Opening the window to a better worldlets jump through it!

I’ve spent the past 24-hours in transit on my way to Brazil. In the midst of reviewing my talks and planned activities for the forum, I couldn’t help but put my documents aside, recline my airplane seat a generous 3 inches and begin to imagine. I imagined what Belem would look like, the people I’d be meeting and the actions for positive change that would take shape during the World Social Forum (WSF). I also thought about past forums, including last year’s European Social Forum in Sweden, during which I witnessed mothers pushing their babies in strollers joining activists and youth in a giant protest to demand change in the world.

I feel that in my life time, we will see another world emerge: a world with clean water for future generations, healthy sustainably grown food for everyone, flourishing ecosystems, and science and technology which reflects people’s needs and not the monetary interests of corporations. This will obviously take a lot of work, but human intent is powerful and it can triumph against even the most difficult of tasks.

With social movements growing and people around the world demanding positive change “another world IS possible.” This is one of the slogans of the WSF. Sound familiar?  Our new president has also pointed towards opportunity and the fact that “yes we can” change our world for the better. In my opinion, this is no coincidence — our movement to change the world is growing and it is starting to breathe through our leaders.

Friends of the Earth will join women’s, indigenous, and farmer solidarity groups and other movements eager to network and cast their dreams for a better world into action. As I walk off the plane today and into the forum, I’ll be on the look out for new powerful movements and ideas for social change. I hope to report back on exciting progress in the week ahead.