Not even the winter Cape Town rains could dampen the enthusiasm and energy of the 200 participants who gathered in Cape Town for the first ever-national conference of the R2W campaign. Of the participants, half were from R2W forums that have been meeting for the last 10 months in 6 provinces. Others consisted of leading members from national trade union federations such as COSATU and CONSAWU, youth from the Young Communist League, women from the New Women's Movement, the farm workers union Sikhule Sonke and the Treatment Action Campaign. Together with members of faith-based organisations such as the Young Christian Workers, progressive researchers and academics and activists from Zimbabwe, India, Germany and France they symbolised the broad based and non-sectarian approach that the R2W campaign seeks to build upon.

Immanuel Wallerstein is the former President of the International Sociological Association (1994-1998). He has be very active in the World Forum Processes. He writes in three domains of world-system analysis: the historical development of the modern world-system; the contemporary crisis of the capitalist world economy; the structures of knowledge.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN PEOPLES SOLIDARITY NETWORK (SAPSN)
PEOPLE'S SUMMIT

PARALLEL TO THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL AND HEADS OF STATE SADC SUMMIT
MASERU, LESOTHO 14-18 AUGUST 2006

"RECLAIMING SADC FOR PEOPLES SOLIDARITY