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ESF Diary
May 4-7 2006, Athens - European Social Forum IV

ESF Articles

• Extremely pleasant, but... May 11 2006
  Searching for ESF positives
  The politics CPGB comrades encountered in the various workshops and seminars at the May 4-7 European Social Forum show that the danger of organisational fragmentation the ESF faces stems from the programmatic crisis of the workers’ movement across the continent, says Huw Bynon
  Over 35,000 people attended the fourth European Social Forum in Athens from May 4-7. While the organisation was generally good and the event enjoyable, the open question remains: what is the point of this biennial carnival - apart from deepening divisions amongst the left in the host country? Tina Becker reports
  • Attempt to hijack Euro demo
    The events that took place during Saturday’s ESF demonstration deserve to be described in some detail, because the Socialist Workers Party is involved in a blatant attempt to falsify history. For some reason, the Greek Social Forum has decided not to take on the comrades publicly. That leaves the Weekly Worker to fill this important gap
  • Click here for a picture gallery of the demonstration
• Searching for ESF positives May 18 2006
  The politics CPGB comrades encountered in the various workshops and seminars at the May 4-7 European Social Forum show that the danger of organisational fragmentation the ESF faces stems from the programmatic crisis of the workers’ movement across the continent, says Huw Bynon
• April 27 2006 Dangers of disintegration
  The European Social Forum is in real danger. All democrats and communists must work hard to prevent the whole thing simply falling apart. Despite our many criticisms, the ESF is currently the only real vehicle that exists for the cooperation of the European left, says Tina Becker
• March 9 2006 Approaching crisis point
  The European Social Forum is in real danger of disintegrating. All democrats and communists must work hard to prevent this. Despite our many criticisms of the process, it is currently the only real avenue that exists for the cooperation of the European left. Tina Becker and Ben Lewis report from the latest preparatory meeting in Frankfurt, which took place from March 3-5
  
  • Charter of platitudes
    The Friday before the EPA saw meetings of the 10 or so ESF networks. Potentially the most important is the one that is has been drafting the ‘Charter of principles for another Europe’
• January 12 2006 Dying on its feet
  Around 150 people gathered in the Konferenzhaus in Vienna to prepare for the next European Social Forum, which will take place in Athens on May 4-7 2006. Rifondazione Comunista’s turn to government hung over the event like a Damocles sword - together with an unwillingness to take any decisive steps forward. Tina Becker fears that we might be witnessing the beginning of the end of the ESF as a vehicle for international cooperation
• Learning from defeat
  Interview with Panayotis Yulis is a representative of the Network for Political and Social Rights in Greece (Epohi), which works with immigrants and political prisoners. He is a member of the Greek Social Forum and on the organising committee for the ESF in Athens
• February 24 2005 Regrettably, the European left continues to subordinate itself to the most conservative forces involved in the European Social Forum. At the February 25-27 preparatory assembly in Athens, only minute and largely cosmetic changes to the organisation of our forces were accepted as ‘consensus’ - none of which will facilitate the dramatic step forward we need to effectively combat the Europe of the bosses, bankers and bureaucrats. In that sense, our rather hyped-up “renewal process” is as vacuous as Tony Blair’s election slogan. Ben Lewis and Tina Becker report:
  • Forwards, not backwards
  • No to their constitution, yes to a social Europe
    
• February 17 2005 SWP's strange amnesia
  Tina Becker reports on the Socialist Workers' Party's recent interventions into the World Social Forum
  • Click here to for the full article from comrades Callinicos and Nineham
• February 3 2005 Slow death of the old left
  This year’s World Social Forum, which has just closed in Brazil, has highlighted the fact that the left is still struggling to come to terms with the end of the Soviet Union. A new generation is reacting against capitalism’s triumphalism, says Tina Becker - and instead of revolutionary answers the left serves them the rotten crap of the past
• January 20 2005 Giving leadership to the movement
  Around 50 representatives from across Europe met over the weekend of January 15-16 in Brussels to discuss the future of the European Social Forum. The debate on left unity beyond the ESF in particular revealed increasing tensions, reports Tina Becker. Interestingly, the Socialist Workers Party was nowhere to be seen
  
