Building Bridges Across the Global Water Justice and Anti-Fracking Movement

The 2013 World Social Forum will be held this March 26-30 in Tunisia, where only two years ago, a revolution began and resulted into a historic change that created a ripple effect across the region. Now, Tunisia is an inspiration to movements both old and new, across the globe.

Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Europe are busy getting ready to participate in the World Social Forum on water, fracking and food sovereignty issues. As a coordinator of the European Water Movement, our main aim is to build up links with local and regional groups and set up a Euro-Mediterranean Alliance for Water to facilitate the exchange of experience and information. Many North African countries are currently facing the same problems we have in Europe namely with the threat of privatization of water services and unconventional energy sourcing projects such as hydraulic fracturation. The same private water companies and energy companies are trying to push through projects in the North African region which have been met with resistance by civil society in Europe.

As part of the global water justice movement, we will organize a roundtable on the implementation of the right to water which will focus on future strategies for the movement but also on specific regional issues and what other tools are needed to help local movements in their fights. There will be a water justice day where we hope to enlarge our discussions with groups also working on large infrastructure projects such as dams, extractives such as mining and fracking as well as agricultural groups.

We are coordinating an international fracking workshop where we will promote the Global Frackdown 2013 following its success last year as well as exchange different regional experiences to solidify the links between the anti-fracking movement around the world.

Finally we will also participate in a Climate Space to contribute on the issues of the financialization of nature and the relationship between water and fracking. The Climate Space will be a fixed space inside the World Social Forum where the causes, impacts, struggles, alternatives and strategies to address climate change will be discussed.

World Social Forum Tunisia 2013