In November 2018, Johannesburg hosted the first Thematic Social Forum on Mining and the Extractive Economy (TSF-Mining 2018), bringing together hundreds of activists from across the world who face the problems of mining and extractivism in their territories.

Inspired by the World Social Forum (WSF) process, TSF-Mining 2018 saw the participation of a diverse base including Indigenous and Local communities, unions, faith-based groups, and civil society who are resisting mining and extractivism.

There was remarkable collective learning during the TSF-Mining 2018 process and the days that the meeting took place. Hearing from the many diverse stories of struggle and resistance, particularly in the majority world of the global south, a common thread emerged at TSF 2018, in which corporations and states had impunity from their adverse practices on people and the planet.

One of the key outcomes of this process was the idea of ​​an international campaign to help us stay connected resulting in the emergence of an international campaign for the “right to say no”. 

Since TSF 2018, communities across the globe have been building resistance around the​ “right to say no”, embracing both traditional knowledge systems and alternatives in building a world beyond mining and extractivism. recent victories of struggles that have blocked mining and extractive projects include El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Philippines, India, and the Mekong region, in which the “right to say no” has become central in a collective process of struggle and resistance.

Despite the multiple voices across the TSF network that are fighting and advocating for the protection of land, waters, lives, and livelihoods, they often remain invisible. However, the perspectives of those who suffer directly from mining and extractive projects can provide important insights into the capitalist and extractive logic we currently live in. Some of those include:

• The capitalist form of production that current mining and extraction is centered in, is what gives rise to the many crises we face. 
• Short-term thinking in the name of development and economic growth is highly damaging to local, regional and national development for people and the planet, especially considering the extraction of non-renewable assets. 
• The “fast-tracking” of companies to increase mining and extractivist projects around the globe are not properly assessed for impacts and irreversible damage is imposed on territories and people. 
• Intensive processes of mine extraction attract migration, causing the swelling and the disorganisation of cities, and increased unemployment and violence, especially among young people. 
• Corporations abandon territories very quickly leaving toxic legacies and without stimulating economic diversification to ensure future self-sufficiency.
• Disruption of livelihoods and local supply chains that in turn adversely impact the supply of environmental goods and services necessary for a healthy quality of life. 
• Local and traditional economic activities, socio-productive and cultural uses given to territory by communities, as well as environmentally important areas, are often incompatible with mining and extractive activities and the impacts associated with such developments.
• Hundreds of local activities that ensure the work and sociocultural reproduction of local groups become impossible to be realized during the exploration and exploitation processes of mining and extractivist activities.

TSF Mining believes that there is an urgency to recognise and institute territories free from mining and extractivism. Saying No to mining means saying Yes to multiple imaginings and alternatives of production and sociocultural diversity, ecosystems and biodiversity. It means ensuring water, food, land, territory and forests that provide life are protected and preserved for generations to come.

TSF-Mining 2018 produced an action agenda as a reference for all the participants in resisting mining and extractivism. It identified thematic areas to be used in advocacy and lobbying at the local, national, regional and international levels. It also defined areas of collaboration and solidarity. 

A key outcome and collective agreement of the TSF-Mining 2018 action agenda was for a 2nd global TSF-Mining to be held in 2020 in a region outside Africa.

The International Steering Committee made a decision for the Asia Pacific region to host the 2nd TSF-Mining with the Asia-Pacific Gathering on Human Rights and Extractives (Semarang Group) and accepted the invitation to take the lead role. Due to the onset of COVID-19 the 2nd global TSF-Mining was postponed to 2023.

1. Review and calibrate the action agenda of TSF- Mining 2018 that was adopted in Johannesburg
2. Share and update learnings and analysis from TSF activist and campaigners on the current international mining industry landscape and the broader phenomenon of extractivism locally, nationally, regionally and internationally; 
3. Strengthen the voices of mining-affected communities and workers by nourishing a platform for solidarity and collaboration;
4. Identify areas of common ground for potential areas of collaboration across different communities and workers by facilitating dialogues among thematic areas and sectoral groups;
5. Review and strengthen the existing coordination and structural mechanisms of TSF to better intensify global, regional, national and local action against mining and extractivist projects

The 2nd global Thematic Social Forum on Mining and Extractivism (TSF-Mining 2023) will take place in Semarang, Indonesia between 16-20 October, 2023.

