A Call for a WEF Counter-Summit

National Activist and Student Mobilization

Thursday, January 31st to Friday, February 1st 2002

at Columbia University in New York City


1. Background on the World Economic Forum (WEF)

What is the WEF?

Every year, 1,000 top business leaders, come together to shape the global agenda, while political elites and media luminaries gaze on admiringly. The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its annual meeting at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City from January 31st to February 4th 2002. By its own description, the WEF is a special club of elite business leaders, whose annual meeting is the world's global business summit.

What is the WEF's agenda?

At the New York WEF summit, the world's richest CEOs will collaborate with the world's most powerful politicians to set the global economic agenda. Meanwhile, in the halls of Congress, the world's most powerful politicians are collaborating with the world's richest CEOs to expand the "war on terrorism."The WEF agenda has already led to a world in which every day 19,000 children die in the developing world from undernourishment. While the world's richest 200 people have doubled their wealth in the last five years.



This neoliberal economic agenda has also led to a world in which the U.S. government, spending over $270 million annually on its military budget, supports dictatorships and autocratic regimes, and leads other nations into wars that kill millions of more innocent people. Most recently, this agenda has led the US government into another protracted war, while it attacks the rights of workers, students, and immigrants at home.



It has led to a world where the people of Tuvalu are faced with the possibility of fleeing their island nation if the rise in sea level caused by global warming continues. A world where as many as 50,000 endangered species disappear forever each year, and where 214,000 acres of rainforest - an area larger than New York City - is cut down every day.

What can I do?

It's time to make the connection. The same people who stand to gain from extending the war are perpetuating the global economic conditions that foster terrorism. Capitalism propels war, and war protects capital. US imperialism and global corporate domination go hand in hand.



In the name of democracy, in the name of economic justice, in the name of the global anti-imperialist struggle, and in the name of the Earth, we call all students, activists, rabble-rousers, and concerned citizens to share their ideas, fears, inspirations and tactics. Our "leaders" will never make the necessary changes; it's up to us to do it for ourselves!



Join us to say

- NO to the War on Terrorism,

- NO to the WEF,

- NO to the global economic conditions that foster terrorism,

- and, YES to a world organized around principles of democracy, equity, sustainability and solidarity.

2. Globalizing Justice: WEF Counter-Summit, National Activist and Student Mobilization

What is the goal of the conference?

The two day conference will comprise of two days of workshops and panels, from Jan. 31st to Feb. 1st, so as not to conflict with direct actions to shut down the WEF being planned in the city over the weekend.



We expect hundreds of activists and students from all over the nation, from California, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the South and the East Coast. We're in contact with students abroad in Canada, Europe and Asia. Together, and in solidarity with other initiatives against the WEF, we will seek to model the world we wish to create.

What is the schedule for the conference?

The tentative schedule for the conference is as follows (each 1 and 1/2 hour workshop session consists of 10 workshops, making a total of 50 workshops over two days):

Thursday, Jan. 31st 2002

9 - 10 am : Registration

10 am - 12 pm : Workshops

12 - 1 pm : Lunch

1 - 2:30 pm : Workshops

3 - 4:30 pm : Workshops

5 - 7 pm : Rally for Global Justice with the New York City Central Labor Council

7 - 10 pm : Plenary Address on the topic of Globalization, Militarism, the Neoliberal Agenda and its Discontents. Please see our confirmed list of speakers.



Also, concurrently, is the Working Families Economic Forum and Rally for Global Justice. The Forum is at 2:30 pm, for more information or to reserve space at the Forum, please call (212) 604-9552, x220. Permitted Rally for Global Justice at the Gap at 54th and 5th 4:30 pm. With the New York City Central Labor Council, Jobs with Justice, and AFL-CIO. The Students for Global Justice will join the rally.



The Public Eye on Davos International Conference is also from Thursday, January 31 through Sunday, February 3, 2002 at the United Nations Church Center, 777 UN Plaza on the 2nd Floor - Auditorium, New York. Please see their website for more details.



