The Chairperson of the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs (PIANGO), Mr. Siotami Drew Havea, is excited about the opportunity for his organisation to learn from its involvement in the first ever mechanism for inter-regional collaboration on SIDS.
Havea welcomes the partnership with the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), which will help PIANGO enhance their capacity to conduct research and facilitate knowledge sharing between the organisations.
‘CPDC has done a lot of research on trade, the environment and other issues. I think we can learn a lot from them about research and data collection,’ Havea says. ‘We’re also thinking of creating a hub for good practice that can be shared among civil society.’
Havea also believes that the mechanism will play a crucial role in monitoring the progress and implementation of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) pathway.
Commonwealth Foundation Deputy Director Myn Garcia, who attended the SIDS conference, sees the value in the monitoring role the mechanism could play. ‘The mechanism is an important and critical first step in answering the call of NGOs for the establishment of an inter- and intra- regional platform to build the capacity of civil society for both the implementation and monitoring of the S.A.M.O.A Pathway. Development that is fair, sustainable and meaningful can only be achieved through a broad alliance of stakeholders with civil society engaging within an enabling environment. The establishment of a CSO collaboration mechanism for SIDS is a step towards that direction,’ she explains.
The collaboration between PIANGO and CPDC had been planned and discussed for some time before its announcement. ‘It didn’t just spring up at the SIDS conference’, Havea remembers. ‘PIANGO had been looking at the Caribbean region and at CPDC and where they are at and we naturally had a lot of interest in partnering.’
The Commonwealth Foundation will play a role in supporting this mechanism, with a focus on enabling the monitoring of the SAMOA pathway and the documenting and sharing of good and fit practices.
