For Immediate Release
4th May 2007

Building Effective Mechanisms for Civil Society Engagement with Pan African and Regional Institutions

The Pan African Parliament (PAP) will hold the first Consultative Dialogue with African civil society organisations under the theme “Building Effective Mechanisms for Civil Society Engagement with Pan African and Regional Institutions” on 7-8 May, 2007 at the Gallagher Estate, Midrand, South Africa.

Organised in collaboration with the Southern Africa Trust, the Consultative Dialogue is to initiate a sustained dialogue on current issues pertinent to African development.  The meeting will also give civil society organisations the opportunity to reflect on the African Union Government in preparation for the African Union (AU) Summit in June 2007 in Accra, Ghana, and in line with the theme of the 7th ordinary session of the Pan African Parliament.

“This consultative dialogue between civil society organisations and the Pan African Parliament is a historic moment in the realisation of popular participation and the manifestation of democracy in Africa.”  says Hon. Dr. Getrude Mongella, President of PAP.

She further says, “The dialogue provides an opportunity for parliamentarians and citizens to engage on African development issues in line with the mandate and the objectives of the Pan African Parliament.”

Civil society organisations (CSOs) and other social formations play crucial roles in development and governance processes in global and local contexts. In Africa, there is an increasing recognition at the political level that a united and strong Africa can only be achieved through solidarity, partnership and cooperation between strong states and informed, independently organised citizens. 

“The weak linkages between national, regional and continental initiatives and amongst CSOs and inter-governmental processes in Africa, if at all existent, distort the voices of the poor in regional and continental processes” says Neville Gabriel, Southern Africa Trust Executive Director.

“This consultative dialogue, therefore, is aimed at creating and defining ways for civil society organisations to engage meaningfully with the AU in general and the PAP in particular”, Gabriel added.

The Pan African Parliament was established in March 2004 according to article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, as one of the nine organs provided for in the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community signed in Abuja, Nigeria, in 1991. The seat of PAP is in Midrand, Republic of South Africa. The 7th ordinary session of PAP will be held from 7-18 May, 2007.

The Southern Africa Trust is an independent, regional, non-profit agency established to support deeper and wider engagement in policy dialogue to overcome poverty in southern Africa.

For more information contact:                    
Mpho Kgosidintsi
Tel: +27 12 657 9292
Cell: +27 78 459 0152
E-mail: communications@southernafricatrust.org
Web: www.southernafricatrust.org