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November 24, 2021

Who we are

Our journey began officially at the first-ever PIANGO Council in Pago Pago, American Samoa in August 1991. The move to establish PIANGO however came out of conversations in the late 70s that highlighted the need to strengthen regional networking of NGOs across the Pacific. During the 80s the conversations carried on and culminated in the drafting of a constitution for a Pacific Islands Association of NGOs. PIANGO is now a regional secretariat to a network of umbrella organizations or platforms that are registered in 24 countries, territories, and states across the Pacific region. We continue to serve the Pacific through strengthening and building the capacity of NGOs and the civil society sector through giving the sector a voice in policy formulation and strengthening its member umbrella organisations. As a regional network of NGO coordinating bodies known as National Liaison Units (NLUs) based in 25 Pacific Island countries and territories. PIANGO was formally established in 1991 to assist NGOs in the Pacific to initiate action, give voice to their concerns and work collaboratively with other development actors for just and sustainable human development.

With the primary role as a catalyst for collective action, to facilitate and support coalitions and alliances on issues of common concern, and to strengthen the influence and impact of NGO efforts in the region, our network of national umbrella organisations across the region continues to work towards supporting enabling environments and their membership at the national level.

PIANGO has taken significant steps to increase its profile and establish itself as an effective support organisation to NGOs throughout the Pacific. Activities over the past years have come under the following programme areas; Information Sharing, Capacity Building, Strengthening Key Relationships, and Ensuring Quality Performance.

With its membership network spread across the biggest ocean of the world, this has brought many challenges including the impacts of Covid-19, natural disasters, high cost of transportation, limited accessibility to communication systems and the weak interest by in development partners to support civil society work both at national and regional level.

PIANGO had developed its strategic framework incorporating all the learning from its journey to map out it future direction focusing on the following priority areas:

  • Governance/Leadership
  • Voice
  • Approaches
  • Partnership:

 

The 2020 –2030 Strategic Plan of PIANGO sets out a dynamic vigorous robust direction of development for Civil Society Sector grounded on understanding the Pacific context. This plan envisage that PIANGO will facilitate the building of Pacific Expert, Pacific ideas to find Pacific Solutions for Pacific Issues within Pacific Context for Civil Society exercising leadership for a just and peaceful Pacific community.

 

 

Vision: A United Pacific: Strengthening the Resilient Responsiveness of our Kainga for a Peaceful and Prosperous Vanua.

 

Mission: To support the creation of a secure enabling environment for strong, effective, accountable, and adaptive Institutions that provide an inclusive representation and common voice platforms and structured mechanisms for policy influencing which is rooted in our Pacific cultural practices and values; through sustainable equitable and genuine partnerships for resilient development.