Report of AGNA regional meetings Objectiveheakodanik.ee/sites/default/files/files/AGNA Regional...Create a sub-group in the region with those NAs/platforms involved in the post 2015

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Report of AGNA regional meetings

23 November 2014, Johannesburg

Objective:

The aim of the regional meetings was to set up informal networks of networks in each of the regions

represented in AGNA. The sessions focused on discussions of common trends, challenges and

opportunities per regional area in order to identify regional priorities and an agenda of action.

These regional meetings allowed AGNA members to set the ball rolling, start the exchange of ideas

and knowledge, share examples and case studies, and begin to build a network of people looking to

influence and to make a change with a regional focus.

The identification and approval of regional priorities will allow AGNA’s Secretariat and the Steering

Committee of the network to better support the work of its members and contribute to the

networking and collaboration between them.

Methodology:

Participants were divided in 4 regional groups composed by representatives of Africa, The Americas

and the Caribbean, Asia and Pacific, and Europe (for the list of participants please see Annex 1). Due

to the scarce representation of members from the MENA and Middle East this year’s meeting did not

include a group representing such region.

Each group counted with a facilitator and a note taker that reported back into plenary. The discussions

had the following structure:

1. State of civil society in each country: Each member representative briefed the group on the state of civil society in their country, focusing on main trends, dynamics, challenges and opportunities.

2. Common trends, dynamics, challenges and opportunities: Once each participant briefed the group, the next step was to identify what are the common trends, dynamics, challenges and opportunities for CS and National Associations in each region. These were be noted down in order to present in plenary in the afternoon and inform the identification of priority areas of work per region. Brainstorming and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis were used as tools in the discussions.

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3. Stakeholder identification: This exercise helped participants in each region come up with a list of stakeholders/actors that influence or could influence the state of civil society at the regional level, whether they are donors, regional networks, regional governmental bodies, governments, private companies or foundations, etc. The idea behind this exercise was to be aware of who is who in the landscape of actors that have a role to play in the health and state of civil society in the region, and to identify who should AGNA be targeting in its regional work as partners, allies, donors or targets of advocacy work.

4. Priorities of action: Based on the identification work done, each group came up with a list of priority actions for the region. These priority actions specified the following:

Priority areas of work/focus for the region for the year Nov.2014-Nov. 2015 (i.e. enabling environment, advocacy, resource mobilization, networking, LTA, membership, capacity development and knowledge generation, etc.).

Expected outcomes and deliverables (i.e. regional reports, joint initiatives, case studies, joint fundraising etc.)

Key stakeholders to engage as a regional group.

Expected support from the Secretariat/Coordinator, CIVICUS and the Steering Committee.

Time and Venue:

The regional meetings took place on the 23rd of November from 9:00 to 17:00 at the University of

Witwatersrand, Science Stadium, room 103.

Summary of the key areas of discussion:

Besides the particularities of CS in each of the countries and regions represented in the session,

there were certain elements that came up in most of the discussions and could be identified as

common trends within the AGNA constituency:

• Enabling environment and Government relations: legal framework, spaces for engagement

and monitoring government’s accountability and transparency.

• Legitimacy, transparency and accountability (LTA) and need for strengthening capacities of

NAs.

• Sustainability of CSOs and NAs/platforms.

• Gap between citizens and CSOs: how to bridge that gap.

• Relations with the government and how to identify spaces for collaboration and influence.

• Coordination/trust within the sector: between CSOs and NAs/platforms, between

NAs/platforms from different countries, and between these and IGOs. How to learn from

IGOs.

• Member’s engagement and participation in AGNA as a global hub and in each of the AGNA

national/regional members.

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• The need to link levels of action: local, national, regional and international level.

• The role of new technologies and how to make the best use of them to strengthen

NAs/platforms and AGNA.

• Cross cutting issues: advocacy and capacity development.

Feedback from the regional groups:

The following summary per region is structured following the key areas of discussion agreed before

the meeting. As many aspects identified were not necessarily considered threats of weaknesses, the

summary highlights main trends, challenges, opportunities and priorities of action.

Group 1: Asia-Pacific

Trends

CS is working more closely with government on more appropriate legislation for CS.

The shift towards electronic communities has increased the opportunities for collaboration within the

sector

NGO sector agendas driven by donor priorities

Electronic systems make the government agencies, public servants and CS as a whole more

accountable but there is still a big space for improvement in the quality and regularity of the

information provided.

Member based platforms have the respect from governments, they are seen as more legitimate.

