Author: Edwin Opiyo Radoli
Date: January 29, 2007
Type of article: Letter
Source: The East African Standard http://www.eastandard.net/archives/index.php?mnu=details&id=1143964178&catid=17

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Now that the World Social Forum has ended, Kenyans should take stock of the lessons from the international meeting.

Of what significance was it to young people? How actively were they involved? It was shocking that only a handful of students from institutions of higher learning attended.

The forum brought home a clear message — that Kenya has a gay community. The ramifications of this to young people cannot be underestimated. The forum’s rallying call was that another world is possible.

But that world should not be a gay one. Liberalism does not imply moral perversion.

The forum was key in networking. Young people must have learnt that contacts are crucial and through them, it is easy to bargain as group.

How to network with civil society, NGOs and employers at the forum must have been a good lesson for young people.

The World Social Forum is as important as the World Economic Forum going on in Davos, Switzerland. It is only through sharing problems and discussing solutions that individuals, countries, continents and the world can make major steps in making life better.

Kenyans should be proud that they were able to make the conference a success. The lessons learnt at the forum should come in handy in dealing with poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, trade imbalances and an uneven world economic order.

The first step in resolving global problems is in recognising and understanding that they affect us all.

Edwin Opiyo Radoli,
Kikuyu