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The first Asian Civil Society Forum (ACSF) was held in Bangkok, Thailand from December 9 to 13, 2002 under the theme "UN-NGO Partnerships for Democratic Governance in Asia : Building Capacities and Networks for Human Rights and Sustainable Development." It was a pilot project of CONGO (Conference of NGOs in consultative relationship with UN) in its effort to reach out to NGOs in the South, particularly in Asia and furthering partnerships with UN for common goals.

 

ACSF 2002 was convened and facilitated by CONGO Working Group on Asia in partnership with major UN bodies dealing with NGOs such as UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Department of Public Information (DPI) and Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) as well as UN regional bodies such as UN Economic Social Commission in Asia and Pacific Region (ESCAP), UN Development Program (UNDP) and UN Environment Program (UNEP). It was locally hosted by Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) based in Bangkok.

 

About 400 participants mainly from NGOs working in the field of human rights and sustainable development participated in the Forum and the final statement which identified key challenges and tasks of NGOs in the region was adopted. (For more detailed info is available at http://www.acsf.net, http://www.ngocongo.org or NGLS Roundup No. 100)

 

The ACSF 2002 was a timely occasion where key global issues such as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were introduced in mainstream civil society organizations in Asia, and regional framework of proactive dialogue for better understanding and cooperation among NGOs across sectors was created.

 

The proposed ACSF 2004 is a main follow-up to the ACSF 2002 and at the same time a regional preparatory process and forum for the "NGO Forum for Millennium+5" in 2005. It also serves as a main follow-up meeting to the Asian NGOsĄŻ consultation meeting on UN-civil society relations (Bangkok, Oct. 22-23, 2003) by UN High-level Panel on UN-Civil Society Relations.  

 

The ACSF 2004 aims to

 

discuss and identify key common challenges for NGOs engaged in advocacy

    at inter-governmental processes at the regional and global levels

 

 facilitate proactive cross-sectoral dialogue among civil society organizations in Asia

    at different levels : local, national, regional and global levels

 

enhance Asian NGOs' advocacy capacity through information-sharing and networking

 

assess the implementation of MDGs in Asia and provide regional input

    into the  Millennium+5 process

 

discuss the implications and impact of the UN General Assembly resolution

    on the report of the High-level Panel on UN-civil society relations

 

>> Background Paper of ACSF 2002

>> Final Statement of ACSF 2002