PART TWO: DESCRIPTION OF THE WSF 2006 AUDIENCE As in the previous Forums, the audience of the WSF 2006 was particularly young (table 4). In and in as well, more than 56% of the audience was under 34. As to the place of origin, non-an Africans form the oldest group that attended the Forum: 57.4% were over 35. Table 4 WSF 2006 Age ns Attendance by age, according to place of origin and chapter (in %) Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 14 24 years 37,0 31,3 22,2 34,4 30,5 10,1 11,9 24,9 25 34 years 25,0 30,7 40,1 27,6 31,2 32,5 30,7 31,4 35 44 years 15,3 17,1 17,3 15,9 16,7 28,7 20,8 19,4 45 54 years 13,4 13,8 13,5 13,5 16,4 20,9 20,5 17,6 55 years and more 9,3 7,0 6,9 8,5 5,2 7,8 16,1 6,6 Total Table 5 shows the evolution of the attendance by age in the WSF since the 2003 event. The Forum had the smallest number of participants from 14 to 34 years of age during the last four Forums. In, the share of participants was similar to the previous years, except the 2005 Forum, when younger people summed up almost 71% of the total participants of the WSF. It is worth mentioning that the number of participants over 55 years of age increased from 4% in 2005 in Porto Alegre, to around 9% in and in.
Table 5 WSF 2006 Attendance by age in WSF 2003 to 2006 (in %) Age 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 14 24 years 31,1 37,4 42,2 32,0 34,4 20,4 25 34 years 32,1 25,1 28,6 28,6 27,6 31,4 14 34 years 63,2 62,5 70,8 60,6 62,1 51,7 35 44 years 18,1 19,9 15,0 16,8 15,9 20,7 45 54 years 13,3 12,7 10,2 14,6 13,5 18,6 55 years or more 5,4 4,9 4,0 8,0 8,5 8,9 In general, the schooling level of the audience was high as shown in table 6. Most people had studied for over 12 years (incomplete/ complete university education, master s degree, doctorate degree). However, we have found a difference between the local participants in the two chapters. Among the ans, 23% had a master s or a doctorate degree, while 7% of ns reached this education level. Among the participants from other countries in, this share attains 40%, and in is under 24%. Table 6 WSF 2006 Attendance by schooling, according to place of origin and chapter (in %) Schooling ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Up to 4 years of schooling 2,7 2,1 1,0 2,4 6,9 1,8 2,3 5,5 5 to 12 years of schooling 22,2 11,3 7,2 18,1 27,5 8,2 8,6 22,1 Incomplete superior education Master s/ Doctorade degree 67,9 74,8 68,0 69,8 43,0 57,8 49,6 46,5 7,2 11,8 23,8 9,6 22,6 32,2 39,5 25,9 18
In, the presence of men and women was more evenly distributed than in, where women were less than one third of participants (table 7). However, this share is rather different when the place of origin is concerned. The ans represented less than one fourth of the total number of participants, while women coming from other countries totaled around 49%. Table 7 WSF 2006 Gender ns Attendance by gender, according to place of origin and chapter (in %) Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Female 46,6 42,1 42,6 45,1 24,0 37,5 48,9 28,6 Male 53,4 57,9 57,4 54,9 76,0 62,5 51,1 71,4 Total Table 8 shows the relation between gender and age group. In, no significant differences are found in the male and female age groups. In, young women are more numerous, 39% of them up to 24 years old, against 31% of males in this same age group. As refers to schooling level by gender, in as well as in the participants are distributed in a similar way, as shown in table 9. Table 8 WSF 2006 Attendance by age, according to gender and chapter (in %) Age Female Male Total Female Male Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 14 24 years 39,2 30,9 34,4 25,7 24,7 24,9 25 34 years 26,3 28,8 27,6 30,8 32,1 31,4 35 44 years 14,6 16,9 15,9 17,3 20,2 19,4 45 54 years 13,3 13,7 13,5 18,9 16,8 17,6 55 years and more 6,6 9,8 8,5 7,3 6,2 6,6 19
