A social forum is an open meeting place for civil society organizations and individuals opposed to

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

and what its participants regard as the domination of the world by capital and imperialism. The first social forum was the

World Social Forum The World Social Forum (WSF, pt, Fórum Social Mundial ) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemoni ...

(WSF) held in January 2001 in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

. It was designed as a counter forum to the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

(WEF) held in Davos at the same time. While the WSF regards the WEF as a meeting of the political and economic elite of the world, the WSF gathers social forces and aims to promotes democratization and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

. After the first WSF, the social forum idea was replicated across the world in various transnational, national, and local social forums. Most, though not all, social forums adhere to the WSF Charter of Principles, drawn up by the International Council of the WSF. The diversity of participants in the social forums has reflected the diversity of the

Global Justice Movement The global justice movement is a network of globalized social movements demanding global justice by opposing what is often known as the “ corporate globalization” and promoting equal distribution of economic resources. Movement of movements ...

(or

Anti-Globalization Movement The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...

Transnational social forums

* African Social Forum *

Americas Social Forum The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

* Asian Social Forum *

European Social Forum The European Social Forum (ESF) was a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement (also known as the Global Justice Movement). In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but late ...

(ESF) * Mediterranean Social Forum * Pan-amazon Social Forum * Southern Africa Social Forum *

National social forums

* Austrian Social Forum * Belgian Social Forum * Belarusian Social Forum * Danish Social Forum * Finnish Social Forum * German Social Forum *

Greek Social Forum Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

* Hungarian Social Forum * Norwegian Social Forum * Romanian Social Forum * Swiss Social Forum * Thai Social Forum * Turkish Social Forum *

United States Social Forum The United States Social Forum is an ongoing series of gatherings of social justice activists in the United States which grew out of the World Social Forum process, bringing together activists, organizers, people of color, working people, poor peopl ...

Local and regional social forums

Germany

*Berlin Social Forum *Bremen Social Forum *Bochum Social Forum *Erlangen Social Forum *Freiburg Social Forum *Heidelberg Social Forum *Leipzig Social Forum *Pforzheim Social Forum *Reutlingen Social Forum *Saar Social Forum *Tübingen Social Forum

Great Britain

* Cardiff Social Forum * Liverpool Social Forum * London Social Forum * Manchester Social Forum * Sheffield Social Forum

India

Social forums in India include: * India Institute for Critical Action: Centre in Movement

Italy

Social forums in Italy include: * Genoa Social Forum

Sweden

Social forums in Sweden include:
*Gothenburg Social Forum *Gävle Social Forum *Skåne Social Forum *Stockholm Social Forum *Umeå Social Forum *Uppsala Social Forum

United States

* Boston Social Forum * Midwest Social Forum * Southeast Social Forum * Local to Global Justice Teach-in

Thematic social forums

* Social Forum of Architecture

References

{{reflist Anti-capitalism Globalization Justice Social movements Political congresses * de:Sozialforum fr:Forum social