By Kieron Murdoch
Broadening civil society’s involvement in sustainable development and furthering its inclusion in shaping the development agenda is what the Executive Director of Integrated Health Outreach Inc (IHO), Dr Nicola Bird, said should come next in the wake of the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4).
IHO, serving as the civil society lead in the SIDS4 civil society organisation (CSO) Coalition, alongside the Marine Ecosystem Protected Area (MEPA) Trust, worked alongside numerous CSOs with the aim of mobilising civil society ahead of the Conference.
“When we appreciate the important work that groups in civil society have been doing in communities, for vulnerable groups, and for the environment, in some cases for decades, it demonstrates how much potential there is for CSOs to really impact development. We want to scale up these efforts through meaningful collaboration with other stakeholders on tangible projects,” Dr Bird said.
Within the Coalition, organisations work across areas such as gender-based violence (GBV), reproductive healthcare and knowledge, poverty reduction, recycling, pollution, restoring ecosystems, mental health, disabilities, and more.
“We are here to be a part of the solution that will address the problems in our communities,” Dr Bird said, adding “civil society organisations are implementing strategies, connecting with communities, designing projects, and are making people’s lives better. What we need is to increase our collaboration with every other sector – public, private, philanthropic, international, and intergovernmental”.
“We need to ramp-up the work being done, especially considering how climate-related events are impacting development and how the most vulnerable are often bearing the brunt. And as CSOs, we need to be at the table when policies are being debated,” the Executive Director said.
SIDS4 presented an opportunity for civil society to speak directly to the many stakeholders represented at the United Nations (UN) conference held in Antigua from May 27-30. The official highlight of civil society participation was the SIDS4 Civil Society Forum co-organised with the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs (UN DESA) on May 29th at Conference venue.
Civil Society speakers highlighted the urgency of the climate crisis and demanded greater commitments of themselves, and by governments, and support from the UN system to combat climate change and increase climate action.
Additionally, more than one speaker decried what was termed “disaster capitalism”, describing situations where the displacement of populations in the aftermath of a disaster is capitalised upon to increase the opportunities for commercial development. Speakers represented the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS). Many CSO leaders also felt that more resources could be made available to civil society in SIDS to connect and collaborate formally outside of SIDS Conferences, which now only happen every 10 years.
The inclusion of the Civil Society Forum as a special event at the SIDS4 Conference was the result of the advocacy of SIDS civil society, including the SIDS4 CSO Coalition and other SIDS CSOs and CSO groups who recognised months before SIDS4 that greater opportunities were needed for civil society’s input to feature at the important international event.
Speaking on behalf of SIDS civil society after the event, the IHO Executive Director addressed a plenary session of the Conference on the final day, Thursday, May 30, 2024, summing up the aspirations of SIDS civil society as expressed at the Forum the day before.
“The potential of civil society is not being fully leveraged,” she stated, noting civil society’s call for greater inclusion in policy making and in implementation. Additionally, she reported that SIDS CSOs agreed that there was a need to “work together, united, to deliver the participatory and multisectoral approach needed to guarantee resilient prosperity for SIDS”.
The Forum also saw the launch of the SIDS4 Civil Society Action Plan and Roadmap, a document spelling out what SIDS civil society views as priority areas for the next 10 years, actions to be taken by CSOs, and actions other partners should take to support CSOs. Various groups contributed to its drafting.
IHO and the Coalition organised an on-site Conference side event titled “Local CSO Solutions: Empowering Women and Vulnerable Communities” on May 29. It highlighted local and community approaches to finding solutions that empower and strengthen women and girls, vulnerable populations, and local communities in SIDS in the face of disaster and accessibility issues.
Panelists represented Good Humans 268, The Be Foundation, Scrub Life Cares, and Volunteers United. Coalition members hosted other on-site Conference side events as well.
Outside the official conference, the Coalition mounted unofficial events on the sidelines of SIDS4, such as the Global CSO Summit held at the Tradewinds Hotel on May 27 after the opening of the official Conference the same day. Civil society leaders from across SIDS spoke frankly about CSO inclusion in the development process, meeting the needs of vulnerable populations, and CSO-led projects which have delivered great results.
Empowering women and girls was a major theme during the Global CSO Summit, which was organised in conjunction with the Equality Fund (EF), which focuses specifically on initiatives that support women and LGBTQIA+ people.
On Saturday, May 25, the SIDS4 CSO Coalition held the CSO Expo in the Botanical Gardens. CSO teams spoke with members of the public about their work and the role of civil society in tackling development issues like poverty, health, gender, vulnerability, youth, and more.
Present were representatives from the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Persons with Disabilities (ABAPD), Good Humans 268, the Community Charitable Ministry (CCM) the National Youth Parliament Association of Antigua and Barbuda (NYPAAB), the Elkhorn Marine Conservancy, and the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG).
Also present were the Antigua and Barbuda Diabetes Association, Breast Friends – Women in Touch, the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, the West Indies Sail Heritage (WISH) Foundation, the Caribbean Youth Climate Change Network (CYCN), Circle of Friends, and others.
A series of panel discussions at the CSO Expo allowed CSO leaders to highlight the gaps in the social safety architecture and what challenges vulnerable groups were facing; to look at conservation, the impacts of climate change, and the role of youth in a sustainable future; and to examine the high toll that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, diabetes and hypertension are exacting on SIDS populations.
Numerous other CSOs also supported the Coalition and its activities leading up to and during SIDS4 including the Antigua and Barbuda Holistic Coalition (ABHC), Caribbean Women in Leadership (CWiL), the Caribbean Consortium for Sustainable Regional Change, Development & Innovation (CCSRCDI), the Frontline Alliance to End Gender-Based Violence, Healthy Caribbean Coalition, and many others.
