The Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (PIANGO) and the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) have announced a new partnership to establish the first mechanism for SIDS CSO inter-regional collaboration.
The partnership was confirmed at the Third International Conference on SIDS in Samoa, after a call from the Major Groups and Stakeholder Pre Conference held on 29 August 2014 for greater coordination and collaboration across SIDS.
Recommendation 11 of the Major Groups Outcome Document calls for:
“The establishment of inter and intra-regional collaboration platforms, stronger institutional mechanisms, tangible international support, integrated planning and execution, better statistics and information, increased absorptive capacity development, sharing of best practices, finance for development, adequate measurement and evaluation”.
The partnership between PIANGO and CPDC will create an interregional SIDS civil society policy and advocacy hub developed around 4 pillars:
- Advocacy for specific recognition of the SIDS region within global policy spaces; (up until now, the Pacific is usually lumped with Asia and the Caribbean lumped with Latin America, which we have found to be irrelevant to our unique development challenges)
- The development of a knowledge hub for documenting best practices of CSO implementation in areas related to the Samoa Pathway
- The creation of a CSO monitoring and evaluation framework to track implementation of agreed Samoa pathway action points
- The development of a capacity building hub for civil society across the SIDS region
PIANGO
The Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO) is a regional coordinating body of umbrella NGO bodies in 22 Pacific Island countries and territories. PIANGO was formally established in 1991 to assist NGOs in the Pacific to initiate action, give voice to their concerns and work collaboratively with other development actors for just and sustainable human development. PIANGO’s primary role is to be a catalyst for collective action, to facilitate and support coalitions and alliances on issues of common concern, and to strengthen the influence and impact of NGO efforts in the region.
CPDC
The Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) is a coalition of Caribbean non-governmental organizations. It was established in 1991 to sensitize NGOs and the general public on key policy issues and to impact policy makers on decisions which put the interests of Caribbean people at the center of the Caribbean development strategy. Since its inception CPDC has lobbied regional and international governments on behalf of the sections of the Caribbean populations whose voices are less heard. In doing so CPDC has become accepted as a significant social partner in the development of the region.
