Oakland, CA - A delegation from Mills College’s Ethnic Studies Department recently joined community and indigenous activists, students, and educators at the 2006 World Social Forum (WSF) in Caracas, Venezuela. Professor and department chair Déborah Santana, along with seniors Sheela Bringi, Patricia Contreras Flores, and Alyssa Contreras participated in the WSF January 24-29, 2006.

WSF was originally convened in 2001 for worldwide community and social movement groups particularly from the “Global South” poorer countries, to respond to the World Economic Forum annual gathering. Under the slogan “Another World is Possible” more than 100,000 participants attend WSF annually to propose more democratic, sustainable alternatives to the globalization agenda of corporate, wealthy countries.

Mills students interviewed (in Spanish and Portuguese) many women leaders from community organizations dealing with issues such as African affirmation in Latin America, Brazilian community empowerment, indigenous land rights, and Venezuelan student activism. These interviews will become part of an original documentary to be previewed at Mills on March 7 in the Student Union, beginning at 7 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.

While in Caracas, Mills students also provided daily updates to their website (www.millsenmarcha.org), and continue to add information about the work of the Forum.

“Attending the WSF provides our students with a global perspective on major issues of worldwide concern, and how people organize to resist exploitation and propose sustainable, democratic alternatives,” said Santana. “This experience helps students understand their role as part of a global movement to make a more just world possible; it also broadens their scope of community service to extend across political and cultural borders.”

The students are creating a video documentary of their experiences in Venezuela in and outside of the conference that will become part of a toolkit for teaching about women and grassroots, democratic community empowerment.

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently ranked among the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills is also recognized as one of the country’s 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges. The Princeton Review selected Mills as one of 11 colleges for first-time inclusion in its Best 361 Colleges–2005. Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity.

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