Voices of utopia: The world social forum

• Autor(a) principal: Brasil, Manuela Salau
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Ciências do Estado (Online)
• DOI: 10.35699/2525-8036.2017.5029
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/revice/article/view/e5029
• topic: Ernst Bloch; Utopia; World social forum; Fórum Social Mundial; Ernst Bloch; Utopia; Ernst Bloch; Utopía; Foro social mundial

The year we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the creation of the word “utopia” was also marked by the 15th edition of the World Social Forum (WSF), an event that galvanized our utopian hopes for a better society. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the relationship between utopia and the Forum relying on the key proposition that the WSF represents a current utopian exercise. To that end, we refer to the concept of utopia of philosopher Ernst Bloch, as we believe his contributions revitalized the understanding of that notion. In addition, we give an account of the origins and goals of the WSF with a focus on the 2016 thematic edition held in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state. To further substantiate this analysis, we assess the understanding of utopia from the perspective of Forum participants through recorded material collected from 34 interviews as well as participants’ utterances at workshops and roundtables. The ultimate goal of this endeavor was to find to what extent the WSF is identified as a space for fostering social utopias, with an emphasis on the analysis of the statements of those who are confident in a better future.