Several renowned personalities, experts in their respective fields, will hold forth on various aspects of globalisation at the World Social Forum, which opened in Mumbai on Friday.
They will form a significant fraction of the approximately 100,000 people attending the meet.
But who are the people who will come to hear them out?
Meet Lebhour Karim, a journalist working with French media organisation RFI. The WSF is a big movement in France and several journalists are covering the event.
Karim landed in Mumbai on Monday and checked into a five star hotel but cannot afford it for six days. He approached Vivek Montero, who is handling logistics part of the meet. Montero could not offer him accommodation offhand but directed him to the media centre. If that did not work by evening, he offered to personally do the needful.
Last heard, Karim was preparing to interview one of the participants for his organisation, which he said was the French equivalent of the United Kingdom's BBC.
Jens and his friend Ossian Theselius have come from Sweden. If you are labouring under the impression that Scandinavians are not fluent in English, you must meet this duo.
While Jens is not familiar with the WSF ideology and is not part of any NGO or such organisation, Ossian seems slightly better informed. Both love painting.
Jens heard about the event from friends. He had never been to India and this seemed like a good opportunity. He slogged for about three months waiting tables at a restaurant to save enough money for this trip. He and Ossian, along with some others, are illustrating the walls adjoining the amphitheatre with drawings.
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They did not have a preconceived plan in mind. Came here, got in touch with some others, thrashed out a theme and got to work. As simple as that. In the six days he will spend at the WSF, he hopes to understand some of the specifics behind the event.
This is typical of several people at the WSF. They are here to participate, listen, learn, offer or absorb ideas in various ways.
Rajan is a native of Goa but has been living in Mumbai for some time. He has taken some space in one of a number of exhibition halls. This artist wants to express his views against fundamentalism.
The truckload of bricks he had ordered for this purpose did cause some concern but he assured they were not meant to be thrown at fundamentalists.
There are several others like him who have booked space and are exhibiting their work -- paintings, pictures, sculptures, abstracts or in whichever way they want to. The work should complement the various themes/subjects that the WSF is promoting.
Rena and Tanya are research students at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. They were at the WSF to help one of their senior colleagues set up the software at the media centre. Both are unfamiliar with the WSF but hope to attend some seminars and find out what it is all about.
Abhilekh Kukemane is a student of the Event Management Development Institute in Pune. He skipped his Std XII classes to volunteer at the event and gain some first hand experience.
There are many more like them at the WSF. Some will eventually join this movement and keep it alive while others would have learnt some valuable lessons.
People like Damayanti Bhattacharya, who works with an NGO in Mumbai, and Farida, who is from Mexico, are dedicated to the cause. Both are attached to the media centre and the latter has been here for the last six months helping with preparations for the event.
Owing to the size, nature of the event and the profile of some of the participants, like Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, the media is taking considerable interest in the event.
The last three editions of the event, held in Brazil, received considerable media coverage as it is considered a forum to air views opposed to those being expressed at the World Economic Forum meet.
