"I have confidence that the participants at the Karachi forum will refer to
Africa a lot in their deliberations. They will set a firm foundation for our
next meeting in Nairobi in January 2007," Thomas Deve of the Harare-based
Mwelekeo wa NGO (MWENGO) told IPS in an interview from the Zimbabwean
capital. ("Mwelekeo wa NGO" is a Kiswahili term meaning "direction" or
"vision" of NGOs - non-governmental organisations. MWENGO seeks to
strengthen NGOs working in the Southern and East Africa regions.)

The gathering in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi will mark the second instance
in which a WSF is being held in Africa; a forum that took place earlier this
year (Jan. 19 to 23) in Bamako, capital of Mali, was the first.

Now in its sixth year, the WSF has most often been held in the Brazilian
town of Porto Alegre. However, the 2006 forum - described by organisers as
"polycentric" - is taking place across three venues: Bamako, the Venezuelan
capital of Caracas (Jan. 24 to 29), and now Karachi (Mar. 24 to 29).

The Karachi WSF was initially scheduled to be held at the same time as the
Caracas gathering; however, it was postponed after an earthquake that took
place in Pakistan on Oct. 8, 2005, killed about 90,000 people - and left 3.5
million homeless.

According to Deve, there is no shortage of problems and debates where Africa
and Asia can speak with one voice.

"Asia and Africa have the same structural causes of poverty. These can
possibly drive them to come up with similar solutions," he noted. "Within
the WSF, we share the same big constituency of poor people who, when brought
under the same roof, feel equal."

Many across the two continents are distrustful of business, and fear
domination by wealthy countries, Deve added.

"Their views towards multinational corporations are exactly the same. Their
views on GM (genetically modified food) and agriculture coincide. Their
views on delivering basic services by the state also coincide."

Both regions are grappling with AIDS pandemics.

In addition, "Asia and Africa also share the same experience on rural-urban
migration. Given these (concerns), Asia and Africa naturally gravitate
towards each other," said Deve.

Zenele Twala, executive director of the South African NGO Coalition
(SANGOCO), based in the commercial hub of Johannesburg, said regional
cooperation helped in addressing these common problems. Her group is working
to link women’s, land and human rights organisations with their counterparts
in other regions such as Asia.

"When people have structural relations with other NGOs on the ground, like
in (the troubled western Sudanese region of) Darfur, it becomes easier to
understand and address the problems," Twala told IPS.

As part of its campaign to promote inter-regional solidarity, SANGOCO hosted
six members of Palestinian civic groups in Johannesburg earlier this month,
for three days. The event also had the benefit of strengthening Palestinian
civil society.

"We realised that these Palestinian NGOs had not met physically. They used
to meet through video links because some of them live in the West Bank and
others in Jerusalem, and could not travel easily and interact with each
other," said Twala.

"So for the first time, they met face-to-face in Johannesburg."

The West Bank, an area that forms part of the Palestinian territories, is
currently under under Israeli occupation. Authorities impose strict controls
on movement within the West Bank, and on those who seek to enter or leave
this region for Israel and Jerusalem - a city claimed by both Israel and the
Palestinians.

The visitors also traveled to the coastal city of Cape Town to share ideas
with their counterparts, and faith groups. "This is one way how civil
societies from different regions of the world can co-operate among
themselves," noted Twala.

However, the steep cost of air travel ensures that many - if not most -
cash-strapped NGOs cannot afford the luxury of direct interactions with
groups from another continent.

Deve argues that inter-regional links can still be established in other
ways: "We can interact through.publications and e-mails."

Between 30,000 and 40,000 activists from around the world, particularly
India, are expected to attend the Karachi forum.

The WSF began in opposition to the World Economic Forum, which takes place
annually in the Swiss town of Davos, and is attended by heads of state,
political leaders, and other members of the global elite.

By contrast, the WSF attracts mainly civil society groups that seek an
alternative to the current political and economic order.

Moyiga Nduru