political and moral bases of this collective space, and provide
guidance for the continuation of this initiative.
The Principles
contained in this Charter, which shall be observed by all those
desiring to participate in the Forum and organize activities within
it are in conformity with the ideals that guided the realization
of the previous editions of the World and African Social Forums.
The Zimbabwe Social Forum Charter reaffirms the same principles
that guide and drive the African Social Forum.
- The Zimbabwe
Social Forum is an open meeting space aimed at deepening reflections,
democratic debate, formulating proposals, experiences and articulation
of effective actions by Zimbabwean organizations and social movements
which are opposed to neo-liberalism, injustice and the domination
of the world by market forces.
- The Zimbabwe
Social Forum is a pluralist and diversified, non-confessional,
non-governmental and non-partisan space, which links, in a decentralized
way and in networks, organizations and movements engaged in concrete
actions, from the local to the international level, for the construction
of Another Zimbabwe, Another Africa and Another World. It shall
therefore not establish itself as a governing body for participants
during its meetings, nor shall it claim to be the only mode of
articulation and action for organizations and movements that participate
in it.
- As a space
for the exchange of experiences, the Zimbabwe Social Forum shall
stimulate the knowledge and mutual recognition of participating
organizations and movements, thus enhancing the value of what
the Zimbabwean society itself builds in order to streamline economic
activity and political action on human needs and the respect of
the environment.
- As a meeting
space, the Forum is open to pluralism and the diverse commitments
and actions of participating organizations and movements, such
as gender, sex, racial, ethnic and cultural diversity.
- As a space
of articulation, the Zimbabwe Social Forum shall seek to strengthen
and create new national, regional and international linkages between
entities and civil society movements. The capacity to resist the
economic and cultural impoverishment and dehumanization process,
within the region, continent and the globe is emerging.
- The Zimbabwe
Social Forum shall adopt the banner "Another Zimbabwe
is Possible" in its search for and construction of alternatives
to the domination and plundering of the country’s resources through
economic and political mis-governance, corruption and other destructive
practices.
- The alternatives
proposed within the Zimbabwe Social Forum shall focus on the human
person and be opposed to the merchandising of Zimbabwe’ riches
within the framework of neo-liberal globalization. The latter
is particularly beneficial to the major multinational corporations,
rich nations, international institutions and local comparador
classes at the latter’s service. The endorsers of the Charter
thus object to the programs and initiatives launched on behalf
of the country, which, in fact, establish the domination of the
financial political, economic and cultural hegemonic forces.
- The Charter
encourages more specifically, campaign in favor of an independent
African integration based, on the respect of the rights of women,
children, men, minority rights, democracy, the principles of a
sustainable development on one hand and democratic institutions
at the service of interests of the continent, social justice,
gender and sex equality and people’s sovereignty on the other.
- The Zimbabwe
Social Forum shall bring together and connect civil
society organizations, social movements, networks, alliances and
campaigns born from entities and movements from all over Zimbabwe,
but shall not claim to be representative of Zimbabwean civil society
or exclude from its debates political leaders, who accept to make
commitments resulting from this Charter.
- Meetings
of the Zimbabwe Social forum do not have voting powers. No one
shall therefore be authorized to speak on behalf of the Forum,
no matter in what form by presenting viewpoints claiming to be
those of the ZSF. As members of the Forum, participants shall
not take decisions by vote or acclamation, nor approve declarations
or proposals for action which bind the Forum.
- Groups taking
part in the Forum proceedings should however be able
to deliberate freely during these meetings, alone or with other
participants, about declarations and actions which they decide
to develop. The Zimbabwe Social Forum shall undertake to widely
circulate these decisions, through the means at its disposal,
without imposing directions, hierarchies, censures and restrictions,
but as proceedings of participating groups which would have assumed
them.
- Participants
to the Zimbabwe Social Forum shall endeavor to strengthen participation
and citizen ownership believing that participatory democracy is
the best method for conflict resolution and management within
societies and between states.
- The endorsers
of this Charter shall reject any form of totalitarian and reductionist
vision of history and the use of violence by States or any other
social or political force. It shall put forward the respect of
Human Rights, equitable, interdependent and peaceful relations
among peoples, sexes and races, and condemn all forms of domination
as well as the subjugation of one human being by another.
- As a space
for debate, the Zimbabwe Social Forum facilitates ideas and actions
which stimulates reflection and the maximum transparent circulation
of the results of this reflection, on mechanisms and tools of
economic domination, means and actions to resist this domination,
and on the alternatives that are being formulated to resolve the
problems of exclusion and inequality which the current globalization
process has strengthened and aggravated both at country and continental
level.
- The Zimbabwe
Social Forum is a process that encourages people, organizations
and movements which contribute in defining their actions in the
perspective of the creation of a Zimbabwean regional and global
citizen, introducing, in the regional, continental and global
agenda, engaging in practices in order to build another Zimbabwe,
another Africa, and another World…
- The Zimbabwe
Social Forum is a process connected to other regional, continental
and world processes aimed at building another world on the basis
of the principles and values that we are adopting today. It is
an integral part of the movement created by the World Social Forum.
It shall seek to strengthen the solidarity between the movements
and the people working in Zimbabwe and those in other parts of
the world.
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