World Social Forum at 25: Porto Alegre's Vision More Relevant Than Ever

The World Social Forum, first held in Porto Alegre in 2001, is convening this week in Benin, drawing up to 50,000 participants from over 100 countries. The event, which brings together social movements, NGOs, and trade unions from the Global North and South, remains the most significant gathering of global civil society. Yet despite its scale, it receives scant media attention, reflecting a broader decline in the political influence of progressive movements. The forum's 25th anniversary comes amid escalating global crises: militarization, climate change, and authoritarianism. The central challenge for progressive politics today, as the author argues, is not a lack of analysis but a failure to organize effectively, a domain where capital and right-wing forces have long excelled. The article, published in the German newspaper 'der Freitag', questions why the forum has lost political relevance and calls for a reinvigoration of collective action.