  • Que? No SWP? - Just where were the SWP that weekend?
  • Euro-nationalism from Attac - Anne McShane reports on Attac's oppositon to ESF restructuring
  • Call of the European demo on March 19 2005 in Brussels
• January 6 2005 No structure and no decisions
  On December 18-19, around 200 representatives from across Europe met in Paris to discuss the future of the European Social Forum. The overwhelming majority agreed that the problems of the ESF London should be seen as a wake-up call to rethink the way we organise and work together. Unfortunately, there was not much agreement on what changes should be made, reports Tina Becker
• No to their constitution
  The most positive outcome of the weekend was the setting up of a European-wide campaign against the EU constitution, reports Anne Mc Shane
• December 16 2004 Which way for ESF?
  The lack of democracy and accountability in the run-up to this year’s European Social Forum in London has had the positive side effect of finally provoking sections of the European left to question the nature and effectiveness of our cooperation. The ESF assembly in Paris on December 18-19 must now take some serious and concrete decisions on the way ahead, says Tina Becker
  • International demonstration: March 19 numbers game
  • Proposals from the CPGB on the future of the ESF
  October 28 2004 Controversy deepens
  Almost two weeks after the London ESF took place debates are still raging over how much of a success our event really was, writes Tina Becker
• October 21 2004 ESF 2004: Where next?
  London’s European Social Forum should be described as a success, says Tina Becker. Hopefully though, this year’s event will become known as the last ESF that was simply a carnival of the left: the protests, the police, the poor attendance figures, the stitch-ups and the bureaucratic shenanigans have sparked a European-wide debate on the need to radically reassess what we are doing

• ESF demonstration: Damning criticism
  An almost all-British platform dominated the final demonstration - no wonder many of our European comrades were unhappy
• ESF protests: Paying the price
  The London ESF was characterised by unprecedented levels of open dissent and protest against the bureaucratic stage-management of the whole event - inside and outside the official ESF structures. Mark Fischer reports
• Next ESF: Next stop - Athens 2006
  Why did the SWP try to prevent the next ESF taking place in Athens?
• For a social Europe
  The CPGB took part in a meeting to launch a European-wide 'campaign for a social and democratic Europe', writes Anne McShane
• Missed opportunity
  It is a pity that our ESF did not manage to launch a united 'No' campaign in response to the EU constitutional treaty, says Peter Manson
• Language rights and wrongs, Common fight
  Reports of ESF meetings
• For a programme of the European left
  The Call of the Assembly of Social Movements is the closest to a political programme that the European left has

Call of the Assembly of Social Movements

• October 14 2004 Forum must serve unity
  Despite all the problems in the preparations for this year’s Europan Social Forum, the coming together of the left across Europe is of vital importance, says Tina Becker. But in order for the working class ever to be in a position to effectively challenge the Europe of the bosses, bankers and bureaucrats, our own structures must be democratic and accountable
  • Whose ESF is it anyway?
    Stich ups, backroom dealings and bureaucratic shennanigans - a small selection of some of our favourites during the last 12 months
  • Whose left at the ESF?
    The British left is renowned for its fractious and sectarian nature. The European Social Forum in London will enhance that reputation enormously, writes Ian Mahoney
• October 6 2004 Control-freakery dampens enthusiasm
  The European Social Forum takes place in London from October 15-17. But, writes Tina Becker, do not expect any interesting debates among UK platform speakers at the plenary sessions. Socialist Action and the SWP have made sure that only those loyal to their own groups and London mayor Ken Livingstone will be heard. Rank and file trade unionists and independent thinkers from Britain will not be allowed to address the European left
• Urgent statement from Babels
  This statement has been issued by Babels, the volunteer group that provides the interpretation at the ESF. They criticise the "looming accommodation and reimbursement of transportation crisis" and threaten that "several Babels coordinations will have no choice but to withdraw immediately from the ESF process".
• Reply to Babels
  Issued by Kate Hudson
• September 30 2004 In safe hands?
  Having ensured total control over the organisation of this year’s European Social Forum, London mayor Ken Livingstone now wants to make sure that the most important ESF meetings will be in safe hands too: the list of British chairs proposed for the plenary sessions reads like a Who’s who of Livingstone-sponsored organisations, reports Tina Becker
• September 23 2004 Drawing together the threads
  The ‘Call of the Assembly of Social Movements’ will be discussed and finalised during the October 15-17 European Social Forum in London. The Assembly of Social Movements has, reports Tina Becker, increasingly taken on a life of its own
  
