Report from the African regional workshop on Protecting Civic Space

 

U.S. President Barack Obama hosted 47 African heads of state in Washington, DC on August 4-6, 2014 for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Civil society’s contributions to development and the trend of closing civic space in Africa were among the topics addressed during side events such as the Civil Society Forum. Convening a regional workshop focused on protecting civic space was among the key recommendations coming out of the Forum.

 

Participants in the Forum identified the need to deepen conversations, foster collaboration among key actors and to translate broader principles into actionable strategies for protecting civic space.  To  address  this,  the  co-conveners held  an  African  regional  workshop  on  “Protecting  Civic Space” on November 17-18, 2014 at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

 

The workshop included 48  participants,  including  19  African civil society representatives from 14 countries in East, West, Central and Southern Africa and 9 Africans representing international organizations and donor agencies. One third of workshop participants  are  women.  Participants were chosen based on their knowledge of key issue areas, experience  in  mobilizing civil society, history of  engaging with government actors, influence on other civil society actors within their own  countries  and  the  region,  and  success  in  defending  and/or  expanding  civic  space.

 

Download report here

LIVING IN MY WORLD
As the world celebrates World Autism Day today (April 2), Olaife our Communication’s Officer shares this story.

 

That word sounds bizarre or is it the action now or perhaps the inaction on the part of the sufferer/patient. Seemingly a bit amusing at first observation of the uncharacteristic motions exhibited.Then you tell it to that man on the street and he goes “I beg your pardon” and one can’t help but wonder if the word does exist at all.

 

AUTISM! About 1 percent of the world population has this disorder. Research suggests that employers are missing out on abilitiesthat people with this spectrum have in greater abundance than “neurotypical” workers do – such as, heightened abilities in pattern recognition and logical reasoning, as well as greater attention to details.

 

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the world’s third most common development disorder. Some of the latest studies suggest its sharp rise globally.It can be categorized as a complex neurological disorder with an unknown cause  that involves a person having impaired social interaction, communication and learning difficulties as well as behavioral issues.It is associated with the brain’s development affecting the processing of information, development of skills and regulation of bodily actions and senses.Autism is seen as heritable and a few studies suggest that lack of proper oxygen supply to the fetus’s developing brain may trigger the condition. Symptoms may be seen to surface right during infancy or early childhood and generally establishes itself once a child enters his/her second or third year then becomes much more prominent.

 

Keeping in mind is a key factor of the fact that every autistic person differs from one another and has his/her own idiosyncratic characteristics. In simpler words, an autistic child has a unique condition wherein the senses as well as the development of various skills are not in sync. This disparity may lead to a situation where a child may have rapidly developed cognitive skills while language, social or motor skills may lag behind or vice-versa.  Some maybe excessively sensitive to noise, light or smell whereas some may find social interaction or communication quite challenging.

 

Research also reveals that the disorder may be more pronounced in others some of which are: display of indifference, little or no eye contact, communication difficulties like delayed speech and social aloofness,Inappropriate laughing or giggling,sensitivity to sounds, textures, smells,engages in repetitive behavior,repeated clapping, ticking, rocking, skin picking, self-poking etc. unusual attachments to certain objects and finding it most difficult to accept change.

 

Ordinarily parenting an autistic child is a challenging task. Identifying symptoms at the earliest may help to some extent. Lack of gestural or verbal activity in newborns should be taken into observation. If an infant shows no signs of babbling or gesturing by a year or finds it difficult to form words or phrases by the age of two, parents should consult a pediatrician immediately.Since there is no medical cure for autism; this makes the condition a lifetime ailment and exerts a lot of mental and emotional courage, optimism, patience and of course, acceptance from the parents.

 

An expert explained that autism should be addressed and managed differently for different children. “Some children may exhibit highly aggressive behavior; hence they need to be handled differently as compared to others. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) should also be followed wherein every child has an individualized educational programme which would teach variety of skills including social,communication,academic,occupational and self-help.The expert also suggested psychological, behavioral, speech and language therapy.

 

It has however been observed that specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of autism especially here in Nigeria is significantly absent but be that as it may some schools are now located in focal areas to address this issue in ensuring that they eventually live normal and independent lives becoming useful to themselves and the society after being able to clear the hurdle of possible unemployment and discrimination

Culled from Punch Newspaper: http://www.punchng.com/opinion/next-president-and-post-2015-development-agenda/

 

FOR nearly 15 years, Nigerians watched their government at the federal, state and local government levels as it makes efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Set in 2000, the MDGs are globally accepted development frameworks aimed at achieving eight important goals, the first of which is the reduction of poverty by half by 2015.

Poll: Majority of Civil Society Organizations have Confidence in Professor Jega

(NNNGO)- A new NNNGO poll shows many civil society organizations still have confidence in Professor Attahiru Jega’s leadership to deliver a free and fair election come March and April 2015?. These results come as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the general elections few days to the initially announced date of 14^th and 28^th February 2015.

 

The poll, conducted February 9-24, 2015, found 73% of the respondents still have confidence in the leadership of Professor Jega to conduct free and fair elections following the postponement of elections; only 27% had no confidence in his leadership. 58% of respondents to the survey responded as an organization while another 42% responded in their individual capacity.

