STAR-Ghana Foundation, partners to hold CSO Forum

STAR-Ghana Foundation and its partners are set to hold the second edition of the Civil Society Forum on the theme: “Civil Society at an Inflection Point: Strategizing for Increased Legitimacy, Effectiveness, and Sustainability”.

The forum, scheduled for the 25th and 26th of June 2024 in Accra, was expected to create a platform for the participants to deliberate on three sub-themes - ensuring legitimacy with constituents and stakeholders, achieving effectiveness as organizations and ensuring sustainable operations, revenues, and impacts.

A statement by STAR-Ghana Foundation and copied to Info Radio in Wa indicated that the forum served as a common platform for civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana to deliberate and reflect on their work as facilitators of good governance and inclusive development.

It said the Civil Society Forum was birthed after several rounds of inclusive consultations involving a diverse array of CSOs operating in Ghana.

The statement added that the Forum provided a space and mechanism to facilitate collective and inclusive actions towards the effectiveness, legitimacy, and sustainability of the civic sector and its organisations.

The maiden edition was hosted by STAR-Ghana Foundation in March 2022 under the theme: "Reflections on the Conceptual and Developmental Issues of CSOs in Ghana and the Sustainability Challenge".

Participants in that forum recommended its institutionalization and engagements with the Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) Secretariat on the way forward around CSO regulatory frameworks.

“This year’s forum will address key issues confronting CSOs in Ghana, such as the need to diversify funding sources amidst dwindling external funding and building the capacities of CSOs to effectively leverage emerging forms of citizen mobilization and civic activism, among others”, the statement said.

The objectives of the second edition were to serve as a collective reflection process about the future of civil society in Ghana, explore the challenges confronting civil society (as a sector and as organizations) during a time of unprecedented and widely underestimated global change, and contribute to the national debate by setting the scene, describing key changes, and strategizing ways in which civil society might respond to these changes.

Some distinguished personalities expected to speak at the Forum included: Alhaji Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, the Executive Director of STAR-Ghana Foundation; Mr Charles Abugre, a Development Economist; Mr Charles Abani, a United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ghana; and Mr Clara Osei-Boateng, Governance Advisor, Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

Topics to be discussed at the Forum would include “Shift the Power and Localization: What are the Implications for CSOs - Donor Relationships?” and “How Might CSOs Become More Sustainable?”

STAR-Ghana Foundation is a registered national CSO that aims to increase the effectiveness of citizens and civil societies to achieve an equitable inclusive society through the promotion of active citizenship and local philanthropy.