  • Call of the Assembly of the Social Movements
• September 16 2004 Unchallengable consensus con
  At the second attempt, we have finally chosen the 26 speakers “residing in Britain” who will addressthe 27 plenary sessions at the European Social Forum in October. But was the process any more democratic or the decision taken by 'consensus'? You must be kidding. Tina Becker reports
• September 9 2004 Livingstone tightens his grip
  The European Social Forum needs be democratised if it is to really help the left across Europe. But instead the whole thing is becoming more and more of a bureaucratic stitch-up. There is resentment and opposition but it is sullen and unorganised. Tina Becker and Anne Mc Shane report from the preparatory meeting held in Brussels over September 3-5
• September 2 2004 ESF chooses Ken’s police apologist
  The contradictions surrounding this year’s European Social Forum in London are taking their toll, reports Tina Becker
• August 5 2004 Ken pays the piper and now calls the tune
  Should we hand over the European Social Forum opening ceremony to London's mayor Livingstone? Tina Becker thinks not
• July 29 2004 Defend the European Social Forum from Tory attaks
  The ESF has been attacked for being a “waste of money”. Utter nonsense, says Tina Becker. But, nonetheless, all progressive forces must work hard to ensure it will be money well spent
• July 22 2004 Our ESF, not Livingstone's
  The finances for this year's London European Social Forum finally seem secured - but with London's scabbing mayor Ken Livingstone firmly in charge of all decisions, what kind of event will it be? asks Tina Becker
• July 15 2004 Livingstone pulls the strings
  London’s mayor has personally invited sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi to speak at the European Social Forum, reports Tina Becker, and he continues to make other demands
• July 15 2004 Down the plughole?
  Phil Hamilton wonders how the website of the European Social Forum could have ended up costing a rumoured £40,000
• July 8 2004 Scapegoats and witch-hunts
  The Italians and the Weekly Worker have together almost brought about the collapse of the London European Social Forum - or so the story goes. All the while, Ken Livingstone is allowed to exploit the ESF for his own purposes, reports Tina Becker
• July 1 2004 Scabbing and London's mayor
  We need to wrest control of the European Social Forum out of Livingstone’s hands, argues Tina Becker
• June 24 2004 Coming clean
  Tina Becker reports from the latest ESF assembly in Berlin, which took place on June 18-20
• June 17 2004 Exasperated voices raised in protest
  Anne Mc Shane and Tina Becker report on the latest developments in the organisation of the European Social Forum, to be held in London over October 15-17.
• June 17 2004 ESF: British provincialism
  Criticism of the high-handed, secretive and undemocratic methods of the main organisers of the London ESF are not restricted to the democratic opposition in Britain. A report to the Italian mobilising committee has been translated and posted on ESF discussion sites. Its release provoked a terse response from Alex Callinicos of the SWP and a further public elaboration from the Italians
• June 10 2004 How not to make friends and influence people
  Those organising the ESF programme have been engaged in often fraught arguments not least over the importance of European integration and how the left ought to respond. The meeting in Paris of the international working group, which is preparing the programme for the October European Social Forum in London, was a very ‘lively’ affair.
• June 3 2004 Closed door manoeuvres
  Tina Becker reports on latest developments in the preparations for the European Social Forum - which is still hampered by bureaucratic shenanigans, financial shortcomings, witch-hunts and censorship.
• May 27 2004Our Europe or theirs
  Over 100 representatives from across Europe gathered in Rome on May 22-23 to begin a discussion on the left's response to the draft constitution of the European Union. Although it is the main political organisation controlling the preparation for this year..s European Social Forum in London, the Socialist Workers Party was nowhere to be seen. Tina Becker reports
• May 27 2004 Movement from below
  Antonis Manitakis represented the Greek party, Synapsismos (which has two members in the European parliament), at the Rome conference on the EU constitution. He spoke to Tina Becker
• May 20 2004 Government and opposition
  With only five months left to go before our European Social Forum in London, things are still lagging behind. The latest meeting of the organising committee on May 16 highlighted some of the problems we still face. Tina Becker reports.
• May 13 2004 Priveliged information
  The Socialist Workers Party continue to excercise their suffocating control freakery over arrangements for the London European Social Forum. Tina Becker reports on the latest paranoid twist: basic information now being given out on a strictly need to know basis.
• April 29 2004 Their Europe or ours
  Tina Becker reports on the European Social Forum's initiative to produce a European charter as an answer to the proposed EU constitution. She interviews Franco Russo of Rifondazione Comunista, active in the campaign for a democratic, alternative EU.
• April 22 2004 Bad methods slammed
  Over 250 people were in Istanbul for the latest assembly to prepare for the European Social Forum 2004, which will take place from October 14-17 in London. Tina Becker reports from a meeting which saw the Socialist Workers Party and their allies take a beating.
• April 22 2004 Uniting our movements
  Tina Becker interviews Piero Bernocchi, representative of the leftwing Italian trade union, Cobas, at the ESF
• April 15 2004 ESF democracy vital
  Tina Becker draws political lessons from the organisation problems surrounding this year's London ESF, and argues that democracy and transparency are not merely principled demands, but effective strategies.
• April 1 2004 Control and ‘consensus’
  Preparations for the 2004 ESF are being stepped up, despite the bureaucracy and gagging orders. Tina Becker reports on the latest developments
• March 11 2004 Control-freaks criticised - Around 150 people attended the March 6-7 assembly to prepare for the European Social Forum in London - and witnessed some rather inelegant twists and turns by the Socialist Workers Party, reports Tina Becker
• March 4 2004 Looking forward to success - Plans are now fast coming together for the European Social Forum in London. Unfortunately, although there is a growing air of confidence, some still fear criticism and want to see it stopped
• March 4 2004 European criticism - The Greek Social Forum has issued a ‘Letter to Europe’ expressing concern about the “big problems” of the ESF process in Britain. Tina Becker reports
• March 4 2004 Positions of influence - Some of Ken Livingstone’s key advisors are members of Socialist Action, a small and secretive Stalinoid sect of Trotskyist origins. The position of leading member Redmond O’Neill in the Greater London Authority has given him an important role in the organisation of the European Social Forum. Mike Macnair looks at the group’s history and practice
• February 26 2004 Donation 'sets ball rolling' - Tina Becker reports on the February 25 meeting of the ESF coordinating committee
• February 19 2004 No bans or exclusions - The ESF continues to debate the involvement of political parties. Tina Becker reports on the debate
• February 12 2004 Wheels start to roll - Tina Becker was excluded from the London ESF co-ordinating committee on the initiative of a comrade from Workers Power. She did not have to wait long before he joined her on the outside
• February 12 2004 'Old' as good as 'new' - The SWP/GLA alliance failed to close up one of the few remaining democratic channels in the organising structure of the London ESF. Anne Mc Shane reports
• February 12 2004 Culture relief - Teresa Hoskyns welcome the lack of political infighting which characterises the meetings of the ESF culture group
• February 5 2004 Bureaucratic fist tightens - Tina Becker reports on developments in the organisation of ESF2004
• January 29 2004 Setting another agenda - Our first UK assembly, held on January 24 to plan for the European Social Forum coming to London, was a mixed bag, writes Tina Becker
• January 22 2004 Bureaucratic grip tightens - The London Mayor is in control of preparations for the European Social Forum. Tina Becker reports
• December 18 2003 - Plans for the European Social Forum in Britain in 2004 are far less advanced than we were given to believe. Anne Mc Shane and Tina Becker report from the first ESF assembly in London, which turned out to be rather fractious and chaotic
  • Fraught beginnings
  • London ESF money challenge
  • European mobilisation
  • Charting the way forward
• December 11 2003 ESF - learn from mistakes - Tina Becker joined over 130 other for the December 3 public meeting to discuss the UK hosting ESF2004

