Asian Regional Meeting on Non-governmental Diplomacy

Asian Regional Meeting on Non-governmental Diplomacy

To strengthen linkages between civil society platforms in Asia working in the field of non-governmental diplomacy, an Asian Regional Meeting was held on the 20th & 21st January 2010 inBangkok, Thailand. The meeting was organized by the International Forum of National NGO Platforms (www.ong-ngo.org) andthe Indian Voluntary Action Network India (VANI) facilitated the communication among Asian national platforms. The objectives of the meeting were to enhance cooperation and improve information sharing between networks on regional and international levels and to strengthen the processes of developing a regional coalition that will serve as civil society voices on issues relevant to the respective regions. The following six themes are focus of the International Forum of National NGO Platforms:

1.Financing development (ODA) & aid effectiveness

2.Regulation of agricultural markets

3.Climate change

4.Tackling social inequality

5.Water and sanitation

6.Preventing and overcoming conflicts

CANGO s international advisor Patrick Schroeder participated in the meeting and presented CANGO s work in the areas of climate change and financing development and aid effectiveness. In addition to CANGO and VANI the following Asian NGO Networks participated in the meeting: Association of Development Agencies Bangladesh (ADAB), The NGO Forum of Cambodia, Timor-Leste NGO Forum (FONGTIL), International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), NGO Federation of Nepal, Philippines CODE-NGO, Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, Sri Lanka Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies and Coordination SUD France.