CS is committed and adhered to social Development principles

Challenges

Sometimes INGOs are threats to national CS as they have big budgets, more influence and implement

their own programmes without coordination with local stakeholders. The most capable local staff

move to INGOs weakening local CSOs human capacity.

In some countries, non-state actors and other state actors, unions, rebel groups and NGOs are

established by politicians to control external funding (especial case in disaster relief).

The space for rights based organisations is shrinking, as well as the funding opportunities.

Increasing challenges in seeking CSOs sustainability when it comes to supporting operational costs and

capital accumulation.

Increasing difficulties in bringing people together due to distance within countries and between them,

the cultural diversity and the multiple languages.

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While new communication technologies are opening doors to the sector, there is still a gap in access

between urban and rural areas in most countries, resulting in difficulties for applying to funding and

for reporting, communicating and coordinating.

Other stakeholders such as the private companies receive preferential treatment from the

governments. A typical case is the access to visas for attending meetings and conferences, while CSO

representatives struggle to get access to certain countries.

Besides the increase in collaboration and networking, some CSOs are still reluctant to work with others

and learn from others.

Opportunities

Although still in initial stages in different countries and regions, the engagement of the private sector

in CS issues is increasing and opening opportunities for collaboration. However, it also brings up the

issue of legitimacy.

New technologies and access to the internet have facilitated knowledge, communication,

coordination and information.

The arrival of big international organisations open up the door for alternative funding, but they also

receive legitimacy from national CSOs.

Increasing partnerships between CSOs within the same country and internationally.

Priority areas or action

Working towards the creation of a conducive/enabling environment for CSOs in the region.

Exploring and identifying opportunities for building alliances with other actors such as:

- The media (to publicise the work of AGNA and the members of the region)

- UN Agencies (to receive support for participation in CS events, support on influencing the legal

framework affecting CS, especially in new democracies)

- Regional intergovernmental bodies (to support regional CS forums)

Mapping and identification of other national associations/platforms in countries where AGNA has no

members, in order to support them and involve them in our peer learning activities.

Increasing the awareness of regional CSOs and NAs among governments and intergovernmental

bodies in the region by identifying spaces for collaboration, influence and through the dissemination

of information.

Identification of key stakeholders that can support AGNA in the region and promote its work. We could

start by mapping out if there is an Asia-Pacific Press Council, any legal networks, etc.

Increase the number of AGNA members in the region in order to increase the network’s

representation, legitimacy and vibrancy.

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Upcoming events

ADA annual meeting in Bangkok, January 2015

Peer-learning exchange event in Japan, date to be confirmed.

Group 2. Africa

Trends

Strong membership base of the AGNA members from the African region, giving them national

legitimacy.

National associations and platforms in the region have strong connections between the local and

national levels, but also at regional and international levels. They are part of multiple continental

alliances and are well coordinated with other peers at the sub-regional level (i.e. West African civil

Society Forum (WACSOF), SADC Council of NGOs, etc).

Besides the tensions between CS and government in certain countries, NAs do work closely with

governments at times in certain issues of interest such as national development, poverty reduction

and SD 2015.

The AGNA members of the region cover a wide variety of thematic areas and some of them have

strong capacity in mobilising the population and advocating for policy change.

Challenges

Funding sources are decreasing when it comes to supporting certain areas of work such as advocacy,

policy influence, and human rights. National associations and platforms are struggling to ensure their

sustainability as most of the incoming sources of funding are destined to service delivery organisations

and budget support to the government.

This lack of funding is making CS platforms and other CSOs run away from specialization and adapt to

donor priorities. This is creating a gap and lack of alignment between the organised CS agenda and the

real needs of the people.

Increasing use of INGOs by donors is weakening the financial base of the national CSOs, fostering

competition between them at local and national levels.

Internal management and governance is a challenge with weak organisational procedures and

systems. Capacity development in this area becomes then a priority.

Relationships with certain stakeholders such as private sector are still poor and need to be further

explored.

Opportunities

National associations and platforms, through its members, have the opportunity to connect with

grassroots organisations and bridge the gap between formal and informal sector.

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There are multiple opportunities to jointly network and campaign around certain issues such as

enabling environment for CS, SD 2015 and accountability. This will also open doors to further

collaboration with governments and intergovernmental bodies as a regional alliance making use of

new technologies.

The increasing interest of the private sector in implementing social corporate initiatives in the region

could be a good opportunity to explore the role of national platforms in serving as facilitators for this

work.

