To be human is to struggle

towards fullness of life.

Frei Betto

Another world

is possible.

The ninth edition of the World Social Forum was held between January 27 and February 10 2009 in the

city of Belém in the state of Pará, Brazil.

There were approximately 100,000

participants from more than 160 countries.

There were representatives of social movements, religious and spiritual traditions, NGOs, solidary

intellectuals, university students and world citizens.

A gathering of the varied struggles in favour of human dignity.

100,000 minds and hearts seeking pathways towards

another possible world.

Another possible world which will fulfill the dreams

of the Palestinian child

and the Brazilian child.

Another possible world where the basic rights

of the African child,

the Peruvian child,...

...and the Afghan child are respected.

Amongst the many activities taking place during the World Social Forum were talks given by theologian,

professor and writer Leonardo Boff.

During one of the encounters on “Dialogue with Youth Movements regarding the Environment” he spoke specifically

to young people.

University students, activists, dreamers,

in search of another possible world.

The huge tent proved too small to shelter all those

interested in hearing his words.

Words of wisdom

and compassion.

Leonardo Boff started speaking about the financial crisis which is destroying the world.

US$15 trillion which evaporated in a few days,

sweeping away enormous corporations, large banks and traditional factories.

Leaving behind, in the midst of cold statistics,

mass dismissals, unemployment, hunger, despair and tears.

A crisis which did not devastate poorer regions,

but the heart of the empire.

Leonardo Boff reminded us that by subtle tricks capital will try to renew itself.

Economists, transnational corporations and those in power will say that capitalism always has crises

and that this is yet another cyclical crisis.

They will try to push more of the same on us,

more consumption, more conflicts and more individualism.

However the present crisis is terminal.

The challenge is not to remedy what cannot be remedied, but to seek new alternatives.

The present system, ruled by capital and by the laws of the voracious, hoarding, environmentally devastating market

which creates inequality and has no sense of solidarity, attests to its own failure.

A system wherein every four minutes a person

loses his or her sight due to lack of Vitamin A

is declaring its own failure.

A system wherein every five seconds a child under five years of age dies of hunger and malnutrition

confirms its own failure.

A system which created inhuman suffering and

shocking inequality.

The present system which is sustained by oppressive individualism

has proved itself unable to assure the well being of humanity.

An individualism which shows itself in everyday language:

My job, my salary, my house, my car, my family…

A system wherein persons are not encouraged to build something together,

where competition, accumulation and ostentation predominate in detriment of

solidarity, charity and compassion.

A system where children learn early to use the verb “to buy”

but do not know the meaning of “to share”.

A system which encourages

irresponsible and uncontrolled

consumerism,

and which worships material goods.

A culture which spreads compulsion and consumerism,

associating a product with a concept of

happiness.

A system which does not know love, charity

and compassion

and which turns a blind eye and a

deaf ear to the appeals of the

excluded and the needy.

The opposite of love is not hate,

it’s indifference.

A system which for decades alleges not to have enough resources

for the promotion of education or health or for appeasing world hunger

but which spends so much on wars, conflicts and the

arms industry...

...and is capable of moving three trillion dollars in a few hours to bail out banks, the car industry and brokerage

firms.

How did we allow all this to happen?

How much longer will we have to wait

before we can regain our lost humanity?

A handful of flour and water to ward off hunger

with a pinch of salt added on good days.

As well as the financial crisis,

we also face the environmental crisis.

The lack of solidarity which rules our social relations.

The lack of solidarity towards Nature.

The desire for economic growth, together with compulsive consumerism, resulted in

an unprecedented destruction of Nature.

The present economic model failed towards humanity itself and towards the planet.

The well being of all and the preservation of Earth are sacrificed for the profit of a few.

Irresponsible consumerism has increased waste, the production of garbage and

environmental problems.

And we pollute oceans and rivers…

Technical-scientific development, dissociated from ecological consciousness, has devastated natural resources on an unprecedented scale.

The rupture between labour and caring made the excessive eagerness for production turn into

uncontained anxiety and the domination of the forces of nature.

The limits of capitalism are the Earth’s limits.

