Update on activities of NGOs, Civil Society and social movements working with FAO

The International NGO/CSO Planning Committee (IPC) held its Annual Coordination Meeting last November 2003 in Rome, and the More and Better Campaign also organized its first meeting at FAO headquarters, in Rome, following its official launching in October 2003.

Both events ran back to back with FAO's 32nd conference in which members from civil society participated as observers from International Non Governmental organizations (INGOs).

The IPC and the Ad hoc group of INGO representatives in Rome presented a final document before the FAO Conference focusing on two subjects:

• Strengthening Coherence in FAO Initiatives to Fight Hunger.
• Developments in the WTO Negotiations on Agriculture and Implications for Food Security - including the Work of FAO.

During the IPC general meeting, each regional spokesperson evaluated the progress being made by the IPC at the regional level. Discussions were also centred on trade and food sovereignty in the context of the post-Cancun situation. It was suggested to draft a united stance on IPC's position regarding this subject.

Attending the first meeting of the More and Better campaign were those who expressed their interest in the nature of the campaign. Participants clarified the campaign's goals which notably included the strengthening of cooperation with FAO, IFAD, WFP and the IPC. The campaign agreed on establishing a Coordinating Committee with a balanced representation of members classified by region.

The activities of the More and Better Campaign scheduled for 2004 are the active participation in several international and regional events such as the FAO regional conferences, the FAO committee on World Food Security (CFS), World Food Day 2004 and the UNCTAD conference to be held in Brazil among others. By that time, a series of publications such as leaflets, brochures and a website will be available to better illustrate the work and objectives of the campaign.

In order to strengthen relations between NGOs/CSOs and FAO, regional consultations running parallel to the Regional Conferences are held. These consultations are an opportunity for civil society members to be heard and taken into consideration by their different governments. The dates for the regional consultations are as follow:

• 23rd Regional Conference for Africa (ARC): 1-5 March, in Johannesburg, South Africa;
• 27th Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC): 13-17 March, in Doha, Qatar;
• 28th Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC): 26-30 April, in Guatemala City, Guatemala;
• 24th Regional Conference for Europe (ERC): 5-7 May, in Montpellier, France; and
• 27th Regional Conference for Asia and Pacific (APRC): 17-21 May, in Beijing, China.

To download the Regional Consultation Guidelines published in the IPC webpage please click here.

Visit the websites on the relationships between FAO, IFAD and WFP with NGO and civil societies.