“Creating Partnerships for Peace”

BUILD the Commonwealth Foundation and British Council Cameroon are running 6 days of meetings in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

4 - 9 May at the Djeuga Palace Hotel, Yaoundé, Cameroon

4-5 MayBritish Council Leadership Programme

The InterAction Leadership Programme offers the opportunity for recognised and emerging leaders from the public, private and voluntary sectors in Africaand the UK to explore issues that can transform themselves and their organisations.

The programme is anchored in the management theory of transformational leadership and built around the pillars of ‘appreciative inquiry’, ‘systems thinking’ and ‘working with difference’.

Features of the programme:

  • A commitment to continuously developing their own and others’ awareness and understanding;
  • Thinking systemically about their goals and understanding the dynamics and challenges involved in meeting them, the resistance they might face, and the time frames needed to achieve them;
  • Communicating effectively in diverse and multi-cultural environments and seeking to build relationships and networks that stretch beyond their sector or discipline;
  • Modelling collaboration through their behaviour and activities, and using collaborative approaches for decision-making;
  • Creating and motivating learning teams and networks;
  • Facilitating dialogue among different voices and opinions, and helping groups value this diversity and the richness of thought it brings;
  • Using visioning as a tool for developing shared meaning and as a process for action-oriented discussion;

6-7 MayCommonwealth Foundation Regional civil society consultation on the theme of the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

As part of the build-up to the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in November, the Commonwealth Foundation is convening a series of national and regional civil society consultations to prepare input into the CHOGM process. The purpose of the consultations is to galvanize civil society around the theme of the CHOGM Partnering for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future.

The consultation will aim to do four things:

  1. Provide general information on the Commonwealth People’s Forum and how it relates to the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
  2. Give examples of the ways that citizens can participate in the Commonwealth People’s Forum
  3. Facilitate a focussed discussion on the theme that Heads will be considering Partnering for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future.
  4. Provide an opportunity to identify other processes in West and Central Africa where related issues can be raised

The West and Central Africa regional consultation will be held at the Djeuga Palace Hotel, Yaoundé. Participants in the meeting will be drawn mainly from national, sub-regional and regional civil society organisations in Cameroon, Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone working on a range of issues including – HIV and AIDS, governance, gender, environment, disability and human rights. It is expected that all participants will bring to the meeting views and perspectives from their national networks and take back information for sharing, as well as play a role in follow-up activities decided upon at the meeting.

The meeting will also identify one representative that will go forward and attend the CPF. That delegate will have the responsibility of feeding the meeting’s outcomes into the spaces provided by the CPF in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2009.

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The national and regional consultation process is an important opportunity for civil society organisations in the Commonwealth as it provides opportunities interacting, networking, and feeding in concerns to governments.

The output from the national and regional consultations will feed into a consensual civil society position that will be presented to the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers in London, UK in October 2009 at the Committee of the Whole.

The regional consultation is by invitation only.

8-9 MayBUILD “Creating Partnerships for Peace” a two day workshoplooking at the role of international partnerships between communities (schools, towns, health care institutions, faith-based organisations and local authorities) across the world in working towards achieving the MDGs and developing peace, prosperity and justice for all.

The meeting will be an opportunity for discussion between civil society umbrella organisations across Anglophone and Francophone West and Central Africa that are committed to the development of community-based, international partnerships for mutual learning and for personal,professional and community development.

If you are interested in attending please can you email Pepi O’Neill at BUILD on your name, contact details and a brief CV of yourself and / or your organisation. We are actively looking for funding for this meetingand we will let you know how this progresses but at the moment please put the date in your diaries. If you are able to obtain you own funding to attend do let us know. The cost of attending the BUILD two day meeting is £250, this includes two nights at the Djuega Palace Hotel and all meals, this DOES NOT include any travel to Yaoundé.

“Creating Partnerships for Peace”

Representatives of umbrella NGOs in West and Central Africa

And those involved in and committed to international linking are invited to a conference at

Djeuga Palace Hotel, Yaoundé, Cameroon

8 - 9 May 2009

The Primary Purpose of the conference will be to agree the way forward to the establishment of a group of people covering West and Central Africa who will work to encourage and support the development of community links between communities in the region and other parts of the world. This will be achieved by:-

  • Engaging with international, national and umbrella, civil society organisations, and individuals through the two regions to discover what is currently happening in terms of international community linking between schools, towns, health, faith and other community-based organisations in the region with counterparts in other parts of the world
  • Exploring the potential for the development of national (country level) linking organisations as in The Gambia (Gambia One World Linking Association) to support national linking activity in the countries of West and Central Africa
  • Studying options for the development of a network of national agencies e.g. a regional BUILD, covering francophone and anglophone West and Central Africa to encourage and support the national bodies and to work for the development of more community-based partnerships within the region.

The Secondary Purpose of the conference will be to provide :-

  • a platform for participants to share their international linking work
  • an opportunity for participants to network internationally, with the potential for future collaboration.

The Organisation of the Conference will be conducted in the UK by BUILD (Building Understanding through International Links for Development) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Foundation; and in Cameroon by British Council in Yaoundé in collaboration with Royal Commonwealth Society and VSO.

Draft concept paper for the development of a regional BUILD in West Africa

Background

BUILD was created in 2002 as a coalition of international agencies committed to the promotion of high quality, community-based partnerships between communities in UK and counterparts in the Global South. Its membership is mainly UK based, but many of its members work globally.

