Sri Lanka is preparing to host the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum
3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: Chorus for ‘systemic transformation’ grows louder as Sri Lanka prepares to host the largest gathering of global social movements
For more information go to https://nyeleniglobalforum.org/
The 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum, scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka this September 2025, will bring together over 50 social movements from more than 80 countries across all continents, and promises to build a global resistance against the polycrisis confronting the world today.
Event overview
What: 3rd Nyeleni Global Forum
When: September – 2025
Where: Sri Lanka
Who: More than 50 Social Movements from over 80 countries
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Contact: [email protected]
In less than seven months from now, the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum – among the world’s most diverse and significant gathering of representatives of small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, food chain workers, daily wage and migrant laborers in urban and rural areas, feminist and climate justice movements, advocates for social and solidarity economies and health for all, consumer groups, other service and manufacturing sector workers – is set to bring the agenda of a ‘systemic transformation’ back on the table in an emphatic way.
The timing is telling. We are living amidst a polycrises – of recurring climate catastrophes, biodiversity loss, sixth mass extinction of species, war, genocide, ethnic cleansing campaigns, neo-colonial occupation, racism, xenophobia, hunger, high levels of inequality, inflation, threats of pandemics, growing religious orthodoxy, gender-based violence, conservatism, strongman authoritarianism, facism, and an accelerated erosion of human rights everywhere.
And while this is happening, oligarchs and transnational corporations everywhere—at times openly (such as in the United States) and many times clandestinely (as is the case in several Global South countries)—are influencing and interfering with democratic governance processes and practically running some governments.
Yet, despite all the propaganda and control, the harsh reality inevitably comes to light, exposing the true state of affairs. Today, over two billion people do not have access to adequate food. Despite all the glittery claims of the proponents of capitalism, despite all the statistical gimmickry that the World Bank and IMF indulge in to show a reduction in global poverty, the fact that a quarter of the world’s population cannot access healthy food is the biggest indictment of this system. All of us are affected. It doesn’t matter if you are a peasant on a farm, a fisher on a boat, a health-worker on the frontline of a pandemic, a migrant worker facing deportation, a woman defending her body, a cab driver in a city, an industrial or service worker or a student just starting out. This system has failed us all.
Yet, the relentless pursuit of capital accumulation by a few continues at an extraordinary pace. Those responsible for these systemic crises are further entrenching themselves in power—buying governments, threatening ethnic cleansing and turning their homeland into ‘sea-front rivieras’ for the oligarchy, dehumanizing people based on their identities, privatizing, commercializing, and financializing genetic resources and all biodiversity, and undoing decades of hard-fought workers’ and women’s rights.
A global crisis of this nature requires an urgent global response—a pushback by the people most affected everywhere.
We must recognize that this decade may be our last chance to correct the course of humanity. We have to stop this downhill slide, and for that, it is no longer enough to remain in our local organizations or sectors and fight. It is time for all of us to come together—beyond our imagined borders—to push forward and massively implement our proposals to transform the social, political, economic, and environmental trajectory of the planet and its peoples.
The social movements that gave rise to the Nyéléni process have been driving key proposals for decades, such as food sovereignty and agroecology, as necessary alternatives to the industrial food system, corporate control, and the exploitation of peoples and nature.
These struggles have already transformed territories, influenced public policies, and strengthened collective resistance against neoliberalism. Now, they are expanding with new proposals from more social movements, rooted in the social and solidarity economy, feminist economy, buen vivir, health for the peoples, energy sovereignty, a just and feminist energy transition, and the popular control and management of forests and other territories—together forging the path toward the systemic transformation we urgently need.
Here comes the second poster in the series shaping the imaginary of the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum. This edition reflects the convergence of struggles, highlighting movements for social and solidarity economy, people's health, and climate and environmental justice joining the movement. A powerful reminder that our struggles are deeply connected—and together, we are building a path toward transformation.
Here comes the second poster in the series shaping the imaginary of the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum. This edition reflects the convergence of struggles, highlighting movements for social and solidarity economy, people’s health, and climate and environmental justice joining the movement. A powerful reminder that our struggles are deeply connected—and together, we are building a path toward transformation.
The 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum–scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka in September 2025– is a step forward in building this response. The forum will bring together the most diverse representation of the world’s working classes and is spreading beyond its traditional constituency of small-scale food producers. It will also include women’s organizations, trade unions, health workers’ movements, climate justice and social and solidarity economy organizations, students, Indigenous Peoples, migrant workers’ organizations, and other constituencies from over 80 countries across the globe.
This forum will bring together representatives from social and popular organizations and movements worldwide to build joint proposals and actions to address the polycrises confronting humanity today. Above all, it is a place for solidarity and unity—an amalgamation of different cultures and lived realities—providing anyone interested in recording, reporting, and narrating countless and diverse stories of struggle from the world’s working classes.
When the history of these times is written, it is important to show how the world’s people came together to fight fascism, neo-colonialism, imperialism, racism and patriarchy. Sri Lanka offers the perfect backdrop for such a resistance to take shape. The national struggle (Aragalaya) that Sri Lanka’s working class waged in 2022, which overthrew a corrupt government, is the inspiration we seek; it is the fire that we need to light up hope and solidarity in the world.
The proposals we build from here are (and will be) for the whole world because if we have to use this last chance to redeem the only home we have—Mother Earth—and fulfill the rights of peoples, then no country, no people should be left behind, and governments everywhere must listen.
Systemic Transformation is now, or never!
If you want to support this process, whether by donating or collaborating, please contact us at [email protected] or via our social media on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube. If possible, please contact us in Spanish, French, or English, but we welcome messages in any language.