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"Another America is Possible"
Quito, March 8-13, 2004

The 1st Americas Social Forum will take place in Quito,
Ecuador, from March 8 to 13, 2004. This first hemispheric
Forum reflects the modality of regional events adopted by the
World Social Forum -WSF-, in order to tackle in greater depth
the regional impacts and specificities of neoliberal
globalization, and, likewise, to have a broader space for
expression of critical thinking, the diversity of experiences
of resistance and of construction of alternatives rooted in
the history of the different regions of the world.

Quito will be the meeting point for the Americas, as a new
moment in the dynamic process that was set in motion in the
hemisphere, thanks to the first three editions of the WSF in
Porto Alegre, Brazil (2001-2003).

In accordance with the Charter of Principles of the WSF, and
in the same spirit as the events that took place previously,
the ASF will be a democratic and pluralist space, open to the
participation of all those men and women who share the
commitment to build a different world.

We will meet in order to:

- Stimulate critical reflection on the dominant neoliberal
project and its expressions in our hemisphere

- Promote a more in depth exchange of experiences and
resistance struggles

- Draw together alternative proposals in the face of
neoliberal globalization and militarism, seeking coherence
between present practice and visions of the future

- Strengthen the articulation and actions of social movements

The ASF will welcome a broad thematic spectrum, comprised by
the following key themes:

- The economic order: human and environmental impoverishment,
debts and total market (FTAA - WTO). Resistance, views of
the future and the construction of alternatives.

- The violent face of the neoliberal project: Militarism,
strategic control over biodiversity, imperial hegemony;
resistance and the emergence of new subjects, the
construction of sovereignty and human rights.

- Power, democracy and the State: changes, continuity and
views of the future. How to build democracy in a period of
globalization and breakdown of international structures.
Power dynamics in national and local governments; in
subregional, regional and world entities; in society and in
the 'private' sphere.

- Cultures and communication: Resistance, memory, construction
of identities; spaces and practice of creation; critical and
alternative language; democratizing communication.

Transversal key themes: gender and diversities

The program will include conferences, testimonies, panels,
workshops, artistic-cultural initiatives, indigenous and youth
camps, mobilizations. It will combine central programming
defined by the Hemispheric Council with a broad space for the
development of self-managed initiatives.

We need, more than ever, to demonstrate the strength of
reflection and mobilization, the articulated, solidary,
diverse presence of the peoples of the Americas - from Alaska
to Patagonia - with the certainty that Another America and
Another World are possible.

Quito welcomes you!

Contact and information:

Web: www.forosocialamericas.org
E-mail: foroamericas@fsmecuador.org
Tel: (593 2) 222 3298