The fourth European Social Forum took place in Athens, between 4th and 7th of May. It was a meeting place for social movements, NGOs, associations and citizens, struggling for social justice, for protection of human rights, and standing against poverty, war and dictatorship, against discrimination and rascism in all its forms.

The Athens forum was a continuation of the Florence 2002, Paris 2003 and London 2004 dialogue, in all of which IRBF representatives participated in order to provide a media coverage. ESF was a mass but well organised meeting place. More than 10,000 participants from all around Europe gathered this year to assist the 210 seminars and discussion forums and the 105 cultural events, among which expositions, theatriacal performances, documentaries, photo-exhibitions, soirés of the peoples.

The diversity of the workshops was enormous and everyone who got on the Forum, could find interesting topics. However, it was impossible to visit everything. The volunteer-tranlslators, the Babel fish people, made it possible for everyone to be understood in a number of languages.

ESF ended with an impressive demontration with more than 30,000 participants. For the ones, sleeping in the Sports centre, the day rounded up with a big music concert.

Another world is possible, a Europe in which people are more important than the profit — The motto of the ESF 2006

You can read more about ESF-Athens on Social Rights Bulgaria website thanks to IRBF correspondents Tanya Goranova and Bojura Pavlova:

 The Fourth European Social Forum - impressions and images (in Bulgarian)

 ESF-Athens 2006: Another world is possible (in Bulgarian)

 ESF-Athens 2006: the women’s movements (in English and Bulgarian)

 The Balkenstein Directove and the European social future