PACIFIC CSOs TO MEET AHEAD OF INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY WEEK IN FIJI
Over 50 regional civil society actors will converge in Suva, Fiji ahead of the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) to discuss regional development aid effectiveness and its link to the acceleration of the Sustainable Development Goals.
ICSW 2017 dubbed the Olympic gathering of CSOs is the world’s biggest gathering of civil society leaders and will be staged at the USP Laucala campus in Suva Fiji on 4-8 December. The high profile CIVICUS event is being co-organised by PIANGO.
The Pre-ICSW Pacific Regional CSO Forum, convened by the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO), is expected to have participants from as far north as the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas as well as the rest of the Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand.
The two day forum which is supported by the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) and the International Forum for National NGO Platforms (IFP) is an opportunity for Pacific CSOs to map out prospects for multi stakeholder partnerships that work towards the achievement of the SDGs.
“The forum is to help us take stock of Pacific CSO efforts for regional and international partnerships for sustainable development so far as well as provide space for exchanges and mutual learning of national CSOs on the Agenda 2030,” PIANGO executive director, Emele Duituturaga said.
“We are excited that the forum will provide the space for CSOs to dialogue on thematic issues that will enhance their approaches and create innovate tools for effective development outcomes in the Pacific,” she said.
Duituturaga said convening regional civil society discussions a week before the ICSW 2017 will not only help build CSO solidarity and rapport, but also ensure that Pacific participants at ICSW have pressing regional issues foremost on their minds.
The forum will also be hosted at the USP Laucala Bay Campus from November 28th -29th.