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Call for Applications: NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development “Global Partners in Action”

Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development

Invest in Health, Rights and the Future

Berlin, Germany

September 2 – 4, 2009

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Please circulate widely

In recognition of the 15 yr. anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development aims to strengthen NGOs working in partnership to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for sustainable development in an uncertain and interdependent world. The Government of Germany and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are the co-hosts of this forum. A website with more information on the Forum will be set up at http://www.globalngoforum.org/ by 8 May.

Global Partners in Action is led by NGOs and is for NGOs, with considerable emphasis placed on ensuring significant participation from the Global South and of young people. Global Partners in Action will be a highly interactive working meeting, where participants will be able to contribute to approximately 30 breakout sessions, as participants, facilitators, resource persons or rapporteurs. In addition, orientation sessions and regional meetings are being planned for the first day. Participants will furthermore have the opportunity to network and share their work and experiences in a marketplace and at a global café. Plenaries featuring high level speakers will also inspire Global Partners in Action. Finally, all participants will be welcome to assist in the drafting process for the Call to Action throughout the duration of the Forum and outcomes from discussions in various sessions will feed into the Call to Action and an NGO Action Plan.

There will be 400 participants at Global Partners in Action. Out of these, 225 will come from the Global South and will, as far as possible, be fully funded to attend. There are 100 spots for Northern NGOs; these will not generally be funded to attend. However, there will be no registration fee. The forum steering group aims to ensure diverse representation from as many countries, regions and NGO’s working in different fields of health and development as possible. Youth participation is also a priority and a commitment has been made to have at least 25% of participants under the age of 30. In recognition of the vital role that Regional Networks play in implementing and monitoring the ICPD Programme of Action, a commitment has been made to have at least 30 Regional Networks participate at the Forum.

Global Partners in Action is inviting applications from individuals representing NGO’s around the world that:

• Are committed to the principles of the ICPD Programme of Action;
• Focus on activities that address key aspects of the ICPD Programme of Action (for example: sexual and reproductive health and rights, women’s rights, HIV and AIDS, youth participation, gender equity, etc.);
• Work at either a local, national, regional or international level;
• Are interested and able to share best practices, lessons learned and areas for capacity building;
• Can commit to collaborative follow-up to Global Partners in Action, guided by the NGO Action Plan and Call to Action that will be produced during the Forum. Can commit to collaborative follow-up to Global Partners in Action, guided by the NGO Action Plan and Call to Action that will be produced during the Forum.

Eligible candidates are invited to complete the application form. The interest expressed about potential breakout session topics (question 12) will feed into the Forum’s programme, so applicants are encouraged to carefully select topics that are most relevant to their NGO’s work.

The deadline for applications is Monday May 25, 2009. Applicants are highly recommended to submit their application using the online application form on the Global Partners in Action website, http://www.globalngoforum.org , or as a second option, by email. If neither of these is an option, applications can also be received by fax at 1 (212) 297 4906.

Applications will be reviewed by an NGO-led Selection Committee, which has set up several measures to ensure a transparent and objective process. For example, an external consultant will remove all personal and organizational information from initial applications to make them anonymous. They will also be assigned a code that identifies their region, country and age group. The anonymous applications which fill all of the selection criteria will then be analyzed for content and relevance to the ICPD agenda and the objectives of the forum. Full details about the selection process will be available on the Global Partners in Action website.