LOVELL – A “World Social Forum” slide presentation, lecture and discussion will be held at 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, at the Brick Church.

Maria Rodrigues will share pictures and stories about the World Social Forum movement. After attending the 2004 forum in Mumbai, India, Rodrigues was inspired to document the 2005 forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in order to share the experience with others. The result is a 20-minute slide show accompanied by captioned commentary designed to inform and provoke discussion about the forum.

The forum originated five years ago as an alternative to the World Economic Forum held in Switzerland each year by the world’s top money-holders.

The idea, to paraphrase Chico Whittaker (one of the original forum organizers) was that since the world’s richest elites are gathering every year to discuss the future of the world, then there should also be a space for everyday people to do the same. International and South American delegates met in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to discuss “Another World is Possible.”

In the five years since then the forum has grown and includes local versions. More than 150,000 people are expected at the 2005 forum.

Rodrigues is a Fryeburg Academy alumna and previous resident of Lovell. She is working on a Ph.D. in applied ethics (specializing in global justice) with the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

For more information, call 925-2792 or 925-3117.