Jesuits at the World Social Forum
Peter Knox SJ was there and this is what he did -
It has become customary for Jesuits to participate in the meetings of the World Social Forum(WSF). Once again, members of the Society were in evidence in Caracas and Bamako last year, Mumbai in 2004 and in Porto Alegre in the previous year. This year some 150 members of the Ignatian family, including 50 Jesuits, participated in the opening march of the seventh WSF in Nairobi, Kenya.
Inspired by a lengthy liturgy in the University chapel celebrated by the chaplain to the military, with rousing a capella singing by the University Catholic Choir, and liturgical dance by girls from the local primary school - sustained on a lunch of bananas and samosas, our intrepid marchers joined the thousands of others making their way to Uhuru Park in the centre of Nairobi. For 30 minutes our path joined that of the ecumenical coalition of Caritas International and the All Africa Council of Churches (AACC). These then split off to attend a service in the Anglican cathedral on the outskirts of the park. As the thousands of participants arrived at the park, the lively music programme was constantly interrupted to welcome every group. During the course of the opening ceremonies, speeches were made by Desmond Tutu, Kenneth Kaunda, Wangari Maatai and Chico Whitaker, welcoming the delegates and exhorting them to work together to realise the slogan of the WSF movement: ‘Another World is Possible’.
A World Social Forum Banner
The British Province was represented by Fr Frank Turner from OCIPE (the European Bishops’ Office in Brussels), Fr David Smolira and Fr Peter Knox from the Jesuit Institute of South Africa. For three days prior to the opening of the Forum, the East African Jesuit Province hosted a very successful Ignatian Family Encounter at Hekima College. This encounter brought together members of the Christian Life Communities (CLC), Jesuits and co-workers from the five inhabited continents. The event was conducted in the light of the Society of Jesus making Africa a priority. There were three-day workshops on HIV/AIDS; management and depletion of natural resources; refugees and migrants; conflict, war and peace; debt, trade and governance. Every workshop was facilitated by Jesuit experts in their respective fields, so the participants were well primed by the start of the World Forum itself. Of its nature, a world forum is wide-ranging and chaotic, but this did not prevent participants from realising the threefold purpose of the event: to network, to protest and to propose.
The Opening of the Forum
Networking
It was an opportunity for concerned people of every hue to put their minds together, to listen to similar experiences, and to realise their common problems.
Protest
The normal butt of the protestations is ‘neo-liberal globalisation’ forcing millions of people into lives of poverty and servitude. This year, however, saw an added spin, when crowds from the slums of Nairobi protested at their own exclusion from the forum by the entrance fee of US$7.00. While one of the 19 themes of the forum was the privatisation of water - a basic human right - there were protests at the high price of water on sale at the forum. As a result of the exclusion of beverage multinationals, a local entrepreneur had been able to make a quick buck selling bottled water.
Proposal
The participants were unable to agree on a final consolidated proposal, but many of the 19 interest groups put forward proposals to make another world possible. Members of the African Jesuit Assistancy took a day off in the middle of the forum to hold a meeting of those involved in the Social Apostolate. Again, this was a very informative and fruitful day, with a frank and fraternal sharing of concerns, insights and apostolic priorities.
The Author - fron row on left in blue - with Colleagues at the forum
It has become customary for Jesuits to participate in the meetings of the World Social Forum(WSF). Once again, members of the Society were in evidence in Caracas and Bamako last year, Mumbai in 2004 and in Porto Alegre in the previous year. This year some 150 members of the Ignatian family, including 50 Jesuits, participated in the opening march of the seventh WSF in Nairobi, Kenya.
Inspired by a lengthy liturgy in the University chapel celebrated by the chaplain to the military, with rousing a capella singing by the University Catholic Choir, and liturgical dance by girls from the local primary school - sustained on a lunch of bananas and samosas, our intrepid marchers joined the thousands of others making their way to Uhuru Park in the centre of Nairobi. For 30 minutes our path joined that of the ecumenical coalition of Caritas International and the All Africa Council of Churches (AACC). These then split off to attend a service in the Anglican cathedral on the outskirts of the park. As the thousands of participants arrived at the park, the lively music programme was constantly interrupted to welcome every group. During the course of the opening ceremonies, speeches were made by Desmond Tutu, Kenneth Kaunda, Wangari Maatai and Chico Whitaker, welcoming the delegates and exhorting them to work together to realise the slogan of the WSF movement: ‘Another World is Possible’.
The British Province was represented by Fr Frank Turner from OCIPE (the European Bishops’ Office in Brussels), Fr David Smolira and Fr Peter Knox from the Jesuit Institute of South Africa. For three days prior to the opening of the Forum, the East African Jesuit Province hosted a very successful Ignatian Family Encounter at Hekima College. This encounter brought together members of the Christian Life Communities (CLC), Jesuits and co-workers from the five inhabited continents. The event was conducted in the light of the Society of Jesus making Africa a priority. There were three-day workshops on HIV/AIDS; management and depletion of natural resources; refugees and migrants; conflict, war and peace; debt, trade and governance. Every workshop was facilitated by Jesuit experts in their respective fields, so the participants were well primed by the start of the World Forum itself. Of its nature, a world forum is wide-ranging and chaotic, but this did not prevent participants from realising the threefold purpose of the event: to network, to protest and to propose.
Networking
It was an opportunity for concerned people of every hue to put their minds together, to listen to similar experiences, and to realise their common problems.
Protest
The normal butt of the protestations is ‘neo-liberal globalisation’ forcing millions of people into lives of poverty and servitude. This year, however, saw an added spin, when crowds from the slums of Nairobi protested at their own exclusion from the forum by the entrance fee of US$7.00. While one of the 19 themes of the forum was the privatisation of water - a basic human right - there were protests at the high price of water on sale at the forum. As a result of the exclusion of beverage multinationals, a local entrepreneur had been able to make a quick buck selling bottled water.
Proposal
The participants were unable to agree on a final consolidated proposal, but many of the 19 interest groups put forward proposals to make another world possible. Members of the African Jesuit Assistancy took a day off in the middle of the forum to hold a meeting of those involved in the Social Apostolate. Again, this was a very informative and fruitful day, with a frank and fraternal sharing of concerns, insights and apostolic priorities.