DETROIT Draws the Next US Social Forum in 2010

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Detroit draws 2010 U.S. Social Forum
Participants march in the first U.S. Social Forum, in Atlanta, in 2007
Organizers expect 35,000 to attend
By Eric T. Campbell

The Michigan Citizen
April 19, 2009

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DETROIT - Local organizers gathered at Central United Methodist Church on
April 14 as they plan for one of the largest social justice events in the
nation.

The U.S. Social Forum will take place in Detroit June 22-26, 2010. Between
30,000 and 35,000 activists are expected to take part in forum sessions to
be held at Cobo Hall, Hart Plaza and other locations.

Coordinating with the Social Forum National Planning Committee, the Detroit
contingent is currently putting together a committee structure, outlining
job descriptions and choosing representatives that will synchronize their
efforts with various national and international organizations.

"This is a nightmare of a logistical issue," said Maureen Taylor, of the
Michigan Water Rights Organization (MWRO). "All venues and locations are
going to have to get involved."

There are five anchor groups charged with the planning and local execution
of the U.S. Social Forum, including the MWRO, Jobs With Justice, Detroiters
Working For Environmental Justice, Centro Obrero and the East Michigan
Environmental Action Council.

One of the coalition's primary goals is to involve Detroiters in the
internationally recognized event, especially residents who don't normally
participate in social justice actions.

"If we have 35,000 people at the U.S. Social Forum, we want 15,000 from
Detroit who have never done this before," exclaimed Marian Kramer, also of
MWRO, at the Tuesday planning session.

The expected attendance will also drastically boost the reserved convention
space at Cobo Hall for 2010, not to mention the economic impact for Detroit
businesses. Organizers expect to fill 75 Cobo Hall meeting rooms with groups
of between 80 and 3,000 people for five consecutive days.

Kramer and others consider 2010 as an opportune time to rally and infuse
issues that are plaguing Detroiters and working class citizens across the
nation. The U.S. Social Forum National Planning Committee chose Detroit
partly because of its recent descent into economic catastrophe - issues such
as unemployment, water rights, and foreclosure evictions have made Detroit a
vital study in the social justice movement.

"The U.S. Social Forum will play a key role in awakening the sleeping giant
that's out here," continued Kramer.

Will Copeland is the facilitator of the local organizing committee. He told
the Michigan Citizen that local organizing efforts go back to June of 2008
when, during the Allied Media Conference, Detroit hosted members of the U.S.
Social Forum National Committee.

"We had to show that there was a core group that felt they could reach the
rest of the city," Copeland said.

At the time Detroit was being considered along with New Orleans, Louisiana
and El Paso, Texas. In January, Detroit was confirmed as the 2010 U.S.
Social Forum location.

Copeland says that, beginning in May, the organizing committee will sponsor
a series of public potluck events with the intent of involving more
residents in the planning stages and raising consciousness about the
objectives of the Social Forum.

The first U.S. Social Forum occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007, as an
offshoot of the World Social Forum (WSF). The first three WSFs, beginning in
2001, were held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and were sponsored by the Porto
Alegre government, led by the Brazilian Workers Party. Subsequent World
Social Forums have been held in Mumbai, India; Caracas, Venezuela; Nairobi,
Kenya, and Belem, Brazil in 2009.

Organizers of the original World Social Forums were members of the
anti-globalization, or global justice, movements and gathered in the hopes
of promoting an alternative strategy for addressing world economic problems.

Maureen Taylor, toward the end of the meeting in downtown Detroit, issued an
ultimatum to organizers to localize the U.S. Social Forum mission query,
what would a new world look like?

"How ever we are now, we can't be the same at the end of the 2010 U.S.
Social Forum," Taylor said.

For more information visitwww.ussf2010.org.;

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