NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGO) The main partner in this area of activities is the Botswana Council for Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) as the umbrella Organisation for all NGO in Botswana. The mission of BOCONGO is to assist in establishing an enabling environment for the NGO-Sector as well as to provide a platform for networking, advocacy, lobbying, and capacity building, and the mobilising of resources for the self-sustainability of the NGO sector. FES co-operation aims at enhancing the involvement of BOCONGO in the policy making process of the country. FES assists BOCONGO in developing common positions on issues such as the need for "private and corporate social investment", as well as in developing strategies to enhance their lobbying capacity. A new format called “Civil Society Forum” was initiated in 2006 to give a platform for political information and discussion on matters of concern for civil society. Debates on issues such as the budget, involvement of NGO in tourism or the proposed Security Bill have enhanced the visibility of BOCONGO in the political arena. Parliamentarians and Government officials begin to acknowledge BOCONGO as a relevant partner in the development of policy. Since 2001, FES is supporting BOCONGO in the organisation of a bi-annual “NGO-Week”. The NGO-Week 2005 in Gaborone focused on the “Attainment of the Millennium Goals”, for 2007 a series of smaller “Mini-NGO-Weeks” all over the country is planned with a main campaign to be held in Francistown in October 2007. In June/July 2006 FES supported a month of “Solidarity with Zimbabwe”, organised by the Botswana Civil Solidarity Society Coalition for Zimbabwe (BOCISSCOZ) commemorating the anniversary of “Operation Murambatsvina”. Cooperation of FES with BOCONGO focuses not only on national issues only, but on issues in the regional and international context as well. Workshops have been organised on matters of "NSA Involvement in the Cotonou Process", "Civil Society and NEPAD", “Civil Society and the APRM”, and many more. Such workshops mainly serve the purpose of educating BOCONGO members. BOCONGO has joined the global campaign of “GCAP”, the Global Call for Action against Poverty, FES is assisting activities on national level. Depending on the specific subject other NGO-Partners get involved, such as the human-rights organisation Ditshwanelo or the Botswana Chapter of Transparency International. Top of the page
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