CSO Forum & Participation

1. Preparatory process

Third World Network (TWN)-Africa is the secretariat for the organization of the civil society forum and is also working with UNCTAD on civil society participation in the main conference.

TWN-Africa is working with a Ghana national organizing committee comprised of a spectrum of CSOs as well as an international steering group to determine the nature, format, content and logistics of civil society participation in the meeting. There is a list of national and international members with contact details.

2. The Civil Society Forum

This has been scheduled to take place from April 17th to 19th. It will be an open space with facilities for NGOs/ CSOs to organize and hold a variety of events. A programme for the forum is being drawn up taking account of requests coming in for allocation of time and space.

A primary concern of the civil society forum will be the common effort to finalize the civil society statement that will be delivered at the opening plenary of the main conference. The preparation of the statement will be supported by panel discussions, seminars, etc. by various organizations around issues that flow from the four sub-themes of UNCTAD XII.

The Forum will, in addition, offer space for groups to hold workshops, have strategy sessions, organize festive events, showcase publication, have exhibitions, etc on any subject of their choice they deem relevant to the work and importance of UNCTAD. There will be simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Spanish in the workshops, panels, etc. that will be organized in support of the elaboration of the orientation of the CSOs Declaration.

3. Civil Society statement to UNCTAD XII

Many organizations have already initiated activities to influence the outcome of UNCTAD XII. The tradition is for CSOs to unite around common positions embodied in a Declaration that is formally presented to the UNCTAD Conference. Our collective statement to UNCTAD XII will be finalized during the 17-19 April CSO Forum.

However to ensure the broadest possible opportunities for input by interested CSOs, the drafting process is starting ahead of the Forum. Following a meeting between the ISG and CSOs who attended a hearing of UNCTAD XII in Geneva last January a drafting group has been set up. The first draft of the Declaration, in English, French and Spanish, will be posted on this website as well as circulated from the beginning of March. This will provide opportunities for interested organizations to send input and comments before a second draft is prepared for discussion in Accra.

LOGISTICS

4. Civil society space in the main conference



The NGO space in the main conference venue is likely to be limited to one big room with a seating capacity of 300 people. This space will be used for daily briefings and coordination among civil society groups and organizations. In addition, it will also be used for meetings with high level UN staff (UN Secretary General, UNCTAD Secretary General, possibly interested ministers, etc).

The remaining time and space will be allocated equitably among CSOs who want to organise events according to guidelines that will announced shortly. It is however clear that no one organisation can expect to hold whole day meetings or events approaching that scale.

Booking space for events at the CSO Forum The space offered by the National Theatre and the British Council would allow for at least four simultaneous events at any one time. The main theatre seats more than 1,000. This will be used for plenary events such as the opening and closing ceremonies of the Forum and any such plenary element of the Forum. The other halls allow for over 200 persons at a time. The foyer of the theatre will be available for book displays, internet communications, etc. Following the format used at UNCTAD XI the Forum will have a central thematic focus around the trade and development issues that derive from the theme and sub-themes of UNCTAD XII. The ISG has agreed on a format for the organization of events which allows unity of thematic focus within the diversity represented in the selection of specific topics as well as in the formats used for dealing with the issues. One stream of the four simultaneous spaces will be available for events that fall outside the sub-themes and derivative topics of UNCTAD XII. However organizations who are organizing events which fall within the sub themes of UNCTAD XII in the following indicative list of topics will be given priority in the allocation of space and time.

Sub-theme 1 - Enhancing coherence at all levels for sustainable economic development and poverty reduction in global policymaking, including the contribution of regional approaches - Free Trade Agreements - Investment agreements - Economic Partnership Agreements - The role of Trans-National Corporations –competition, supply chains - Global financial system, global financial crisis, - Tax issues - The role of IMF/WB/ conditionalities - External Debt crises - WTO Sub theme 2 - Key trade and development issues and the new realities in the geography of the world economy - Commodities markets and prices - Commodity prices - Volatility linked to energy prices - Climate change - Bio fuels/ Agro fuels - Rise in food prices - Migration - South- South cooperation - Regional integration - Labour rights and decent employment - Land rights - Human rights - Gender rights - Cultural rights - Indigenous rights Sub-theme 3 - Enhancing the enabling environment at all levels to strengthen productive capacity, trade and investment: mobilizing resources and harnessing knowledge for development - Alternative development models to the current neo-liberal model - Food Sovereignty - Sovereignty over national resources, commodities and biodiversity, etc. - National sovereignty - Policy space - Redistribution - Conflicts and wars Sub theme 4 - Strengthening UNCTAD : enhancing its development role, impact and institutional effectiveness - The role of UNCTAD - CSO engagement with UNCTAD - Global governance and multilateralism

5. Logistical Information

Accommodation
Accommodation is scarce in Accra, so we advise you to book early! This can be done through the website: http://www.unctadxii.com

Visas
The host CSO is working with the Government of Ghana to ensure that all accredited participants are granted free visas on arrival at the Accra airport if they cannot easily acquire visas from their originating countries

City information
Both the National Theatre, the British Council and the International conference center are located in the business district of Accra, the capital of Ghana. They are within a comfortable one km radius of each other and easily accessible by public transportation

Weather
Ghana has two seasons – rainy and dry. In April, the weather in Accra is likely to be rainy and temperatures in the range of 25 - 34 degrees Celsius. Natural fabrics that can breathe (e.g. cotton, khaki and linen) are suggested. Clothing made of wool or of synthetic fabric are not advised.

TEL : (+233 21) 503669 / 511189 / 500419
FAX : +233 21 511188

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