TSF-Mining 2023 will be organised and widely disseminated to a diversity of Indigenous and Local communities, unions, faith-based groups, and civil society who are resisting mining and extractivism. TSF-Mining 2023 will prioritise safe spaces among mining-affected communities for dialogue, exchanges and testimonies. The organisers will ensure that digital security platforms and measures are put in place to address potential digital or online security risks and threats. 

An estimated 200 individuals will participate in the face-to-face TSF-Mining 2023 forum with another 200 persons participating via 20 hubs across the continental regions of Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, Europe and Middle East/North Africa (MENA).

In a proposed hybrid model, TSF-Mining 2023 will be a 4-day event. The first 3 days will start with a plenary to discuss the main themes with the rest of the agenda holding parallel discussions and breakout groups on thematic issues to contribute towards concrete outcomes in response to the two main themes.

The third day will focus on the final TSF-Mining 2023 declaration, action agenda or roadmap of actions, and a clear structure for moving forward the advocacy and campaign agenda. The fourth and final day will be solidarity visits to learn and hear from local communities resisting mining and extractive projects in their lands and waters.

1. Final Conference Declaration
2. Action Agenda / Roadmap
3. Review and implementation of TSF structure and coordination mechanism; post-TSF evaluation and continuation; and sustainability of actions.

As building blocks to strengthen its international solidarity and advocacy, TSF-Mining 2023 will use the “Right to Say No” and the “Nexus of Climate Justice, Just Transition and Extractives” as its main themes.

Read more on TSF-Mining 2023 main themes here

• Right to Say No Global Campaign
• Global Campaign on Transition Minerals
• Ecofeminism vs  Extractivism
• The Rights of Nature, Alternative Cosmovisions
• Defending the ERDs/WHRDs
• Artisanal small scale vs large scale mining companies
• Overcoming Labour vs Community Tensions
• Global Trade Supply Chains & Transition Minerals
• False Solutions / Green economy / Reduction
• Roles of IFIs and development finance 
• Seabeds as Sacrifice Zones
• Blue economy as an emerging threat
• Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)
• Traditional Leadership
• “Public Utility” and “National interest” in mining sector 
• UN Binding Treaty and binding instruments

The TSF-Mining 2023 International Steering Committee includes:

1. ASIA-PACIFIC GATHERING ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND EXTRACTIVES  (AP Gathering)
2. PEOPLES DIALOGUE 
3. CHURCHES AND MINING 
4. INTERNATIONAL PEOPLES CONFERENCE ON MINING 
5. LONDON MINING NETWORK (LMN)
6. FRANCISCANS INTERNATIONAL 
7. COOPÉRATION INTERNATIONALE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT ET LA SOLIDARITÉ (CIDSE) 
8. RURAL WOMENS ASSEMBLY 
9. OBSERVATORY OF MINING CONFLICTS LATIN AMERICA 
10. AFRICAN WOMAN UNITED AGAINST DESTRUCTIVE RESOURCE EXTRACTION 
11. MOVEMENT ON POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY ON MINING 
12. MINING-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES UNITED IN ACTION 
13. DEEP SEA MINING CAMPAIGN (DSMC)
14. YES TO LIFE NO TO MINING  (YLNM)
15. ReSISTERS 
16. mines, minerals & PEOPLE (mm & P)
17. AID/WATCH (Australia)
18. ALYANSA TIGIL MINA (ATM)
19. JARINGAN ADVOKASI TAMBANG (JATAM)
20. TRANSNATIONAL INSTITUTE (TNI)

The International Steering Committee (ISC) will be setting up smaller task forces or working groups with specific assignments to ensure that the international meeting will run smoothly. Some of these task forces will be focusing on:

1. Preparation of discussion papers for each main theme
2. Organizing, preparing, leading, and documenting the workshops, parallel sessions, breakout groups, and open spaces
3. Drafting committee that will lead the writing of the conference declaration and review/updating of the action agenda
4. The financial committee will coordinate and oversee the resource mobilization/fundraising, allocation of financial support, and financial recording and reporting
5. The Communication and Media team to develop communications materials, digital communications (website and social media), and draft media alerts and statements.
6. National organizing committee that will hire a full-time event coordinator and other support