• November 12 2003 Britain to host ESF 2004 - The decision to stage next year's European Social Forum in the UK places a duty on all partisans to work for its success, writes Tina Becker
• November 12 2003 End the left’s disunity - Tina Becker highlights the main issues facing the ESF in Paris
• November 6 2003 Preventing domination - Tina Becker reports on latest developments in the bid to bring the ESF to London
• October 23 2003 Control-freakery provokes 'rival' bid - Tina Becker reports on the October 19 meeting of the English ESF mobilising committee
• October 23 2003 Why SWP boycotts local social forums - While keen to dominate preparation for the ESF to held in London in 2004 the SWP is suffocating attempts to make the forum real at a local level. Tina Becker asks why
• October 16 2003 Open up London ESF bid - Tina Becker reports on the latest backroom deals preparing London's bid to host the 2004 European Social Forum
• October 9 2003 No structure, no democracy - Over the last week there have been three important meetings following the bid to stage the 2004 European Social Forum in London. Tina Becker reports
• October 2 2003 Democracy and transparency needed - Tina Becker and Anne McShane report from the latest preparatory assembly of the European Social Forum, which gathered in September 29-30. They also discuss the selection of speakers for the final timetable (Speakers cause controversy) and discussions over the venue for the 2004 assembly (The ESF comes to London, or does it?)
• October 2 2003 Speakers cause controversy - Discussion on the final timetable for the ESF understandably took up a great deal of time. With 55 plenary sessions and 50 seminars, as well as an anticipated 400 workshops, there was much to debate.
• October 2 2003 The ESF comes to London - or does it? - The most interesting development at the assembly centred on the venue for next year’s event. Although no final decision has yet been made, London will undoubtedly be selected at a special meeting that will take place on November 10 in Paris, two days before the beginning of the ESF.
• September 4 2003 Heavy-handed Socialist Workers Party - Anne Mc Shane and Alan Fox report from the meeting of the English mobilising committee organising for the forthcoming European Social Forum
• July 24 2003 Put in its place - The second European Social Forum, to be held in Paris in November, is now only months away. Tina Becker and Anne Mc Shane report on the latest preparation assembly, which met in Genoa over the weekend of July 19-20, where they witnessed the Socialist Workers Party taking a knock
• July 24 2003 Breaking down barriers - Petty national concerns appear to be alive and well in the European Social Forum
• July 24 2003 Starting from scratch - Elisabeth Gaultier is a member of the executive committee of the Communist Party of France (PCF). In the French ESF organising committee she represents Espaces Marx, an organisation that “explores theoretical and emancipatory questions, inspired by the thoughts of Karl Marx”. When we interviewed her, she made it very clear that she keeps her “membership of the PCF very separate from my participation in the ESF process. I do not want to mix up these two roles”
• May 1 2003 Bureaucracy and confusion in Berlin - Over the weekend of April 27-28 some 350 people from 180 organisations attended the latest gathering to prepare for the 2003 European Social Forum in Paris (November 12-16). This time it was the turn of Berlin to act as host. Tina Becker reports
• May 1 2003 ‘Open and democratic’ - Luciano Muhlbauer is the representative of the Italian trade union Cobas at the ESF. He is also a prominent member of Rifondazione Comunista. Tina Becker spoke to him
• February 13 2003 Tina Becker and Anne Mc Shane report on the February 8-9 preparatory meeting of the European Social Forum which took place in Brussels
  • Resist pull to right
  • Attac on efficient organisation
  • Anti-war retreat
• February 13 2003 Lack of ambition? - Christophe Aguiton is a leading comrade on the French mobilising committee. Like most of those from France participating in the ESF preparatory meetings, he is a member of the lobbying group Attac, as well as the Confédération Générale du Travail. He spoke to Tina Becker
• December 12 2002 Preparing for Paris ESF - The first organisational meeting for the second European Social Forum took place in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis over the weekend of December 7-8. The CPGB’s Anne Mc Shane and Peter Manson were there
  • Parties are part of the movement
  • Florence success
  • Setback for unity
  • Chaos theory
• November 28 2002 Towards accountability - Proposals are circulating the European Social Forum calling for an elected leadership. Tina Becker reports on this welcome development