Table 9 WSF 2006 Attendance by schooling and gender, according to chapter (in %) Schooling Female Male Total Female Male Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Up to 4 years of schooling 2,3 2,5 2,4 5,9 5,5 5,6 5 to 12 years of schooling 18,3 18,2 18,2 21,1 22,3 21,9 Incomplete superior education 70,3 69,7 70,0 50,7 45,0 46,6 Master s/doctorade degree 9,1 9,7 9,4 22,3 27,2 25,8 Still regarding the description of participants, the stated occupation basically shows Students as the most numerous group in (36.7%), followed by Self-Employed Workers (11.8%) and Private Workers (10.1%) table 10. In, Students were also the most numerous group (24.2%), followed by Employees of civil society entities (16.6%) and Unemployed (13.5%). The difference between the two Forum audiences is very clear when it comes to occupation. Table 10 WSF 2006 Attendance by occupation, according to chapter (in %) Occupation Total 100 100 Student 36,7 24,2 NGO/civil society entity/political party/union employee 7,6 16,6 Self-employed 11,8 6,9 Private employee 10,1 7,4 Civil servant 9,8 9,6 Desempregado(a) 6,2 13,5 Unemployed 6,2 6,3 Peasant 1,1 4,2 9,1 6,6 NS / NO 1,4 4,7 20
differences are found as well considering the gender variable regarding the occupation stated by the participants (table 11). It can be seen that there are more Students among the female participants in the event; and in and there are more Students and Employees of NGOs, civil society entities, political parties and unions among the female participants in a very similar share (19% and 24% respectively). Table 11 WSF 2006 Attendance by occupation, according to gender and chapter (in %) Ocupação Female Male Total Female Male Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Student 37,0 29,0 32,3 19,0 21,4 20,4 Civil servant 6,5 10,0 8,5 10,7 9,8 10,4 Self-employed 11,2 14,6 13,2 9,3 6,0 7,1 Private employee 10,8 11,2 11,0 7,0 8,1 7,6 NGO/civil scoiety entity/political party/union employeee 11,9 12,7 12,3 24,2 19,7 20,9 Peasant 0,7 1,4 1,1 1,7 4,4 3,4 Employer 4,8 7,2 6,2 7,0 7,6 7,3 Unemployed 5,7 5,2 5,4 5,6 12,2 10,0 10,1 7,8 8,8 10,3 7,7 8,9 NS / NO 1,3 0,9 1,2 5,2 3,1 3,9 21
Another issue refers to the participants belief in some kind of religion, a wide diversity being found among and within the Forums (table 12). The participants from other countries are less religious 24% in and 29% in. Among the Latin Americans, 38% followed some religion, a rather smaller share than the ns 52%. Among Africans and ans, 88% and 94%, respectively, followed some religion. It is estimated that 90% of the ans are Muslims, and 9% have some indigenous belief (Source: África Hoje website: <http://africa.sapo.pt/11/224090.html>). Table 12 WSF 2006 Attendance by religious belief, according to place of origin and chapter (in %) ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Yes 51,8 38,4 24,1 46,1 93,8 88,0 29,3 87,3 No 48,2 61,6 75,9 53,9 6,3 12,0 70,7 12,7 22
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PART THREE: INFORMATION AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION The media has a powerful influence on public opinion (table 13). When asked which of these media was more important to them, many participants had more than one choice, changing their answers into indications of level of importance of each media (one score). Magazines and other media appear as the less used media to get information from. This election revealed some significant surprises in accordance with the place of origin of participants. The media are listed below in decreasing order of their level of importance, as per the opinion of the WSF audience: ns: TV, Internet, newspaper and radio; ans: radio, TV, newspaper and Internet; Africans, Latin Americans and non-latin American foreigners attending the chapter of the WSF 2006: Internet, newspapers, TV and radio; Non-African foreigners attending the chapter of the WSF 2006: Internet, radio and TV.
