16th World Social Forum conference to be held in Nepal from February 15

KATHMANDU: The 16th conference of the World Social Forum is taking place in Nepal for the first time with the slogan ‘Another world is possible’.

The organising committee of the World Social Forum Nepal has organised a global announcement programme about the event taking place in the open theater from February 15 to 19, 2024.

On the occasion, an intercontinental youth forum and a parliamentary forum will be organizsed, said Sushil BK, coordinator of Media and Communication Group, the World Social Forum Nepal.

The forum is free and open for exchanging ideas and experiences on an alternative to neoliberalism. It started from Porte Alegre in Brazil in 2001 in the course of discussing an alternative to the impact of neoliberal globalization in the world two decades ago.

The platform represents the collective power of the global movements and the civil society organizations that have united against neoliberalism, globalized capitalism, climate crisis, patriarchy, caste, discrimination based on color, racial discrimination and violence, discrimination and hatred against gender and sexual minority communities.

Non-governmental organisations including the NGO Federation of Nepal are coordinating the conference that runs parallelly.

Various 13 contemporary subjects have been selected for the session. The subjects to be discussed include: economic inequality and economic justice, labor, immigration, slavery and human trafficking; discrimination based on caste, work and descent, caste, ethnicity, indigenous nationalities, untouchability and all forms of discrimination, gender, sexuality, gender-based violence and identity, land, agriculture, food sovereignty, agricultural ecosystem, energy and natural resources;  peace, conflict, war, acquisition, displacement and security; education, art and culture, communication, social networks and media, digital equality; democracy, human rights, authoritarianism, law and justice; health, social protection and equality; climate, environment, equitable transformation, habitat and sustainable development; women, children, youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities and social movements, the place of citizens and the future of the world social platform.

Expressing their solidarity, representatives including Prof Aananda Kumar from India and Dr Uddhav Pyakurel from Nepal have offered their best wishes for the success of the event.