The World Social Forum (WSF) 2026, held in Cotonou, Benin, from 6-8 August 2026, brought together civil society organisations, social movements, and activists from across the Global South. LDC Watch/ SAAPE actively contributed to the Forum through two key side events and engagement in the broader WSF process.
On 6 August 2026, LDC Watch and SAAPE engaged as co-organiser in the side event “Social Protection Under Fire: Grassroots Voices and Collective Resilience” during WSF 2026. It brought together grassroots organisations, workers and social movements to strengthen collective advocacy for universal social protection during crises and emergencies. Discussions focused on anti-austerity responses and the proposed Joint Declaration on Universal Social Protection, highlighting the need to protect workers, migrants, women, informal workers and displaced communities during conflict and economic crises. Participants stressed that social protection must be recognised as a right and public responsibility, rather than charity or emergency relief.
On 7 August 2026, SAAPE and LDC Watch, together with partner organizations, organized a side event titled “Global South and the Global Polycrisis: Challenging Inequality, Reclaiming Sovereignty, and Advancing People’s Alternatives” during the World Social Forum (WSF) 2026 in Cotonou, Benin. Bringing together 52 participants from civil society organizations, social movements, and activist networks across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Palestine, the event served as a platform for cross-regional dialogue on the interconnected challenges facing the Global South. Discussions focused on growing inequality, debt dependency, climate and ecological crises, food insecurity, shrinking democratic space, authoritarianism, women’s rights, land and resource sovereignty, social protection, international solidarity, and alternative economic and political models.
LDC Watch/ SAAPE also actively participated in the broader proceedings of WSF 2026. During the International Council Meeting of the World Social Forum, representatives from Nepal reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening global solidarity and people-to-people cooperation across continents. Tikaswari Rai, Coordinator of WSF 2024 Nepal, delivered remarks at the closing ceremony of WSF 2026, while Dr. Netra Timsina, Regional Coordinator of LDC Watch and SAAPE, addressed participants during the opening session. Speaking on behalf of the WSF 2024 Kathmandu Organising Committee, Dr. Timsina conveyed solidarity with the people of Africa in their ongoing struggles for equality, justice, dignity, and self-determination, while highlighting the importance of strengthening collective action among social movements worldwide to advance social, economic, and climate justice.
The event also highlighted the continuing engagement of South Asian civil society in the World Social Forum process following WSF 2024 Kathmandu, strengthening links between movements across regions and reinforcing collective efforts toward global justice and systemic change. Participants exchanged experiences and explored opportunities for joint action, demonstrating that concerns around poverty, economic justice, climate justice, food sovereignty, and people’s rights are shared across different regions of the Global South. For SAAPE, the forum provided an important opportunity to connect South Asian perspectives with broader international movements and advance people-centered alternatives through solidarity, cooperation, and collective action.