 

According to NNNGO’s Executive Director, Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi, ‘’it is important to gauge civil society’s confidence in INEC and its leadership as we go through a defining moment in our democratic experience as a Nation’’. The poll has served to feel the pulse of civil society organizations across the country in form of a straw poll.

 

The poll was conducted by the NNNGO research team online. Respondents where asked to answer ‘’yes’’ or ‘’no’’ to this question: ‘’Given the recent election postponement by INEC, do you have confidence in INEC under Professor Attahiru Jega’s leadership to deliver a free and fair election come March and April 2015?’’

 

Outcomes of this poll clearly shows us the direction the wind of confidence in INEC and its leadership is blowing amongst civil society organizations in Nigeria concluded Oyebisi.

Dear Colleague,

Given the recent election postponement by INEC, the Nigeria Network of NGOs is gauging the confidence of civil society in INEC to conduct a free and fair election through a straw poll.

Please visit to tell us your opinion.

Poll closes 5pm on 13^th February 2015.

Regards,

The Governance Network, Nigeria Network of NGOs

The Nigeria Network of NGOs with the support of the European Union and ACTED within the framework of the project to support Networks in West and Central Africa is producing a directory of NGOs in Nigeria which is to be published in print and online and distributed widely amongst all development stakeholders.

 

This is a unique opportunity to get your organization listed. Please visit to complete the NGO directory form. Deadline for completing the online form is now 27th February 2015 by 5pm.

 

Please circulate widely amongst your contacts.

The Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) Project under the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHUCCP) is  implementing a comprehensive Social and Behavior Change Malaria project in Nigeria that will combine interpersonal/community mobilization  (IPC/CM) activities with mass media and health facility-based activities. This Request for Applications (RFA) is for  the interpersonal/community mobilization component of the project.

Read more here

Thank you for being a part of our journey in 2014. Reflecting back, we wanted to share with you some of the ways in which we achieved the Networks vision and mission in 2014 while looking ahead to doing more in 2015!

 

We Campaigned Against Unfavourable NGO Bills

 

Between April and November last year, NNNGO mobilized its members around the Foreign Contribution and NGO Regulatory Agency Bill. In addition to attending the public hearing on the Foreign Contributions Bill, we developed and circulated policy briefs, editorials and technical papers on the Bills. As part of our follow up activities, we engaged with members of the National Assembly sharing with them our thoughts on best practices and international standards regarding NGO regulations. NNNGO will in 2015 continue this engagement in order to evolve a regulatory environment that is fit for our work.

 

We Influenced Global Development

 

Over the past 8 years, NNNGO has campaigned on the attainment of the MDGs, mobilizing nearly 3 million Nigerians to stand up and speak up against poverty. We are proud to work with the Africa CSO Working Group on Post 2015, Beyond 2015 and Action 2015 to engage with the UN system on the new post 2015 development agenda. We were part of series of engagement meetings at the UN in New York, Nairobi, Ethiopia and Senegal. We reviewed and made inputs into the Open Working Group (OWG) reports. Using stories collected from our members we were able to highlight first hand how the proposed goals and indicators in the OWG documents impact on national realities across Africa. We are proud to be the National Focal Point for Action 2015 in Nigeria, one of the largest and most diverse campaign coalitions ever founded, united in the focus to make 2015 a huge breakthrough moment for people and planet.

 

We Cultivated Relationships to Drive Change

 

Findings from our work in 2013 revealed that internet access and affordability is a challenge for many of our members. We are pleased to work with the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) a coalition of private sector, public sector, and civil society organisations who have come together to advance the shared aim of affordable access to both mobile and fixed-line Internet in developing countries. Through our membership of the A4AI we were able to advance issues of internet affordability and how it affects our sector. NNNGO is the National Champion for the Consumer Advocacy and Pricing Transparency Working Group of the Alliance. We hope to continue working with the Alliance in advocating for an effective and affordable internet access in Nigeria.

 

We Convened a Gathering of Civil Society and Government to Foster Partnership

 

In December, together with the International Council for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), NNNGO convened a National Conference on CSO legitimacy, transparency and accountability featuring participation from Government agencies like Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Planning Commission (NPC) and the Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML). Secretary General of the Community of Democracies, Ambassador Maria Leissner and Emerson Sykes from ICNL joined the Conference electronically. With more than 200 participants drawn from the 6 geo-political zones of the Country attending, the event explored the role of Government and Civil Society in CSO regulations. In 2015, we are taking forward outcomes and resolutions reached at the Conference.

 

This year, we are keenly interested in improving our relationship with our members and in validating our membership database, the recruitment of a Membership Coordinator few weeks ago is a strong step towards this goal. Our discounted services offering and capacity building training will help members in effectively delivering on their organizational objectives.

 

We wish you a great start in 2015 as we count on your support!

Sincerely,

Olukunle, Timothy, Nofisat, Olaife and Oyebisi

Dear Colleague,

 

Thank you for being with us in the last 353 days!

 

We cherish your membership of the first generic Network of NGOs in Nigeria and look forward to more fruitful relationship in 2015.

 

Today (Friday 19th December) is our last day in the Office as we close for the 2014 holidays to resume on the 15th of January, 2015.

 

From all of us at the NNNGO Secretariat, we wish you a great start for 2015.

 

Sincerely,

 

Olukunle, Josephine, Nofisat and Oyebisi