This summer, downtown Montreal hosted the 13th annual World Social Forum with social movements, advocacy campaigns and NGOs from around the world meeting for 6 days of networking, teach-ins and solidarity-building events.

But in the lead up to the event, hundreds of global activists were denied visas by the Canadian government leading to lower-than-anticipated attendance at the Forum. The 2016 WSF failed to meet it's anticipated participation level of 50,000 attendees. The Forum was also widely ignored by Canada's mainstream media, leaving most Canadians in the dark about the nation's role in hosting a major global event.

In spite of these issues, many believe that the Forum can be considered a success.

To explain why, Ruby Irene Pratka, a Montreal-based journalist specializing in migration and the cultural community, reports on what she observed at the Forum.