PANEL DISCUSSION
The Instruments of Imperialism: War, Trade and Finance
The panel discussion at the World Social Forum focused on the changed character of imperialism and attempted to analyze the workings and the impact of national and international markets in the age of 'free' global trade and the dominance of finance –an age that also does not preclude war.

SEMINARS
Resisting Imperialism: The Agrarian Crisis
The first of the seminars that IDEAs hosted during the World Social Forum was the session focusing on the agrarian crisis in the developing world since agricultural trade liberalization. This session was hosted in association with Focus on the Global South, Bangkok. The speakers sought to bring to the fore the problems poor, small and marginal farmers are facing following opening up of agriculture to trade, and why they can never compete on equal terms with the heavily subsidized big farmers of the west.

Resisting Imperialism: Women and Economic Rights
The second of the seminars that IDEAs hosted during the World Social Forum was the session focusing on women and their economic rights in the current context. The All India Democratic Women's Association and the International Association for Feminist Economics were the co-sponsors of this session. The session sought to bring to the fore the problems that are now faced by a relatively marginalized section of society, in the wake of increasing withdrawal of government activity and reduction in its social expenditure.

Resisting Imperialism: Financial Fragility and Trade Volatility
All the speakers at the IDEAs session on Resisting Imperialism: Financial Fragility and Trade Volatility outlined the dangers of financial liberalization as this will lead to an increase in speculation and volatility in the financial sector where market signals that are available to the firms and the ability of private agents of taking market signals are the least, and the risks of market failure are the greatest.

Resisting Imperialism: The World of Labour
The IDEAs session on Resisting Imperialism: The World of Labour was held on 19 January 2004 from 5-8 pm. Every participant in the session was of the opinion that labour faces a grave threat under the imperialist globalization that is being forced upon most countries, and we need to unitedly resist such efforts by international capital to undermine the interests of the working class in their search for increasing profits.

Resisting Imperialism: The Impoverishment of Nation States
The session drew attention to the reduced ability of governments in different countries to meet their basic responsibilities for the provision of the socio-economic rights of citizens that has emerged as a typical feature of imperialist globalisation in the age of finance.

Updated March 8, 2004.