The final act of the WSF 2003 happened on January 27th in Epatur Square, after the "March against ALCA and War and for Peace". Delegations from Iraq, Mexico, USA, India, Europe and Africa were present. The Organizing Committee and the Mayor of Porto Alegre, Joao Verle, held the final speaches.
On January 28th, the Organizing Committee called for a press conference open to the public. Delegates and journalists filled the auditorium of the "Centro de Eventos" in the PUC in order to listen to the final declarations about the 3rd World Social Forum. Cândido Grzybowski (IBASE), a member of the OC, described this latest edition of the WSF as a "factory of ideas". He also stressed the consolidation of this meeting, considered as a process for the construction of "another world, which is possible, necessary and urgent". "The Forum in Porto Alegre started as an opposition to Davos, but today, with more than 100,000 people who have joined here, it's Davos which is in opposition to us", Grzybowski said.
Maria Luisa Mendonça (Social Network for Justice and Human rights) member of the OC, also spoke about the difficulty of a dialogue between Davos and Porto Alegre. "We are talking about different events. The Davos Forum is structured as a business, whereas here we are building a space for discussion for civil society" she said.
Francisco Whitaker (Brazilian Comission for Justice and Peace of the CNBB) spoke about the realization of the WSF 2004 in India, stressing that diversity is one of the main characteristics of the WSF. "In Porto Alegre we have been consolidating this meeting space, in India we will include characteristics of the Asian cultures, thus enriching the multiculturalism of the WSF.
Finally, the organization gave some data about the more than 1,200 activities that took place during the 5-day event: 20.763 delegates were registered, representing 5,717 organizations from 130 Countries. More than 5,000 journalists from 51 Countries were present.