Table 13 WSF 2006 Most accessed media to obtain information according to place of origin and chapter (in %) Media ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total Internet 35,6 45,6 61,0 40,2 17,0 35,3 50,2 23,3 Newspapers 24,6 25,4 26,8 25,0 23,2 30,9 47,4 26,7 TV 39,2 21,7 12,1 32,4 37,0 28,4 12,2 33,2 Radio 8,8 11,8 10,7 9,8 44,4 28,0 21,5 39,3 Magazines 2,0 3,1 4,5 2,5 5,1 9,5 7,5 6,1 s 2,7 3,2 1,0 2,8 2,2 3,3 1,2 2,3 Note: multiple answer. As to the incidence of use of each media to obtain information (table 14A and 14B): 53% of the participants in watch TV and use the Internet on a daily basis (46.5%), followed by radio (46%) and newspapers to a lesser degree (36%). In, 69% listen to the radio and 67.5% watch TV on a daily basis, but newspapers and the Internet are accessed by a quite smaller number of people: 35% and 31% respectively. 26
Table 14A WSF 2006 Media How oftern media is used to obtain information, by chapter (in %) Never On a monthly basis On a weekly basis Several times a week On a daily basis Newspapers 6,5 9,4 22,5 26,0 35,6 Magazines 18,6 28,9 29,5 16,9 6,2 TV 7,9 6,8 10,4 22,1 52,8 Radio 8,2 8,2 11,6 26,2 45,8 Internet 10,0 6,2 11,7 25,5 46,5 Note: multiple answer. Table 14B WSF 2006 Media How often the media is used to obtain information, by chapter (in %) Never On a monthly basis On a weekly basis Several times a week On a daily basis Newspapers 11,8 11,6 18,3 23,7 34,7 Magazines 26,2 29,6 16,4 16,3 11,5 TV 4,8 1,7 4,9 21,1 67,5 Radio 4,4 1,7 4,5 20,4 69,1 Internet 21,2 10,9 17,4 19,4 31,1 Note: multiple answer. 27
Additionally, the participants were asked how they use their time in the international network (table 15). Below are the main uses they make of it: In the chapter: 24% access the WSF website very often or always, and 30% never access it. In the chapter, 19% access it very often or always, and 43% never do it; Around 29% of participants in and 27% in access websites focused on international civil society events very often or always. The share of participants that never access them is all the more higher: 31% and 35.2% in and in, respectively; The alternative media websites are frequently accessed by 43% of participants in, and around 25% in, and they are never accessed by 22% and 43% respectively; In as well as in, around 53% and 54% of participants had never signed any online petitions nor took part in campaigns through e-mails or chats; In, 45% never express their views in any forum, discussion list or chat, and 25% do it very often or always, while in 49% had never expressed their views, and 21% do it very or always; With respect to downloading public domain programs, like Linux and Open Office, since it is an activity that is not performed regularly (they can be downloaded and further updated with one single access), we can consider that the 41% in and 42.5% in share of participants that have already accessed and possibly have installed the programs in their PCs is quite significant. 28
Table 15 WSF 2006 How time is spent on the Internet, by chapter (in %) How time is spent on the Internet Never Occasionally Often Always Never Occasionally Often Always Access to WSF website 30,3 45,4 20,0 4,2 42,5 38,1 14,2 5,2 Access to websites of international civil society events, by chapter Access to alternative media websites Sign online petitions or take part in campaigns through e-mail and chats Express opinion on policies at forums, discussion lists or chats Download public domain programs, like Linux and Open Office Note: multiple answer. 31,3 40,1 23,1 5,5 35,2 38,0 18,0 8,9 22,0 35,2 30,1 12,8 43,1 31,8 19,4 5,7 54,1 26,3 13,0 6,6 53,0 27,9 13,4 5,7 44,8 29,8 17,6 7,8 48,9 30,0 13,4 7,8 60,0 22,6 10,3 7,0 57,5 24,4 11,4 6,7 29
PART FOUR: POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT, INCLUSION AND PARTICIPATION The data below refers to issues like participation in popular social movements, political parties, cultural groups, NGOs, among others. These affiliations and/or participations suggest the engagement in participative actions or spaces. In, the civil society participated mostly through popular social movement (56%) and through cultural groups (50%). In, 38.7% of the audience takes part in cooperatives, 38.4% in volunteer committees or associations, and 36.8% in Cultural groups. The participation of the audience in popular social movements grows as the place of origin is not the host country: 52.9% of ns, 60.7% of Latin Americans, and 65.3% of non-latin American foreigners stated their participation. In, there was a difference between ans, Africans and the rest of the world: around 36.1%, 37.7% and 60%, respectively.
