Panel

Dialogue at World Social Forum, 28th January, 2021, 12.00 – 2.30 pm GMT

Panelists: Ruth Nyambura (Kenya) Kali Akuno (United States) Pedro Pontual (Brazil), Boaventura de Sousa Santos (Portugal), Arturo Escobar (Colombia), Eva Schonveld (Scotland), Şervîn Nûdem (Kurdish Rojava)

Moderator: Ashish Kothari (India)

Several global processes listed below are co-organising a session, at the virtual World Social Forum 2021, on Power and Democracy: Despair and Hope. The intention is to have an open dialogue to critically address two crucial dimensions of these issues:

1] Representative democracy within the framework of the Nation-State, its crisis of legitimacy and the co-optation by the pro-capitalist perspectives and increasing fascist tendencies;

[2] The practices of radical democracy or direct democracy taking place in social movements, grassroots organizations and community processes, along with the emerging frameworks of power for radical transformations.

The tensions and complementarities between local, national and global dimensions; and between radical democracy and the state, will feature in the dialogue. Apart from the panel discussion, there will be adequate time for discussion with/by the audience. We hope to have translation into multiple languages.