BUILD recognises that sustained community “twinning” partnerships for learning between people across the world based on respect, trust and humility will create:-

  • Greater understanding, justice and peace
  • Greater social cohesion in the communities involved
  • Opportunities to address millennium development goals in all countries involved.

BUILD works at UK Government level through an all-party parliamentary group “Connecting Communities” which gives access to senior politicians and enables policy change in favour of global partnerships. As a result of the work that BUILD has done there is now Government funding schools, health care institutions and communities that wish to develop partnerships.

BUILD has produced a ‘Toolkit for Linking’ – a global resource for communities embarking on forming, or already in, an established partnership - which was launched by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in June 2007.

BUILD is mapping community links in UK to particular countries and so far has covered links to Gambia, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka. BUILD has also run a conference on “Links to West Africa”.

BUILD has attended the Commonwealth People’s Forums prior to the Heads of Government meetings (CHOGM) in Brisbane (2001) Malta (2005) and Kampala (2007) and the Commonwealth Education Ministers meeting in Cape Town 2005.

BUILD has been working closely with the Commonwealth Foundation (a member of BUILD) recognising the considerable synergies between the aims of the two organisations and indeed a trustee of BUILD has been employed by the CF to explore in more detail how that collaboration might be reinforced.

BUILD is now working to encourage the establishment of independent, regional BUILDs in East, Southern and West Africa and in the Caribbean following the next CHOGM in Trinidad and Tobago. These would be coalitions of civil society organisations in those regions that understand the power and are committed to the development of community-based international partnerships for mutual learning, for personal, professional and community development and ultimately for addressing millennium development goals at both ends of the partnership and contributing to good governance and world peace. Regional BUILDs would work with their national governments to support these partnerships. (See annexe ‘Terms of Reference for Regional BUILDs’).

West and Central Africa Regional BUILD.

In July 2008 representatives of BUILD, together with the Director of the Commonwealth Foundation attended a forum in Cameroon organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society and the British Council held at the British Council offices in Yaounde to discuss the potential for running a conference in that country in 2009 to establish a BUILD in the West and Central Africa region. 110 people representing approximately 80 CSOs attended the forum. There were two broad outcomes from that meeting:-

  • the establishment of an ongoing dialogue for Cameroonian CSOs, many of which were evidently in need of support for capacity building
  • positive encouragement from all present to take forward the idea of developing a regional BUILD through a conference to be held in Yaounde in 2009

BUILD members were able, while in Cameroon, to explore potential conference centres in Yaounde. The Djeuga Palace Hotel was clearly the most convenient and best able to cater for our needs in terms of accommodation and conference facilities.

The Way Forward

We are already aware of a number of international and national umbrella civil society organisations in anglophone West Africa which could be called together to discuss the potential for setting up a regional BUILD e.g. the CIVICUS Affinity Group of National Associations (AGNAs); National Associations of NGOs; Linking organisations in West and Central Africa e.g. Gambian One World Linking Association (GOWLA); International NGOs which are members of BUILD and have a presence in West Africa e.g. British Council, VSO, Link Community Development, Skillshare International, Oxfam. Through connections with linking groups in UK (UKOWLA, LCD etc) we shall be able to uncover others both in anglophone and francophone West Africa.

The Organisation of the Conference will be conducted by BUILD in collaboration with Commonwealth Foundation, Royal Commonwealth Society and British Council in Cameroon. Discussions were held in Yaoundé with British Council and VSO who agreed to take the lead with the Royal Commonwealth Society on conference organisation at that end and will bring together a small organising committee.

Raising Expectations

It will be important not to raise the expectations of conference participants falsely about the outcomes of the conference particularly with reference to external funding support. It will be important to emphasise that a regional BUILD will have to be independent albeit a part of a federation. An aspect of the conference will have to be discussions around the potential for local fund-raising.

While the drive behind this initiative has come so far from the North (BUILD in the UK and the Commonwealth Foundation) it is hoped that a lead will be taken by committed individuals in West and Central Africa who will see the potential for new community partnerships and building on those that already exist throughout the region.

There is also the potential for working with other European linking agencies, not least Cites Unies in France and BUILD member Fredskorpset in Norway.

P. O’N and NM

Annexe 1

DRAFT Terms of Reference for Establishing Regional BUILDs.

The following Terms of Reference are, although based on those governing the existing BUILD organisation, offered as guidance, for use as a ‘starting point’ by interested people and organizations in other regions.

Suggested Terms of Reference

Overall aim: to work to ensure that the majority of people, professions and civil society organizations will be involved in, or influenced by, an international cross-cultural “twinning” partnerships through for example their towns, local authorities, corporate sector organisations, schools and colleges, health care and faith-based institutions, their social, cultural and sporting clubs.

To achieve this it is suggested that the purposes of regional BUILDs will be to:

  • advocate at an individual, public and political level on behalf of cross-cultural, intra-regional and international community partnerships;
  • promote and support good practice;
  • develop its influence across all sectors of society;
  • work strategically within the political process, and opportunistically, for example, with the press and broadcast media, and through its membership.

It is recommended that regional BUILDs should:-

  • be very “light” institutionally (in the UK BUILD employs two full-time workers and uses volunteers)
  • sustain themselves through their membership and through local Government and NGO support
  • have a volunteer management board to whom the employees are responsible
  • should not be affiliated to any political grouping although they will work at a political level in order to achieve the right national and international climate in which global community-based partnerships may flourish
  • not align themselves to any particular faith although they may have faith-based organisations amongst their membership.