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About 120 Quebecers agreed on the importance of organizing a social forum in Quebec that would bring together the strengths of all its regions
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It began at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2005 at a workshop by "Campement intercontinental de la jeunesse". About 120 Quebecers agreed on the importance of organizing a social forum in Quebec that brings together activits for change from all of our regions.

The idea to initiate a Quebec Social Forum was founded a few months later when individuals and delegates of organizations outlined the preliminary steps it would take to launch the Quebec Social Forum.

Two days of thinking about strategy and structure were held in November 2005, which helped solidify the target date for the first forum in June 2006 in Trois-Rivières. Time, money and participants were lacking however, and the forum had to be deferred to the following year.

On September 9th 2006, it was decided to hold the forum in Montreal at the end of August 2007. The decision was backed by the interest and active participation of several organizations, and the charter that established the Quebec Social Forum was adopted.

The 2007 Quebec Social Forum

Since January 2001 World Social Forums were taking place in different countries (Brazil, India, Venezuela, Mali, Pakistan, Kenya), and the Quebec Social Forum intended to take part in this global strategy to seek out alternatives -- and now at home.

About 5,000 citizens participated in a myriad of activities; such as, an opening ceremony, 4 major conferences, the Social Movement Assembly, 313 workshops of all kinds, hundreds of cultural activities and an outdoor arena in Parc Émilie-Gamelin where free meals were distributed. The forum was attended by people from all regions of Quebec, of all ages and of all walks of life.

We feel that the success of the 2007 FSQ was due in large part to the democratic organizational processes. It was a profound source of motivation for those involved, which eventually led to the creation of an important event using very modest means. It's hard to imagine that a team of more than 300 volunteers with a budget of about $ 295 000 could possibly hold an event of this kind with such magnitude.

Please feel free to read the complete assessment of the 2007 FSQ for more information! Please note that this document is only available in French.