The same applies to their participation in NGOs. Approximately 24% of ns and 35.9% of Latin Americans take part in such institutions, while the share among non-latin American foreigners is 47.2%. In, there was a significant difference regarding the participation in NGOs as well: 28.9% of ans and 57.8% of Africans take part in such institutions, against 51.7% of participants from other countries, as shown in table 16. Table 16 WSF 2006 Participation in civil society, by place of origin and chapter (in %) Civil society organizations and social movements ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total Popular social movements Committees/volunteer associations 52,9 60,7 65,3 56,0 36,1 37,7 60,0 38,4 38,7 41,1 50,3 40,2 38,6 37,7 42,8 38,7 Cultural groups 49,8 50,8 47,7 50,0 21,8 17,2 30,8 21,6 NGOs 23,7 35,9 47,2 28,9 28,9 57,8 51,7 36,8 Unions or professional associations 19,2 29,8 31,1 23,1 30,1 19,8 31,1 28,1 Political parties 25,2 25,4 28,3 25,5 25,5 11,7 23,9 22,5 Cooperatives 33,4 23,6 27,9 30,2 16,2 15,3 12,5 15,7 Note: multiple answer. 32
As to their participation according to gender (table 17), in the participation of females in cooperatives and professional unions or associations was found to be higher than that of males. In, the female participation is higher in the cooperatives and cultural groups as well. In the male participation, in turn, is higher in popular social movements, and in NGOs not only in but in as well. Table 17 WSF 2006 Participation in civil society, by gender and chapter (in %) Civil society movements, institutions, associations Female Male Total Female Male Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Popular social movements 21,9 22,2 22,1 18,8 17,7 18,0 Volunteer Committees/ Associations 17,3 14,8 15,9 19,9 17,7 18,3 Cultural groups 20,7 19,0 19,7 9,3 10,6 10,2 NGOs 12,2 10,7 11,4 19,0 16,8 17,5 Professional unions or associations 8,5 9,4 9,0 18,8 17,7 18,0 Political parties 8,0 11,7 10,1 8,1 11,6 10,6 Cooperatives 11,4 12,2 11,9 6,1 8,0 7,5 33
To conclude the audience engagement issue, they were asked about their participation in any international network focused on political actions (table 18). In the chapter of the WSF 2006, 20% of ns, 35% of Latin Americans and 51% of participants from other countries said they participate. In, the share was smaller following the same pattern: 26% of ans, 34% of Africans and 45% of non-african foreigners. In short, the total average number of participations in international networks is significant, though very far from being a major practice. Table 18 WSF 2006 Participation in international networking for political actions, by place of origine and chapter (in %) ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total 100 100 100 100,0 100 100 100 100,0 Yes 19,6 35,0 51,2 26,1 26,3 34,3 44,6 29,5 No 80,4 65,0 48,8 73,9 73,7 65,7 55,4 70,5 Fonte: Ibase Pesquisa WSF 2006 Total As shown in table 19, the gender variable does not seem to affect the participation in international networks in the case of, though it shows a slightly higher presence of males in. Table 19 WSF 2006 Participation in international networking for political actions, by chapter and gender (in %) Female Male Total Female Male Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Yes 23,3 28,3 26,1 29,7 29,1 29,2 No 76,7 71,7 73,9 70,3 70,9 70,8 Still regarding the audience engagement, table 20 shows their involvement in social and political activism activities by place of origin. Such activities are listed from top to bottom participation, with minor inversions depending on the WSF 2006 chapter. 34
Table 20 WSF 2006 Activities Conferences and seminars with social issues experts Seminars with civil society organizations Non-violent street demonstrations Involvement in social and political activism, by place of origin and chapter (in %) ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans 64,2 81,0 82,0 70,3 54,4 60,2 76,3 57,6 53,6 70,3 75,5 59,9 43,9 61,4 68,9 49,8 61,7 74,7 74,2 66,3 40,9 42,9 67,4 43,7 Educational events 63,3 71,5 68,4 66,0 48,7 49,8 54,2 49,4 Meetings to plan collective action Meetings with base organizations 58,0 71,2 69,5 62,6 38,0 42,6 50,3 40,1 43,1 55,4 54,9 47,5 35,9 51,7 55,8 41,0 Public campaign 39,4 48,4 53,1 42,9 34,4 39,8 49,7 36,9 Petitions 31,8 43,4 54,2 36,7 25,6 35,7 64,5 31,1 Participation in public policies (participative budget, managing committee) Street demonstrations with civil disobedience 24,5 32,0 26,9 26,8 23,1 19,1 21,6 22,2 19,3 35,9 33,0 25,1 10,4 11,3 23,2 11,7 s 20,1 26,0 34,0 22,7 5,2 8,8 8,7 6,3 Note: multiple answer. Total In the Forum, ns themselves take the least participation in all activities. The same can be said of ans, except for their participation in public policies (participative budget, managing committee ), where males and females sum up 23%, Africans are 19%, and participants from other countries are 22%. In general, the Latin Americans participation is similar to other countries in the Forum, except for the petitions. The presence of participants from other countries in this activity is higher (54%) than Latin Americans 43%. Generally, in the presence of participants from other countries is higher than Africans in all the activities. 35
