Heroes for a Better World

Francisco "Chico" Whitaker
(1931-)

Brazilian Social Justice Activist,
World Social Forum Founder
2006 Right Livelihood Award Winner
World Future Council

birthdate: November 19
birthplace:
San Pablo, Brazil

Chico Whitaker is a Brazilian social justice activist who helped to found the World Social Forum. Inspired by liberation theology, a movement that views helping the poor and oppressed as a central part of religious faith, Chico Whitaker's social activism began in the 1950s as a student with the Young Catholic University Students movement. Exiled from Brazil in 1966 after joining the opposition party to the military regime, he and his family lived in France and Chile until he was able to return to his native country in 1982. Over the years Chico Whitaker has worked with many efforts and organizations for a better world. He served as director of the non- governmental organization, Catholic Committee Against Famine and For Development, was as a UNESCO consultant, worked for the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and with a number of other organizations working for social justice. Currently he is Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Committee of Justice and Peace. In 2001, the first World Social Forum was held in Brazil, as a parallel event to the World Economics Forum that was taking place in Switzerland. Unlike the World Economics Forum which included business and governmental leaders from around the world, the World Social Forum's theme was "Another World Is Possible" and its purpose was to bring social activists together to share their successes and struggles in their work to transform the profit-centered global economy into a people-centered global community. Chico Whitaker was one of the people who thought of holding this shadow conference and helped to organize it. More than 16,000 people attended from all around the world! Since then the World Social Forum grows each year -- in 2005 there were 150,000 participants! In 2006 Chico Whitaker received the Right Livelihood Award (often referred to as the Alternative Nobel Prize) "…for a lifetime's dedicated work for social justice that has strengthened democracy in Brazil and helped give birth to the World Social Forum, showing that ‘another world is possible'."


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