• November 21 2002 Glimpse of what is possible - Tina Becker critically examines the experience of Florence and looks at the prospects for the ESF
• November 21 2002 Call of the European social movements - Statement presented on the final day of the European Social Forum in Florence
• November 21 2002 Which way for the PRC? - Should Rifondazione Comunista continue to hide its light under a bushell? asks Tina Becker
• November 21 2002 Towards a European party - Rifondazione Comunista organised a seminar to discuss the reality of a European politial party. Tina Becker reports
• November 21 2002 Bitter taste of SWP arrogance sours day - Socialist Worker Party clowning was not appreciated by the organisers of the anti-war demo in Florence
• October 10 2002 Workshops sidelined - Workshops are the only platform available for honest political organisations - and a source of friction with the World Social Forum. Tina Becker reports
• October 10 2002 Leadership needed - In the build-up to Florence, November 6-10, Tina Becker and Anne Mc Shane report on last weekend’s final ESF preparatory meeting held in Barcelona
• October 3 2002 Italian comrades play host - Tina Becker attended Rifondazione Comunista's annual Liberazione festival
• October 3 2002 Rifondazione leads Rome anti-war demo - Demonstrators took to the streets of the Italian capital. Sarah McDonald joined them
• September 12 2002 Unite against the war - Statement on the looming war against Irag issued by the ESF
• September 12 2002 Democratise the WSF - Interview with Vittorio Agnoletto, Italian delegate to the World Social Forum
• July 18 2002 Over 300 people gathered in Thessaloniki, Greece on July 13-14 for the third preparatory meeting of the European Social Forum. Tina Becker reports
  • Rifondazione takes the reins
  • Party ban compromise
  • Greek left divisions
• June 13 2002 Slow progress for ESF - Roughly 50 delegates representing national mobilisations for November’s three-day conference of the European Social Forum met on June 10 in Rome, Roland Loveless was there
• June 13 2002 Tina Becker spoke to two members of Rifondazione Comunista. Luciano Muhlbauer is the representative of trade union federation Cobas and Marco Berlinguer is RC’s programme officer
• May 16 2002 Over 200 people attended the preparatory meeting of the European Social Forum in Vienna on May 11-12. Tina Becker reports
  • Which way for European left?
  • Buying into influence
• May 16 2002 A strong anti-capitalist organisation … or a loosely organised network? - Tina Becker spoke to two participants with very different opinions. Samir Amin is the main organiser of the Africa and Asia Social Forum. He is the author of Unequal development, Capitalism in the age of globalisation and a number of other influential books on ‘third world’ politics and imperialism. Wilhelm Haberzettl is president of the Austrian railworkers’ union and the European Transport Workers Federation
• April 11 2002 From refoundation to innovation - Marcus Ström reports on last week’s congress of Rifondazione Comunista
• April 11 2002 PRC factions - Break down of forces at the recent PRC congress
• April 11 2002 General strike: For a Third Republic - The Second Republic is in crisis. The main classes of Italy are set for a strategic confrontation. Rifondazione Comunista needs to fight for a Third Republic and take the lead of reshaping the European left, argues Marcus Ström

