Monrovia — On Wednesday, April 5, 2023, the European Union (EU) held a dialogue with Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in Liberia. The meeting, which was attended by the European Union delegation to Liberia, representatives of EU member states and other development partners, centered on a dialogue with Civil Society regarding learnings, challenges and opportunities for CSO engagement in the country.
This dialogue is part of the closure of the Supporting Effective Advocacy in Liberia (SEAL) program, which is funded by the European Union with co-financing from the Swedish Embassy and Irish Aid.
The SEAL program, which is implemented by Mercy Corps and Kvinna till Kvinna collaborated with Eleven Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Fifteen Community Based Organizations, and the National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) to strengthen organizational and collective efforts that have promoted good governance and a vibrant civic sector in the country.
This dialogue, as well as the SEAL program, are essential because Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play an important role in Liberia's socioeconomic and political growth. Over time, CSOs have become a powerful tool for improving service delivery and a key player in the implementation of the country's National Development Plan, especially at the community level.
Speaking on the dialogue and the SEAL program, Sophie Dresser, Mercy Corps Director of Programs said, "Mercy Corps and Kvinna till Kvinna is proud to support the EU in facilitating this dialogue. Over the last four years we have worked with our development partners, numerous civil society groups and the NCSCL to have dialogues like this and to have these important conversations. We are proud to work with civil society as we know that they are important in advancing good governance in Liberia and in holding the government accountable."
As the SEAL program comes to an end, implementing partners and CSOs took stock of the lessons learned. The European Union also presented its programs and its Civil Society Roadmap. In addition, the European Union engaged with the CSOs representatives on the priority areas of its Multi Annual Indicative Programme (MIP) in view of establishing a regular dialogue.
In his comments, Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, the Head of Delegation of the European Union to Liberia spoke on the importance of civil society. He said, "CSOs are crucial in ensuring that the needs arising from the local population are carried in development policies, they are also integral in the sustainability of development programs"
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Furthermore, he also spoke on the importance and significance of the dialogue saying "This dialogue is important as it is an open exchange to help us talk to CSOs. This is a dialogue between partners who are aiming at the maximum efficiency on the use of donor funds on the implementation of development strategies to help us reinforce the capacity of the state to do its work."
As a result of the dialogue, civil society organization and development partners were able to discuss the way forward in addressing critical challenges that civil society faces. These challenges include sustainability, limited institutional and technical capacity to deliver their mandates, accessing finance, overly bureaucratic requirements procedures to handle external funding, and a restricted operational environment.
The EU also used the event to inform civil society on the EU Gender Action Plan for 2021-2025 which uses a three-pronged approach of gender mainstreaming, targeted actions and political dialogue to meet its aim for a gender-equal world.
Speaking on the importance of the dialogue, Matthew Karley the National Program Coordinator of the National Civil Society Council of Liberia said, "The dialogue was important and resourceful because it gave civil society organizations a strong platform to strengthen communications with donor and development partners. The dialogue was as informative because now we know more about the EU priority areas and civil society organizations can then know which development partner to better target. The NCSCL hopes this dialogue is strengthened and we are grateful to have the dialogue."
