War is “a condemnation of humanity” and the only way to know if it is possible to stop it, and give way to peace, “is to try”. With these words – in specific reference to the conflict in Ukraine – from one of the most expert voices on international journalism, peace and human rights, the American Noam Chomskythe Rototom Sunsplash Social Forum starts to roll with a programme dedicated to dialogue and reflection as ways to materialise peace.
‘United for Peace’ is the shared theme of the festival and its space for discussion par excellence. It is around this axis that much of its agenda will revolve. The Social Forum opens with the same title, and by videoconference, with Chomsky himself, along with journalist Olga Rodríguez,in the previously announced session (August 17, 18:00).
The second session (18 August, 18:00) will also focus on peace: “Who defends peace?” This talk will provide a critical but proactive look at one of the most urgent challenges of our times, in order to avoid simplifications and seek strong alternatives through the international experience of advocates of dialogue, coexistence, solidarity and respect. A three-way discussion that will include, via videoconference, Francesco Vignarca, coordinator of the Italian Network for Disarmament and promoter of campaigns such as Control Arms and initiatives against an increase in military spending; the journalist specialized in conflict zones (Iran-Iraq war, Gulf crisis, Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the Balkans) and writer Teresa Aranguren; and Tica Fontresearcher at the Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau, and member of the Spanish section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and AIPAZ (Spanish Association of Peace Research).
The Social Forum will talk about peace and the ways it can win over war, but also about those other global scourges that, from other perspectives, condemn humanity, such as the climate emergency, which will be dealt with in the third scheduled talk: “When the climate disobeys us” (19 August, 18:00), with Francis Hallé, a botanist specialising in trees and tropical forests, and an international eminence in his field; and the activist Maite Mompó, director of the European campaign ‘Stop Ecocide’ in Spain, which seeks to recognise ecocide as the fifth universal crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. The discussion will be moderated by the journalist María José Parejo, director and presenter of Radio 3’s ‘El bosque habitado’, Spanish national radio.
The social crisis that exposes the violation of the right to housing will be the focus of the penultimate session (20 August, 17:00), which will screen ‘En los márgenes’, a film about the trauma of evictions. The screening will be followed by a debate with the film’s director and actor Juan Diego Botto; his co-screenwriter, journalist Olga Rodríguez; and Javier Rubio, lawyer for the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH).
Closing the circle of this “United for Peace” Social Forum, the last of the debates of this edition, “In support of Julian Assange” (21 August, 18:00), will defend freedom of information and human rights in times of war. The task that has led journalist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be deprived of his freedom for twelve years for revealing to civil society military secrets and documents proving war crimes committed by the United States and other countries in the Iraq conflict. The talk will feature reporter, writer and political activist Alessandro Di Battista.