Priorities of action

Strengthen national associations and platforms capacities through capacity development activities in

the area of advocacy, internal management and governance, self-regulation, accountability and

government relations. The development of these capacities could also help NAs to strengthen the

capacities of their respective national members.

Create a sub-group in the region with those NAs/platforms involved in the post 2015 development

agenda work through initiatives such as SD 2015, Action 2015, Beyond 2015.

Joint fundraising between members of the region and AGNA secretariat.

Development of case studies and good experiences in key areas of work: enabling environment (EENA

project), advocacy and campaigning (SD2015, Action 2015), Open Government Partnership principles,

self-regulation and accountability.

Develop trainings and webinars in the abovementioned areas of interest.

Identify key principles to promote the leadership role of women in CS in Africa: explore the possibility

of having an online campaign on the subject.

Identify and approach regional CS umbrella bodies for collaboration.

Upcoming events

SADC Council of NGOs: Forum in August-September 2015 in Botswana

East Africa NGO Forum in November (location TBC)

National Forum in Egypt under the Building Bridges project: February 2015

World Social Forum in Tunis, March 23 2015

Group 3. Latin America and the Caribbean

Trends

The region counts with a civil society characterised by its diversity.

Members in the region have strong knowledge of transparency and accountability mechanisms.

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Relations between government and CS are weak even after the end of the dictatorship era as the

spaces are still limited and there is tension.

Government funding to CS does exist but in many cases is seen to threat CS’s independence and

autonomy.

Challenges

Main supporting donors have left the region causing a negative impact to CS as a whole as most

countries still need external support. CS without a diversified funding base.

With the diversity of CS comes the fragmentation of the sector, limiting the opportunities for

collaboration and networking.

The legal framework in many countries is restrictive for CS and needs to be reviewed and updated.

Multiple threats to the civic space and CS activists in the last 12 months.

Capacity development is a need for most members of the region, especially in the area of advocacy

and enabling environment.

There is none or very weak fiscal framework to promote donations to CSOs, limiting the development

of a culture of giving within the population in most countries.

Government is adopting CS’s traditional agenda to include in their electoral programmes, without

involvement of CS whatsoever and without follow up of the promised actions.

Members of national platforms and associations are not actively engaged and there’s need to find

ways of encouraging their more active participation.

CS in the region needs to be more connected to the global arena and decision making processes.

Low level of trust from citizens towards organised civil society and from the state to CSOs.

Opportunities

There’s a strong interest and willingness from the members of the network to further engage and

collaborate among them, especially at the regional level with their involvement in campaigns and

forums.

Strong knowledge and useful tools can be shared with members in the region in partnership with

Rendir Cuentas.

CSOs are prepared to start advocating as a region on issues related to funding, LTA, enabling

environment, SD 2015.

There is a strong knowledge between members and other stakeholders to start identifying ways of

diversifying sources of funding (approaching private sector, exploring crowdfunding, social

entrepreneurship, etc.)

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Priorities of action

Share with other AGNA members the tools and learnings of Rendir Cuentas on the area of legitimacy,

transparency and accountability.

Prepare a regional accountability report in collaboration with Rendir Cuentas.

Identify tools and initiatives to promote the reform of legal and regulatory frameworks in the region.

Increase the number of AGNA members in the region in order to strengthen the regional group and

possibilities for learning and collaboration.

Identify areas of collaboration/articulation between AGNA as a whole and IFP (International Forum of

National NGO Platforms)

Peer-learning exchanges between members in the region and other platforms in the areas of:

membership strategies, funding diversification, advocacy, stakeholder engagement.

Upcoming events

ISTR regional conference for Latin America and the Caribbean: Puerto Rico, 5-7 August 2015

Group 4. Europe

Trends

Existence of strong networks of CSOs and strong collaboration of European NAs/platforms. Active

sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices already in place.

There is a Deep knowledge within our members of the different issues concerning civil society

developments.

Relationships with governments, even if tense in some countries, are already in place or being

stablished in most of the national contexts where AGNA has a member. However, there are also

countries in which the government tries to control the sector as it perceives it as a threat, especially

human rights and advocacy oriented organisations.

Legal frameworks for CS vary significantly from country to country in the region, but a common trend

is the gap between theory (what the law says) and practice (how it is implemented).

New technologies as helping increase CS exchanges and promoting civic participation.