Friday, Feb. 1st 2002

9 - 10 am : Registration

10 am - 12 pm : Workshops

12 - 1:30 pm : Lunch

1:30 - 3 pm : Workshops

4 - 7 pm : Plenary Address on the topic of Another World is Possible, Globalizing Justice and Solidarity. Please see our confirmed list of speakers.

6 pm : There will be a Peace Vigil in Washington Square Park, with Starhawk and others. The Students for Global Justice will join the Vigil.



Saturday, Feb. 2nd 2002

12 noon : Day of Action and many more activities TBA, call by Another World is Possible.
10 pm : F2, Festival of Organized Resistance at the Frying Pan with Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Bombing, Blackkat Collective, KleverVice, Zemi17 of Havoc Sound, Kid Lucky and Urban Acapella, DJ Cuttin Candy, Lo Ki of Konkrete Jungle, Blowback and many more. Organized by Students for Global Justice and Another World is Possible.



Sunday, Feb. 3rd 2002

The Anti-Capitalist Scavenger Hunt, planned by the Anti-Capitalist Convergence. Time and place TBA.

4:30 - 10 pm : Strategy Meeting for the Movement, time and place TBA.



Monday, Feb. 4th 2002

10 am - 6 pm : Strategy Meeting for the Movement, time and place TBA.

7 pm : Davos by the Hudson, sponsored by the Public Citizen, The Nation Magazine and the International Forum on Globalization. At The Community Church of New York, 40 East Thirty Fifth Street, New York. The Students for Global Justice will join this reportback from the World Social Forum, and open discussion of the trade and globalization policy debate.

What are the workshops, panel discussions and forums about?

-- Legal, media, medical and tactical trainings

-- Forums on the history of the WEF and the policies it promotes

-- Workshops on globalization, labor, sustainable development, and human rights

-- Education about the environmental impact of globalization

-- Speakers on the corporate influences behind US foreign policy decisions

-- Focus on indigenous peoples' right to self-sustainability



And much more TBA. For a more complete list, please see The Workshops Sheet from January 20th. This sheet is in no way complete, and we reserve the right to change it at any time. Please email questions to the Workshops Working Group.



We are not accepting additional proposals for workshops at this time.

Where will the conference take place?

The conference will take place at Columbia University and Barnard College, in New York City. Registration starts at 9am both days and will will take place at the box office in Lerner Hall, which is located at West 115th Street & Broadway. Enter through the campus-side entrance. Once you have registered, we will provide you with a map showing the locations of other campus buildings we will be using.



The easiest (and most environmentally friendly) way to get to campus is to take the subway. Take the #1 train to 116th Street, and walk one block south (downtown) to get to Lerner Hall. We will have signs showing the way from the subway exit to the conference registration area. If you insist upon driving, maps and directions are available, but be warned: parking is expensive and hard to find, and driving in New York City can be stressful and difficult.



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3. How To Get Involved and For More Information

Where will I stay?

Arrangements are being made to provide housing for out of town students and conference participants that cannot stay at hostels/hotels or with friends in New York City. Another World is Possible, Students for Global Justice, and the Anti-Capitalist Convergence have a Housing Board where you can browse people who have offered housing or post a request. Check it out, and please offer some space if you can and are in New York.

How will I get to New York?

Unfortunately, we cannot provide transportation to New York. However, many local and regional groups are organizing either group bus or plane trips to New York. We encourage you to use The Another World is Possible/Anti-Capitalist Convergence/Students for Global Justice Ride Board to either find or offer transportation. If that doesn't work, email the WEF Outreach Working Group, and we will do our best to put you in touch with a group organizing transportation from your area.

Where can I go for more information or to help organize the conference?

More information about the National Student Mobilization and Conference will be posted at The Students for Global Justice website. Please check the site periodically for updates.



You can also subscribe to the Globalize Justice mailing list for announcements and updates. We also have a number of other mailing lists devoted to more specific tasks.



We have a flyer for the conference. Please help to post in your neighborhood and community.



To get involved with organizing the conference and outreach to schools, activist groups and communities, please email the WEF Outreach Working Group. If you're in the Northeast corridor, look out for The Anti-Capitalist Roadshow.



See you at the conference and in the streets, because OUR WORLD IS NOT FOR SALE.