Civil society has an essential role to play in our increasingly complex and global world. Alongside national governments, bi- and multilateral institutions, corporations, and other societal actors such as trade unions or universities, NGOs must have a seat at the table. They have to contribute significantly to key policy decisions as they work with people around the world to enable them to claim their rights and achieve a better life. As such, NGOs’ actions make democracy stronger.
As trade unions groups or professional associations have become effective vehicles to represent their constituencies’ interests, national platforms of NGOs by uniting the voices of their members in their respective countries need to position themselves as credible and legitimate spokespeople towards their own governments.
The International Forum of National NGO Platforms (IFP) that was formed at the end of 2008 and actually groups almost 50 such National Platforms (NPs) and 7 regional coalitions leverages this “network effect” to be a unique entity poised to influence global policy constructively while continuously strengthening the capacity of its members.
IFP and its member Platforms could play a role in the Rio Conferences because:
- IFP reflects the inter-governmental structure of the Rio process; to better influence the Conference agenda it is essential to target and influence national Governments first.
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IFP bring NGO families together, thus is capable to foster creative alliances and put forward innovative solutions. IFP is a stimulating arena which allows NPs to generate and draw on new ideas, to enhance knowledge-sharing and to establish new bilateral and/or thematic partnerships with their counterparts around the world.
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IFP promotes a strategic and long-term partnership with its counterparts of NPs and regional coalitions worldwide. Therefore, IFP includes partners from the South in the joint dialogue with international institutions and allows building strategic, win-win coalitions.
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To the extent that the globalized world is driven by increasingly complex and international agendas, it is fundamental that the NGO sector be recognized as a full-fledged actor within this framework (alongside all the other actors).
Besides that, IFP and its member Platforms practiced extensively Non-Governmental Diplomacy actions, which brought to the establishment of joint analysis and common advocacy positions on matters that are of global interest.
This approach and its methodology can constitute a sound basis for global CSOs’ interaction in defining top Rio priorities and in influencing its overall agenda.