In many parts of the world, women and men are standing up and transforming their realities. From the local to the global level, there are new examples every day of a powerful new element on the international political stage: organised civil society on a global scale.

This was the subject of the WSF panel discussion "Globalisation, power and development: the challenge of building a new world order", involving Egyptian intellectual Samir Amin, Brazilian presidential adviser Luis Dulci, Lori Wallach of Public Citizen, and Kjeld Jakobsen of the Social Observatory.

"When we talk about civil society," said Dulci, "we shouldn't think only of popular sectors. We also have to include the wealthier sectors who may identify with our progressive projects and ideas." In his opinion, the richness of this social movement lies in its autonomy, and he stressed that in recent years the degree of international coordination has been on the rise.

What should civil society's role be? Wallach, from the United States, said organised citizens should be a counter-power to states, they should demand transparency from their political leaders, and they should especially propose alternatives to the existing system -- "and to make sure our governments hear us, we should do it with our feet... marching."

Juan Carlos Tavares, an activist with the Medellín Network of Community Organisations, believes civil society must be coordinated, because globalisation calls for responding not only to local problems, but rather also comprehending the transversal nature of these struggles. "Globalisation is demanding that civil society organise so that it can also act globally."

"Today the communications media have a fundamental role, and organised citizens can serve as a counterweight to the power of the media through social movements. Society is not local, but global, and we are fighting for a different world," says Leonardo Timoteo Antunes, a Brazilian trade unionist and member of Greenpeace.

Tavares doesn't believe a government that integrates civil society is possible. "I believe the organised citizenry has a different role. More than governing, it has the function of controlling and monitoring the governments' exercise of power."

According to Wallach, social movements should pressure the state. It is easier to oppose conservative governments than work for and support the progressive onces, but that is a challenge for grassroots organisations, she said.

Citizens in Action Wallach mentioned "Our World Is Not for Sale", a network active in more than 60 countries and made up of diverse segments of global civil society, which has paralysed efforts to privatise state-run enterprises on all continents.

"In the case of Venezuela, the women's NGOs have been the common thread in gender policies. Without being part of the governments, we have worked with them to defend our achievements," said Adicea Castillo, of the Centre for Women's Research.

"Some of our achievements in the legal arena are the Equal Opportunity Law and the Law on Violence Against Women and Family, etc., and all of this has been thanks to the women's movement and the struggle we have been engaged in for decades," Castillo added. In Brazil, through efforts in Mato Grosso state, the international watchdog Greenpeace recently provided key assistance to the federal government on environmental issues.

In the realm of food, RAP-AL, the Latin American action network on pesticides and alternatives, is waging legal, social and political battles against the cultivation and use of genetically modified crops.

Maying Chang, a RAP-AL member, explains that they have filed lawsuits against companies in cases where children have died from pesticide poisoning in rural areas. "In Peru, 24 little ones died from pesticides, and we are taking this case to court and fighting th