There is a trend in exploring new models of cooperation by the members of the region, especially in

the area of social innovation, renewable energy and social entrepreneurship. These dynamics are

more developed in certain countries and are producing diverse results in terms of impact and

legitimacy. For example, social entrepreneurship is perceived to be producing a negative image of the

sector as a whole in Norway but in other countries it is still in its initial steps and members are willing

to explore its potential for further sustainability of the sector.

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Challenges

Public funding, while it was the main source of funding for CS in many countries in the region, is

experiencing a drastic decrease and affecting the sustainability of CSOs and national

associations/platforms that were very dependent on it. However, in some countries, governments are

still interested in influencing and shaping civil society through public funding.

Diversification of funding sources becomes then vital for the survival and Independence of the sector.

Besides the existing channels of direct communication with the government, in many contexts these

relations are tense and the government instability difficult a harmonic dialogue.

Conservative governments acknowledge the role of CSOs in service delivery but not so much their key

role in developing a country’s social capital.

While informal civic engagement is increasing in certain contexts, it doesn’t relate to formalised CS

and this lack of interest deepens the gap between CSOs and citizens.

Weak engagement of national associations/platform’s constituency at the national and regional level,

and need to identify ways to promote a more active participation and interest.

Opportunities

Multiple good practices in the region to share within the AGNA Network around CSOs-government

relations.

As public funding is decreasing, NGOs are developing new ways for more sustainable financial

resources. Good opportunity to explore as a regional group and to share good practices and

experiences.

The increase of informal civic engagement and volunteerism is a positive trend that can be studied

and further promoted together with new tools to promote citizen action.

Options to deepen regional cooperation between AGNA members on specific issues to strengthen CS

at the regional and national level.

Priority areas of action

Exploring the possibility of promoting networking at a global scale in order to link Europeans to the

rest of the world.

Need to identify and share the role and work of different platforms’ in the region and how these relate

to each other in common goal for enabling civil society development: European Network of National

Associations (ENNA), Concord, UN, Council of Europe, INGOs, etc.

Continue the regular updates on funding opportunities, learning and capacity development that are

sent from the Secretariat.

Identify and share good practices in the promotion of NAs/platform’s member’s engagement: how to

increase involvement and participation?

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Sharing of case studies on how to involve grassroots and the role of informal networks.

Networking and mutual learning: on regulations, methods and best practices, tools (egg. Social

entrepreneurship, public procurement, national agreements, etc)

Need to explore other communication platforms for information sharing and learning within the

Network besides Facebook. An example could be the Powerline Project that offers easy Access and

sharing.

Proposals from Regional Groups January 2015- June 2016:

The following areas were identified as priorities for the period January 2015- June 2016. While still at

the proposal level, the Steering Committee and the Coordinator will continue the conversations with

the members of the network as a whole and region by region to concretize them and translate them

into an action plan with specific deliverables.

Each region will have specific priorities as per described above per group, however, most of the

identified areas of focus are common to all regions and will benefit from the participation of all

members.

• Share experiences of the role of NAs on EE: the enabling environment national assessments

(EENAs); good practices, lessons learnt, recommendations. Exploring an EE tool for NAs?

• Develop a book of good practices on how to mobilize and engage NAs/platform’s members.

• Sharing case studies and successful stories of our network members in diverse areas of work:

enabling environment, government relations, advocacy and campaigning, funding

diversification, accountability and self-regulation, member’s engagement, stakeholder’s

engagement, grassroots’ engagement, impact assessment and networking.

• Develop a study about the work of NAs engaged in the Open Government Partnership (OGP)

and how to link it with the African Peer Review Mechanism.

• Identify joint fundraising opportunities within the network: national, regional and global

level- Identification of funding opportunities for CS networks and platforms.

• Research and share the different areas of work and practices of other networks and INGOs

that share common interests with AGNA members, especially the following: European

Network of National Associations (ENNA), Concord, UN, Council of Europe, ICNL, etc.

• Develop a set of principles for the promotion of women’s leadership in CS and explore the

possibility of having a joint Campaign on women’s leadership in CS. Creation of a sub-group

on the subject?

• Focus on developing the capacities of NAs through trainings and information sharing on: 1.

how to assess EE; 2. accountability; 3. how to run effective advocacy campaigns; 4. internal

governance and management.

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• Develop a paper that summarises the different approaches of the multiple enabling

environment assessment tools around the world.

• Develop a joint paper on the role of NAs/platforms in the Post 2015 agenda. Possible partners

IFP and Action 2015.

