PRESS RELEASE – AN official launch ceremony of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) was held at the Finance Administrative Centre in Pointe Seraphine on Tuesday, 31st July 2018.
The Coalition is the result of the expressed desire of CSOs to address their shortcomings by uniting under an umbrella organisation.
The establishment of this umbrella body was also considered a strategy for enabling CSOs to develop synergies, pursue joint ventures, benefit more fully from capacity development interventions, and strengthen their collective voices in pursuit of their individual mandates.
Pursuant to this entreaty and recognising the opportunities that this Coalition can have for Saint Lucia’s CSOs, the Saint Lucia National Trust agreed to spearhead this process through a project entitled “Establishing a CSO Coalition for Sustainable Development in Saint Lucia”.
The project is funded by Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (GEF-SGP UNDP) and has enabled the Coalition to undertake several initiatives including the development of its website and hosting of several sensitisation workshops.
The Coalition of CSOs received its initial endorsement by the then Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment to operate as a bona fide organisation in May 2016. Since then the Coalition has organised several CSO consultations and is represented on various committees of the Government of Saint Lucia.
One such consultation was held on 29th and 30th November 2016 with the aim of obtaining the views of Saint Lucia’s civil society on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the SAMOA Pathway. More recently, the Coalition of CSOs partnered with the Department of Sustainable Development to host a SDGs and SAMOA Pathway Sensitisation Seminar for private sector agencies on 7th June 2018.
In her remarks at the launch ceremony of the Coalition of CSOs, the Honourable Dr. Gale Rigobert mentioned that the Coalition of CSOs was a member of the Sustainable Development Goals National Coordinating Committee (SDGNCC) which was established by the Government of Saint Lucia to guide the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs in Saint Lucia.
Dr.Rigobert indicated that the Coalition has been actively involved in the public education and awareness activities the SDGNCC.
Mr. Giles Romulus, National Coordinator for the GEF-SGP UNDP in Saint Lucia also delivered remarks at this ceremony.
Mr. Romulus pointed out that development partners, including the UN System are increasingly promoting the involvement of CSOs in the development process and in this context, capacity development, which is one of the objectives of the Coalition, has emerged as a focal area for the Global Environment Facility.
He noted that the myriad of challenges faced by local CSOs are not unique to Saint Lucia, and called for greater efforts at coaching and mentoring as one way out.
Present at the ceremony were twenty-five representatives from various CSOs. The day’s proceedings concluded with a nomination of the following CSOs to serve on the Board of Directors for the Coalition.
Chair – Saint Lucia National Trust (SLNT), Vice Chair – National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), Secretary – Saint Lucia Blind Welfare Association (SLBWA), Assistant Secretary – Laborie Development Foundation (LDF), Treasurer – Ex-Police Association (ExPol), Assistant Treasurer – Sacred Sports Foundation (SSF) and Public Relations Officer – Babonneau Youth Synergy (BYS).