Anti-globalisation activists claimed Thursday that their World Social Forum meeting in Kenya had been a success despite drawing barely a third of the expected participants.
As the seventh edition the meeting neared its close, organisers said they were buoyed by the attendance of thousands of people from poor nations who boosted their ranks for the six-day gathering to some 57,000.
The organisers had been predicting ahead of the gathering that around 150,000 would attend.
"In terms of participation, we think we achieved the initial goals," said organiser Taoufik Ben Abdallah. "It's the first time that the African social movements are the majority of the participants.
"All Africa was present," he told a news conference. "In terms of impact, we really expect that the African social movement will be different ... if all the actions defined by African people in Nairobi will be achieved."
Top agenda items at the meeting -- the first World Social Forum held entirely in Africa -- included the HIV-AIDS epidemic, conflict resolution, debt, migration as well as fair trade between the developed world and poor nations, the bulk of which are in Africa.
We hope the "forum will have a strong impact by amplifying campaigns that aim to finish with this new colonialism of Africa by the international institutions," Abdallah said.
The conference, timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, also drew activists from Italy, France, Spain, Latin America, and more than 400 others from Brazil in addition to Nobel peace laureates.
Nairobi's meeting will be capped with a rally at the city's Uhuru Park later Thursday, where campaigners are to outline their plans for coming years, although organisers have already said the forum will not be held next year.
"We decided to organise in 2008 one big day or days of global mobilisation," said Raffaela Bolini, the WSF's Europe representativeAgence France Presse
