Social Solidarity Ministry Organizes Forum on Efforts with Civil Society Organizations

The Ministry of Social Solidarity, in cooperation with the Ministries of International Cooperation and Foreign Affairs and with the support and partnership of the European Union, organized a forum to announce recent efforts and work conducted with civil society organizations in different development sectors under the title “Civil Society Participation in Achieving Development Objectives - A Socio-Economic Vision” on Thursday 4 November 2021 at the ministry’s premises.

This comes in line with the ministry’s efforts to activate and support the role of civil society organizations and NGOs to participate in development priorities, and in accordance with Egypt’s 2030 vision focus on social and economic issues.

The forum was attended by Dr. Rania Al-Mashaat, Minister of International Cooperation, who focused on the role of the Ministry of International Cooperation in coordinating and steering the international resources available for civil society programs in proportion with the development priorities of Egypt according to 2030 vision for Sustainable Development.

Deputy Head of the European Union delegation in Egypt, Mr. Tobias Krause, affirmed the European Union’s commitment in supporting the role of civil society organizations as key partners in development programs in various sectors to support Egypt’s overall vision for development.

He said: “Egypt and the European Union enjoy a broad and wide-ranging cooperation. We believe that civil society is an important partner in our shared aim of inclusive and sustainable development. Civil society is an essential actor in a democratic society.”

Minister of Social Solidarity, Mrs. Nivine El-Kabbag, displayed the ministry's vision to support the continuous dialogue with civil society organizations in order to achieve development priorities, reviewing the most important recommendations produced by the Forum for Dialogue with Developmental Civil Society Organizations to expand and optimize their participation base in the country's development projects and programs.

El-Kabbag stated "We are very proud of what we have accomplished to activate the participation of civil society organizations after the issuance of Law No. 149 of 2019 which regulated the work of civil groups along with the By-Laws issued January 2021.  Civil society organizations are essential partners for the Ministry in achieving every change and advancement we see in all development sectors.”

She added that today we see the conclusion of in depth dialogue with civil society organizations incorporating a clear objective and methodology for a joint partnership framework that supports Egypt’s vision for development.

El Kabbag  said that this comes in coordination and with the support of the Ministry of International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union, which represents one of the most important development partners, in line with the declaration of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi that 2022 is the year for civil society organizations.

The forum addressed mechanisms and the process for continuous dialogue and periodical coordination with civil society organizations within a unified national vision that bridges the developmental gaps and needs of the most vulnerable families nationwide in a way to achieve a fair distribution of national and international financial, technical and human resources.

This vision also endorses the participation of medium and small village level local NGOs and community development organizations in the poorer communities, in order to ensure an equitable participation of civil society organizations and the quality of their performance in the integrated and targeted development sectors.

The process with civil society organizations started through workshop event “Forum for Dialogue with Civil Society Organizations” which was initiated by the Ministry in the dialogue sessions held in July 27 and 28, 2021, in cooperation with the Ministry of International Cooperation, and the support of the European Union.

Around 120 participated from civil society organizations, NGOs; involving large, medium and small development associations concerned with social and economic development sectors, from Upper and Lower Egypt.

The recommendations of the dialogue sessions with civil society organizations expounded on the importance of supporting three main areas; support for institutional capacity building for medium and small organizations on technical and financial fronts.

This is to enable them to mobilize necessary resources to perform their work according to specific targeted indicators in line with Egypt’s vision for development and unifying messages of advocacy and awareness programs on social and economic development issues.

It also highlights the importance of standardizing quality standards for NGOs that provide social services for the most vulnerable groups, and coordinate databases targeting most vulnerable groups with the Ministry of Social Solidarity and other NGOs providing subsidiary and relief or protection interventions to ensure the equitable distribution of available forms of social support in local communities.