We have already reached these limits, on Earth as well as in capitalism.

We can no longer continue with the perverse logic of capital based

on accumulation and on waste.

“Those who have nothing want, those who have something want more

and those who have more say that it is never enough”.

The logic of capital which so much encourages the superfluous, ostentation and waste...

Picture of discarded mobile phones, practically all in good condition.

In the USA alone, 426,000 mobile phones are thrown out daily and

exchanged for newer models.

Together with the phones, chargers, batteries and accessories are also thrown out...

The present patterns of extraction, production and consumption have proved to be unsustainable...

…beyond the capacity for restitution and regeneration on the planet.

Earth is showing definite signs that it cannot go on in this way.

There are signs such as a shortage of drinking water and global warming.

There are signs such as

climate change

which have already begun to worry

growing numbers of the population around

the planet.

The Earth is a small, old and limited

planet

which cannot withstand a project of

unlimited exploitation.

The financial, climate, energy, food and all

other crises

remind us of the dominating paradigm.

We need a new paradigm for civilization

because the present one has reached its end and has exhausted its

possibilities.

Projections made by environmental

researchers and scientists show that, if consumption were to continue at the

present pace,

we will require two planets Earth by 2050.

What world will we leave to future

generations?

What world will we leave to future

generations?

We must cultivate inter-generational

solidarity

with those who will come after us.

They too need to satisfy their needs

and inhabit a planet which is minimally

healthy.

We must seek new values.

Feed new hope.

New pathways,

and new paradigms...

We need a new “inter-culturality” dialogue

between Western knowledge and the traditional ancient knowledge of the

indigenous Cosmo vision.

The traditions of native peoples speak of the human being

as gardener.

According to the teachings of

such traditions,

human beings should cultivate the Earth with

care and a sense of justice and aesthetics.

To protect the vitality, the diversity

and the beauty of the Earth is our

sacred duty.

We must take a closer look at reality

and adopt a new paradigm of

relationship with all beings.

The universe took 15 billion years to produce the planet which we inhabit,

this wonderful work which we, human beings, received as our heritage,

to care for as gardeners

and preserve as faithful guardians.

We are interdependent of each other;

we coexist in the same cosmos and

share nature together.

Only one mysterious and nameless Source nourishes, sustains and gives life to all that exists.

The same Breath permeates all that exists.

Life is a miracle, as beautiful as it is short

and must be tended like the loveliest of flowers.

As never before in history, our common destiny clamours

in search of a new beginning.

We must promote an ecology of caring which protects the interests

of the whole life community.

We must co-exist with respect, cooperation

and harmony with our neighbours on this

small planet

– animals, plants and human beings.

Inter-culturality,

the meeting with other traditions and

other cultures

enriches our vision of the world and of life.

We must have eyes to see those who are different.

Have ears to hear their voices, their melodies,

their songs and their stories…

We share a common Home.

We have a common origin and, for sure, the same common destiny.

The many flowers with their different colours and shapes.

Superficial differences, for the earth which nurtures and sustains them is one.

The same Breath encourages them giving them meaning and a reason for living.

Today’s challenge is to regain forgotten utopias

and re-write our common dream.

One Breath,

one Soul,

one common Hope.

In the midst of the busy routine of modern life,

to find time to reflect on metaphysical questions...

In the midst of the busy routine of modern life,

to find time to reflect on metaphysical questions...

To have ears to hear the voice that speaks from within

and calls us to practise goodness...

...and under a starry sky asks us:

“Who upholds those stars and is hidden behind them?”

The voice that, on seeing a newborn baby, asks with

respect and admiration:

“Who produced this life?”

“Where in the eyes of a child

does heaven begin

and where does earth end?...”

The above text is based on a talk given by Leonardo Boff during the World Social Forum in

Belém do Pará, Brazil, in January 2009.

For more information on this theme visit:

www.forumsocialmundial.org.br

www.leonardoboff.com.br

Musical theme:

Unchained Melody,

Righteous Brothers

(instrumental version )

Formatting:

one_world_one_vision@hotmail.com

Another world

is possible