Location
The FSQ follows from the World Social Forum movement and global quest for alternatives. The FSQ, however, undoubtedly has its own personality due to the continual evolution of Quebec’s social, cultural, economic and political environment. In past few decades, the prioritization of growth, competitiveness and national debt reduction has fostered a one-way hegemonic paradigm in order to justify the measures undertaken to create a society that primordially reacts to market conditions.
The FSQ is an open meeting place that aims to gather all those who believe in a fairer society, and all who disagree with all forms of oppression, whether in Quebec or in the world. The FSQ intends to be a place for speaking out, exchange, dialogue, public engagement, citizenship, networking and the development of co-constructed action plans, in order to build -- together -- a united, democratic, fair and sustainable society here in Quebec.
The FSQ is first and foremost a public space that is critical, participatory and inclusive. It enables all citizens, social movements and organizations to connect, speak out, discuss, and exchange views on issues facing our society. The FSQ is a catalyst for the emergence of a new citizenship culture that encourages active engagement and participation of everyone in public decision-making, including young people.
The FSQ is a space for meeting and exchange between social movements: in a context where neoliberal capitalism rampant in many forms and in all spheres of social activity, it is necessary to withhold comprehensive analysis and response. The FSQ is therefore necessary to facilitate convergence of claims and strategies of resistance of social movements to achieve the construction of a society or human nature would pass before the profit.
The FSQ is also an area dedicated to education, promoting the practice of citizenship, to raise awareness and reflection on popular Quebec society and its future. Open to the general public, this event sees the awareness and involvement of everyone as a necessary condition for change, and a source of personal and collective invaluable.
The FSQ programming belongs to the organizations, collectivities and citizens who participate in the event. The hundreds of workshops offered will be run by members of civil society who have something to say, to share, to propose. This democratic system of participant-managed programming allows the Quebec Social Forum to assume its role as a public space that is open, participatory and inclusive.
The two intersecting themes and nine thematic axes serve to guide the discussions and exchanges during the many workshops offered. They represent broader issues that we feel it is essential to discuss during the 2009 Quebec Social Forum.
View by theme:- Human rights and the struggle for equality and diversity
- Democracy, power, citizen participation and the role of the state: rethinking politics
- Social struggle and advocacy in Quebec: worker and trade union struggles, community action, social movements and social economy
- Capitalism in crisis: rethinking models of development
- The fight against the commodification of public interests and services and the privatization of knowledge, education and health
- Environment, health and ecology
- Arts, culture and the democratization of information and communication
- International solidarity, pacifism and the struggle against imperialism and war
- Ethics, spirituality and religion
On-site Registration: at the entrance of the Cégep du Vieux Montréal
- Thursday the 8th: 1pm-7pm
- Friday the 9th: 10am-7pm
- Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th: all day beginning at 8am