• Develop and initiative on accountability and monitoring of Post 2015 agenda. Possible

partners IFP and the Big Development Datashift project (BDD)

• Produce a bi-annual newsletter including: members news, updates on the work of AGNA;

upcoming events and activities. Need for members to provide information on a regular basis.

• Creation of a sub-group of Communication Officers of our members: information

sharing/update on activities. Possibility of creating additional databases of experts at the

national level: membership officers, policy and research officers.

• Exploring new technology platforms for communication/engagement/participation:

PowerlIne, Wangu, Hambisana, etc.

• Produce a letter of support to CS in Hungary and other solidarity actions to showcase the key

role of networks like AGNA in the promotion, protection and strengthening of CS in all parts

of the world.

• Strengthening current partnerships and creation of new ones with other

stakeholders/initiatives: Capacity Development institutions, academia, other CS networks

(Mesa de Articulación, ENNA, ICNL, UNDP, IFP, ADA).

ANNEX 1. List of Participants

Region Country Organisation Name Type of

membership

The

Americas +

Caribbean

1 Dom. Rep

Alianza ONG

Severin Jacques Marie

Carminati

Full member

2 Uruguay ANONG Anabel Cruz Full member

3 Argentina RACI Guillermo Correa Full member

4 Venezuela Sinergia Diana Vegas Full member

5 Colombia CCONG Diana Verdugo Full member

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Africa

6 Nigeria

NNNGO

Oyebisi Babatunde

Oluseyi

Full member

7 Zambia ZCSD Lewis Mwape Full member

8 Uganda NGO Forum Sophie Kange Full member

9 South Africa

SANGOCO

Jacob-Malusi Molapisi

Full member

10 Tanzania TANGO Ngunga Tepani Full member

11 Mauritius MACOSS Samad Sairaly Full member

12 Burkina Faso RESOCIDE Siaka Coulibaly Full member

13 Zimbabwe National Association

of NGOs (NANGO) Cephas Zinhumwe Full member

14 Kenya Kenya National

Council of NGOs Stephen Cheboi Full member

Asia +

Pacific

15 Japan JACO Yoshiharu Shiraishi Full member

16 New Zealand ANGOA Dave Henderson Full member

17 Pakistan PNF Ismail Mohammad Full member

18 Pakistan AwazCDS Zia-ur-Rehman

Associate

member

19 Nepal

NGO Federation of

Nepal Gopal Lamsal

Full member

20 India VANI Harsh Haitli Full member

21 Philippines CODE-NGO Patricia Sarenas

Full member 22 Philippines CODE-NGO Jet Pacapac

Europe

23 UK NCVO Chiara Butti Full member

24 Turkey TUSEV Basak Ersen

Full member 25 Turkey TUSEV Liana Varon

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26 Norway

The Association of

NGOs in Norway Birgitte Brekke

Full member

27 Estonia NENO Maris Jogeva Full member

28

Wales

Wales Council for

Voluntary Action

(WCVA)

Matthew Brown Full member

29 Poland

Polish National

Federation of NGOs Michal Braun Full member

30 Macedonia

BCSDN Ilina Nesikj

Associate

member

31 Finland Kepa Outi Hannula Full member

32 Denmark CISU Erik Vithner

Associate

member

33 Austria IGO Romy Grasgruber-Kerl Full member

Middle East 34

Jordan Partners Jordan

Ibraheem Al Hayek Associate

member

ANNEX 2. Agenda

Time allocation

Agenda item Responsible

9:00-9:15

Welcome and opening

Patricia Deniz, AGNA Coordinator

9:15-9:30

Conformation of groups and distribution of materials Patricia Deniz-Coordinator

9:30-11:00

(1h 30 min.)

Group discussions

Group participants

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State of civil society in each country: main trends, dynamics, challenges and opportunities

11:00-11:15 Tea & coffee break

11:15-11:50

(40 min.)

Group discussions

Common trends, dynamics, challenges and opportunities per region

Group participants

11:50-12:30

(40 min.)

Group discussions

Stakeholder identification

Group participants

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-15:00

(1h 30 min.)

Group discussions

Priorities of action for the region: areas of focus,

outcomes and key partners.

Group participants

15:00-15:15 Tea & coffee break

15:15-16:15

(1 hour)

Report back in plenary by regional groups

Q&A

Group representative

16:15-16:30

(15 min.)

Presentation on the added value of CS networks and

how to strengthen their collaboration

Yoshiharu Shiraishi, JACO Japan and SC member

16:30-16:45 Wrap up session and closure Patricia Deniz, AGNA Coordinator

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