Why the West African Social Forum?

The African Social Forum is an opened space of meetings for the deepening of the reflection, the democratic debate, the formulation of propositions, the exchanges of experiences and the articulation of efficient actions of social African movements that oppose the neoliberalism, the injustice and the domination of the world by the strengths of the market

The West-African Social Forum (WASF) is a plural and varied space, non confessional, non governmental and non partisan, that articulates itself in a decentralized way while putting into network, movements and citizens committed in concrete actions, from local level to regional level in link with the global, for the construction of another West Africa, another Africa and another World.

The first edition of the WASF was held in Conakry the 28^th, 29^th and 30^th November 2004, on the theme "Social movements, conflicts and integration in West Africa ". The second edition of the WASF took place from September 23^rd to 25^th 2005 in Cotonou in Benin, on the central theme: " Poverty, governance and regional integration in West Africa: Answers and citizens' alternatives ". The third edition of the West African Forum Social was held from November 21^st to 25^th 2006 in Lagos in Nigeria, on the thematics of youth - election and social changes in West Africa.

The fourth edition of the WASF illustrates the rooting of citizen dynamic in the ECOWAS space with new ideas that force their way. This dynamic is carried by youngsters and new actors, not only for alter globalisation movement ", but also, so that the citizens of West Africa can reinforce themselves mutually, so that their struggles and their propositions are carriers of hopes of another West Africa within another Africa in another World. The choice of Togo to shelter this edition proves the dynamism of the Togolese civil society and its desire to play its role fully within the sub-regional citizen movement. It is also for the WASF, the opportunity to recall the importance to keep an elevated vigilance level on a fundamental human right: to feed oneself. This right cannot be assured unless there is a system where food sovereignty is guaranteed.

The holding of this fourth edition of the WASF from the 25^th to 27^th January 2008 in Lomé in Togo is especially all the more important as after the Civil Society Organisations having noted and denounced the different neoliberal systems of development that speak in praise of the capital, the question is to mobilize movements and social partners on the issue of governance and food sovereignty in West Africa.

Governance and food sovereignty in question:

Governance is the art to govern while articulating the management of the public thing to different scales of territories, from the local to the global, the art of regulating the relations within every society. Food sovereignty is the right of every country to maintain and to develop its own capacity to produce its basic food, while respecting the cultural and agricultural diversity.

Guaranteeing guarantee food sovereignty for African people is an essential condition for all principle of "good governance ".

We want during this Forum:
- to reinforce the notion of governance in agreement with the fundamental principles as expressed in the declarations of basis of the African Union (legitimacy of the organs of management of the State, State of right, democracy, involvement and justification of the accounts),
- to value the situation of governance in West Africa,
- to make the general report of the state of food sovereignty within the ECOWAS,
- to analyze and exchange on the relevance of the policies and practices in progress in the ECOWAS in link with governance and food sovereignty,
- to identify priorities of action at the scale of governance (local, national and sub-regional) of involvement of the CSOs to the edification of governance and food sovereignty at the level of West Africa,
- to elaborate the propositions and plans of action to guarantee food sovereignty in our region.

Actually, everybody is unanimous to note that misery and famine become recurrent, rural exodus/migration and unemployment entail problems of urbanization and security in cities, social cohesion and political stability of the region are questioned more and more again. All this places food sovereignty in the center of governance in West Africa.

All food sovereignty politics in West Africa passes by the following axes:
1 - peace: previous condition for food sovereignty,
2 - democratization of the agricultural politics,
3 - the necessary agrarian reforms (mastery of water, equitable access of all to soil, equitable access of men and women, farming credit, access to technology, etc.),
4 - preservation of natural resources,
5 - reorganization of the national and west african food trade,
6 - putting back flat of the rules of the international trade and the international cooperation.