The international edition of the 2021 World Social Forum will take place virtually, due to the pandemic, over 9 days, from January 23rd to 31st 2021. This edition, which commemorates the 20^th anniversary of the first World Social Forum in 2001, will be the longest ever held.

According to a press bulletin released by the organizers, it will be an extraordinary event, aimed at debating and enabling global and local political responses to the serious and urgent challenges of this conjuncture, in which deep crises of capitalism overlap.

“This Forum intends to contribute significantly to the consolidation of all forces of resistance in defense of a world with social, economic and environmental justice, in a period of worsening authoritarianism, despoliation and unparalleled political and social repression on all continents.”

Since its creation, “the World Social Forum has spread and influenced public policies around the world with international editions and thematic, regional and national forums. The World Social Forum is the broadest process in the fight against neoliberal capitalism and in bringing together social, union, cultural, progressive, anti-imperialist, feminist, environmental, indigenous, ancestral peoples' movements and many others.”

On January 23rd 2021, the first day of the Virtual WSF will open up with the (virtual) World March of Openness for Rights, Justice, Democracy and Good Living. It will be held through the diffusion of videos presenting testimonies of leaders from various parts of the world in defense of the themes of this forum and related challenges.

During the March, the Global Opening Panel will be held with about six major social and political leaders from around the world, under the slogan: What world do we want today and tomorrow ? - Not the world of Davos !

Among the guests invited (some pending confirmation) are: Aminata Traoré (Africa); Angela Davis (North America); Ashish Kothari (Asia); Leila Khaled (Middle East); Former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Latin America); Yanis Varoufakis (Europe).

From the 24th to the 29th, large panels will be held on each of the Virtual WSF Thematic Spaces (https://wsf2021.net), in addition to numerous self-organized activities, a unique feature of all the forums.

The penultimate day will be dedicated to convergence assemblies, meant to push forward initiatives, actions, fights and global political campaigns.

The last day, on January 31st, will be held the Agora of Futures, an activity in which social movements and organizations from around the world will present their actions, challenges and campaigns that should extend from 2021 to the next WSF (post-pandemic) to be held in Mexico.

“This Virtual Forum takes place in the context of an intense phase of political and organic revitalization of the World Social Forum process with debates that have re-evaluated the experiences of these two decades and pointed to new transformations under the motto: Another World is Possible, necessary, and urgent”, the organizers underline.

The activities promoted by the Forum Facilitating Group (panels, self-organized activities, etc...) will be held in periods compatible with time zones around the world (generally, from 2pm to 5pm GMT).