WSF: Let’s protest against fundamentalisms...

Located near the Gasometro, the main office building of the Forum, the “diversity boat” embodies the fight against fundamentalisms. “The imagination and originality will help us overcome the traditional ways of thinking. When someone is different, this is not exactly bad”, says one of the happy women, who got off the boat after it sailed on Rio Guaiba. The initative is part of the campaign against fundamentalisms, started three years ago by the Articulacion Feminista Mercosur (AFM). Feminist organisations from Latin American countries like Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru are participants in this campaign.

The feminist boat of the Articulacion Feminista Marcosur

Photo: Christina Haralanova

The boat serves as a venue of feminist activities during the World Social Forum 2005. It can accommodate around 300 people. Various activities are held on the boat — fiestas, debates, meetings and discussions of feminist issues, as well as screenings of lesbian movies.

The topics tackeld in these events are also diverse: from women’s health to inclusion, from migration to the Millenium Development Goals and Beijing +10 — every day, there is something new and fascinating for the participants of the Forum. And in between these events, the boat sails on the river for the pleasure of its visitors.

Fundamentalisms are everywhere around us. There are not many societies who can say they are not affected by fundamentalism. But is the “diversity boat” a way to challenge fundamentalisms? But then, why not?