With respect to the participation in international civil society events considering the place of origin (table 21), we could detect significant differences among almost all events, in as well as in. In the Latin America Forum, the presence of the international civil society in events is higher in actions for peace and against war (around 76%) and in it is higher in participation in the WSF. Still in, the widest variations were found among the participants from other countries and Africans. variations can be easily perceived in events focused on actions in summits of the World Bank, IMF or WTO, on actions in G-7 and G-8 summits, and on campaigns against free trade agreements, where the participants from other countries have a much more significant presence than Africans and ans. In, we also found a difference between the actions in summits of the World Bank, IMF or WTO, and actions in G-7 and G-8 summits : the presence of participants from other countries in such events is much higher than the presence of ns. Table 21 WSF 2006 Events Participation in international civil society events, by place of origin and chapter (in %) ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans Actions for peace and against war 74,5 78,2 83,9 76,3 42,9 34,7 65,8 43,2 National or regional social forums 53,9 64,0 56,0 57,1 40,6 56,7 62,4 46,2 World Social Forum 44,0 51,0 51,7 46,7 57,3 49,8 60,7 56,0 Global campaign for education 40,8 50,3 37,3 43,4 45,1 38,5 27,6 42,1 Campaigns against free trade agreements 32,7 60,4 55,7 42,6 14,9 23,4 42,2 19,3 Campaigns to eliminate external debt 22,2 42,2 38,2 29,3 25,0 30,9 44,4 28,1 Actions in summits of the World Bank, IMF or 6,7 23,3 29,0 13,3 13,3 12,7 25,6 14,3 WTO Actions in G-7 and G-8 summits 8,9 13,0 25,3 11,4 17,9 12,7 34,2 18,2 Actions in UN conferences 11,2 16,3 25,2 13,7 12,7 13,4 14,8 13,0 Note: multiple answer. Total 36
In order to understand the reason why people take part in international civil society events (table 22), a list of eight options was proposed to participants to point the key ones. Exchanging experiences with other participants was pointed as the main reason by Latin Americans - including ns - and Africans including ans. Participants from other countries, in the two events, said that building international networks by the civil society was their main reason. Table 22 WSF 2006 Reasons Reason for taking part in international acivil society events, by place of origin and chapter (in %) ns Latin Americans Total ans Africans To exchange experiences with other 41,6 39,8 34,6 38,6 49,3 49,8 45,6 48,4 participants Building of international networking by civil 30,4 37,9 42,7 36,9 40,9 48,8 50,2 45,3 society To propose alternative public policies 31,2 36,5 35,9 34,5 32,6 35,7 41,9 35,8 To protest against global powers 29,8 33,7 31,9 31,8 21,3 23,2 32,7 24,8 To draw the attention of the media and to disseminate 22,0 19,0 25,5 22,2 39,6 35,0 34,3 37,1 information To learn about global issues 29,4 25,0 24,1 26,2 25,8 27,3 33,6 28,3 To press government agents 14,1 14,8 17,9 15,6 21,3 21,9 27,5 23,1 s 5,0 4,5 4,7 4,7 10,7 10,1 7,6 9,8 Note: multiple answer. Total 37
Another question on political stance asked how participants define their attitudes towards globalization (table 23). In, rejection and extreme change were the most selected options, followed by reformist policies. To Latin Americans and ns, rejection is the right attitude towards globalization, followed by extreme change, unlike the participants of the Forum who chose extreme change followed by reformist policies. Table 23 WSF 2006 How participants define their attitudes towards globalization, by place of origin and chapter (in %) Attitude Latin ns Total ans Africans Americans Total Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Rejection 43,2 43,3 29,4 42,2 23,7 23,7 18,4 23,3 Extreme change 19,7 25,0 38,4 22,5 27,9 33,1 44,3 30,2 Reformist policis 17,1 19,3 23,2 18,1 23,7 25,0 26,9 24,3 Supportive 11,5 3,4 4,5 8,8 18,5 13,3 5,1 16,3 s 8,5 9,0 4,5 8,4 6,2 4,9 5,3 5,9 38
Finally, the participants were questioned about their political stance (table 24). In, most of them (locals, Latin Americans and people from other countries) claimed to be leftists. In, ans and Africans stated they had no political stance. However, most part of the audience from other countries and participants from the WSF in Latin America claimed to be leftists. Table 24 WSF 2006 Political stance ns Political stance of participants, by place of origin and chapter* (in %) Latin Americans Total ans Africans Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Leftists 61,6 67,7 71,5 64,0 25,1 31,3 66,2 30,4 Center-leftists 12,3 15,9 16,4 13,6 6,0 12,7 15,1 8,3 Centrists 6,8 4,1 5,3 5,9 10,5 10,6 4,9 9,9 Center-rightists 1,7 1,3 1,9 1,6 2,9 4,2 3,0 3,2 Rightists 1,0 1,6 1,2 1,2 10,5 6,0 2,2 8,7 No political stance 16,5 9,5 3,8 13,7 45,2 35,2 8,5 39,4 *Considering the political forces in your country. Total 39