FAL’s history - 3rd FAL WORLD ASSEMBLY

Date: 2003

Place: In the framework of the World Social Forum of Porto Alegre 2003

Theme: Bringing together local governments and social movements.

Result: Resolution of Porto Alegre

In the final resolution the need of bringing together social movements and local governments was specifically stated. Previous commitments were strengthened.

3rd Forum of Local Authorities of Porto Alegre

In its third edition, the Forum of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion will be held in January 2003, on the 21st and 22nd, once again within the scope of the World Social Forum, in Porto Alegre. This time, the FAL will include the exigency of democracy in terms of institutions and foreign affairs in the program of local authorities. Besides, participants affirmed their commitment to the promotion of an organized and strengthened world-wide civil society and with local authorities articulated in networks and politically acting in the international scene.

The combination of these two actors of the world-wide scene - local authorities and social movements – allows the fight against the almost absolute domination of the markets and imperialist nations and turns into reality the hope of building up a more democratic, solidarity-based and human world.

In order to achieve this goal, the Network of Cities for Social Inclusion we are now launching must act on an integrated positive basis in the field of foreign affairs, with a platform of democratic radicalization, and struggling for peace, social justice, sustainable development and human rights. Furthermore, this network shall be able to design common strategies on the crucial international issues.

RESOLUTION OF PORTO ALEGRE

The third edition of the Forum of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion (FAL) held in Porto Alegre from January 21st to January 22nd, 2003, once again within the framework of the World Social Forum, counted on the presence of a thousand authorities, amongst them: a hundred and fifty mayors and seven hundred city representatives from twenty-six countries.

This forum reasserts the previously drafted Charter of Porto Alegre and the Declaration of Porto Alegre and shows, once again, that the cities have become important agents for the change on the process of globalization. Also, that cities are able to build and develop, along with the civil society, democratic and solidary alternatives of public administration.

The 3rd FAL in Porto Alegre poses a challenge to local governments worldwide to incorporate in their programs the demands of democracy in institutions and foreign affairs. Moreover, it reaffirms the commitment to an organized world civil society and to coordinated and politically active local governments in networks and in the international scene.

The combination of the following players- local governments and social movements - strengthens an alternative to the almost absolute domination of the markets and imperialistic governments, as well as to the policy of imminent war. It makes people more hopeful about the building of a more democratic, solidary, and human world, reinforcing from the local level the promotion of a culture of world peace and the coexistence of the different civilizations. Besides, it is necessary to reaffirm and to guarantee the right to a dignified life for all, especially the right to food, water, health, housing and education.

As for the creation of the new world organization of local authorities - “United Cities and Local Governments” - a result of the process of coalition of the United Towns Organization (UTO/FMCU) and of the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), the network of cities for social inclusion, which is being built, intends to act in an integrated and active way, creating a new scene for foreign relations. In this sense, the network makes an effort to work with UTO/FMCU and IULA for the organization of the founding Congress, to be held in Paris (France) from May 2th to May 5th, 2004, to present the themes of social inclusion in the same Congress.

This network will adopt a flexible organizational structure and will support the existing networks in order to allow the accomplishment of common objectives: the promotion of experiences of participative democracy, the fight for a culture of peace and for the human rights, the creation of programs of social inclusion for peripheral cities, the promotion of social justice and gender equity, the fight of poverty, the guarantee of sustainable development, the defense and the promotion of appropriate public services, the defense against the process of privatization, the democratization of communication, the promotion of digital inclusion, and the motivation and decentralized cooperation between the local governments and the civil society.

The next Forum of Local Authorities will be held in the city of Barcelona (Spain) in the year 2004, as part of the Universal Forum of Cultures. One of its objectives will consist on linking the theme of Culture to that of Social Inclusion, as well as to create and to disseminate worldwide the Agenda 21 for Culture, which will have the local sphere as starting point and will be presented to the United Nations in September of the same year.

Aiming at working on the preparation of the next Forum of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion, the European Forum of Local Authorities will be held in the city of Saint Denis (France), from November 11th to November 13th, 2003, during the 2nd European Social Forum, and other meetings that will be held in several continents.

The city of Porto Alegre commits to create a space on the the FAL website to host the Network of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion, as a means to facilitate the exchange of information and agreements between members.
The local authorities represented herein commit by means of the present resolution to participate and to contribute to debates and to make possible the above mentioned meetings, in order to strengthen local forces in the world scene, so that together with the civil society we can make another world possible.

In face of the threat of war in Iraq, which is to have world consequences, we call upon local authorities and peoples from all over the world to mobilize against war and to demand their governments to find a peaceful solution in order to guarantee world peace.

Porto Alegre, January 22th, 2003

DRAFTING COMMITTEE

Antonio Zurita - Fondo Andaluz (Spain), Eduardo Mancuso - Porto Alegre,
(Brazil), Gabriel Abascal - Badalona (Spain), Paolo Morello - FMCU (France),
Kjeld Jakobsen - São Paulo (Brazil), Stephen Peu – Saint Denis (France), and
Vanessa Marx - Barcelona (Spain).