The Foundation is supporting members of African civil society organisations to participate in the design of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This project is part of an ongoing initiative to strengthen civic voice in global governance and development policy, with a specific focus on providing input to the discussions on the Post 2015 Development Agenda.
The Africa Platform is a collaboration of civil society practitioners working to transform issues that affect the African continent. In January 2014, members travelled to New York to engage directly with UN Permanent Representatives through a series of meetings with African diplomats who were directly involved with the policy negotiations.
These intergovernmental consultations included the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development, the Expert Panel on Financing for Sustainable Development and the High Level Political Forum to monitor the Implementation of the SDGs.
To date, the process has formulated key regional development priorities on Post 2015, Beyond 2015 Africa, GCAP Africa and several thematic initiatives.
EACSOF is a platform for civil society organisations in East Africa.
EACSOF was established in 2006 to be the channel through which civil society can make representation to the regional governance institution, the East African Community (EAC). Its vision is to see an East Africa in which citizens are fully engaged and involved in all affairs affecting their lives. EACSOF’s mission is to provide a platform and catalyse a critical mass of organised civil society to engage in need-driven, people-centred East Africa integration and to cooperate effectively and proactively for equitable and sustainable development.
The Commonwealth Foundation is supporting the institutional strengthening of EACSOF and working with it to develop an East Africa regional agenda for action at the EAC.
The Forum is currently reviewing its strategic plan and prioritising key regional issues for its action agenda for 2015 – 2019. National consultations in each of the five East African countries are currently ongoing and findings will be brought together at EACSOF’s General Council meeting in early 2015.
In his welcoming address to the Kenya consultation in October 2014, Morris Odhiambo, Chair of the Kenya EACSOF Chapter captured the vision of EACSOF: “Regionalism is a global movement and the voices of the most disadvantaged citizens must be heard”.