Urgent appeal:
No more exclusions at the ESF 2004!

“I/We confirm our commitment to:
- openness and transparency in all aspects of the ESF process
- no exclusions from any ESF committee”

The following people have already signed the above statement in personal capacity. Most of these are members of the ESF coordinating committee, the ESF organising committee or the ESF European assembly.

To add your signature, send an email to tina@cpgb.org.uk

Emma Dowling (Attac UK)
Helena Kotkowska (Attac UK)
Jon Cloke (Attac UK)
Dave Timms (World Development Movement)
Oscar Reyes (Red Pepper)
Stuart Hodkinson (Red Pepper)
Hannah Griffith (Friends of the Earth)
John Street (Babels UK)
Danny Cooley (Babels UK)
Cllr Matt Sellwood (Oxford City Council, Green Party Regional Council)
Anne Mc Shane (ESF organising committee, CPGB)
Rodrigo Nunes (ESF organising committee)
Matthew Caygill (Socialist Alliance national executive and Leeds SA)
Peter Grant (branch secretary, Aslef Manchester Picadilly)
Jenny Donaldson (Stop the War Coalition)
Massimo de Angelis (London Social Forum)
Jill Timms (London Social Forum)
Anne Gray (London Social Forum)
Teresa Hoskyns (London Social Forum)
Les Levidow (London Social Forum)
Michael Weller (London Social Forum)
Marlies Glasius (London Social Forum)
Laura Sullivan (London Social Forum)
Richard Jenkins (Cardiff Social Forum)
Mariangela Casalucci (Manchester Social Forum)
Mary Fee (ESF organising committee)
Hamish Campbell (ESF organising committee)
Marisa Alvarez Wharton (Leeds Social Forum)
Dan Olner (Sheffield Social Forum)
Kevin Gillan (Sheffield Social Forum)
Mick Hall (Exeter)

Frederic Thoma (Friends of the Earth Europe)
Fabrice Collignon (Belgium Social Forum)
Leo Gabriel (Austria Social Forum, Reflexion Group in the ESF)
Lars Bohn (Attac Denmark)
Mads L Bendtsen (Socialist Youth Front, Denmark)
Andrej Grubacic (People’s Global Action Conference, Belgrade)
Katu (Askapena, Basque country)
Matyas Benyik (Attac Hungary)
Simo Endre (Hungarian ESF mobilisation committee)
Erzsebet Szalai (Attac Hungary)
Çiðdem Çidamlý (People's Houses, Istanbul Social Forum)
Ivan Tishev (Bulgarian European Partnership Association)

The Communist Party of Spain, the Initiative and Coordination Committee of Romanian Social Forum, Workers Power and Revolution have signed up as organisations.