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++++TCSF English Newsletter Extra Edition
                                                           [18 March 2007]
Viva! Africa: People's Network across Continents
Published by TICAD Civil Society Forum (TCSF)
http://www.ticad-csf.net/eng/

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TICAD Civil Society Forum and and Africa Japan Forum have sent
the following appeals to the TICAD co-organizers for the ocasion of
"TICAD Ministerial Conference on Environment and Energy for Sustainable
Development" which will be held on March 22-23, 2007 in Nairobi.

As a side event of the ministerial conference, "Civil Society Session:
Environment and Energy for Sustainable Development from a
Pro-Poor Perspective" is organised by TCSF together with G-CAP
Kenya and ActionAid International Kenya.

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Civil Society Merits Equal Partnership at the Forums of TICAD Process
Appeals to the TICAD Co-organizers

Minoru Obayashi
President, TICAD Civil Society Forum
Professor, Ryukoku University

Tatsuo Hayashi, M.D.
President, Africa Japan Forum

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Executive Summary

*TICAD to embrace Africa as true partner
We do consider it highly desirable that the management and organization
of TICAD should be so adjusted as to have appropriate representation
of Africa.

*TICAD with the participation of citizens and civil society
organizations
The co-organizers should include African Civil Society among themselves.

*TICAD facing and concentrating on people
We propose that TICAD should be the forum, even the stage for
demonstrating accountability to the people of Africa and Japan insofar
as African policy is concerned.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. Introduction
We wish to bring to the attention of the co-organizers of TICAD the
views of Japanese NGOs working on African issues, namely TICAD Civil
Society Forum (TCSF) and Africa Japan Forum (AJF).

We are the outgrowth of various previous activities of NGOs to augment
and consolidate the awareness on the part of the Japanese people of the
necessity to encourage African development and intend to serve as a
mirror of the NGOs’ desire to see the voices of the African and
Japanese civil society adequately taken into consideration in every
aspect of the TICAD process.

The Africans are engaged in multifarious endeavours to fight
difficulties and hardships in their efforts to eradicate poverty and
enrich their life. Looking at a series of data in recent years of
improvements of economic development performance and social indicators,
one is inclined to a tentative analysis that environments to materialize
Africans’ dreams are being, though slowly, matured and prepared. Yet
it goes without saying that many indeed many challenging problems still
remain unresolved.

We of TCSF and AJF heartily welcome the forthcoming 4th meeting of
TICAD to be held in Japan in the year 2008. We are also delighted that
the civil society is given an opportunity to organize a side event during
the ministerial conference in Kenya for the first time in the history of
TICAD.

We hope with much expectation that the meeting will come up with a
clear-cut vision of enriched and strengthened scheme of assistance for
Africa from the international community. At the same time, we earnestly
hope and urge that the TICAD IV will be the best step for renovated
African policy, on the basis of the following three desiderata:

2. Appeal

*TICAD to embrace Africa as true partner
We do consider it highly desirable that the management and organization
of TICAD should be so adjusted as to have the appropriate representation
of Africa. We regret very much to notice that the co-organizers of
TICAD do not include and hence adequately represent African governments
nor African civil society.

*TICAD with participation of citizens and civil society organizations
We humbly submit that the co-organizers should include African Civil
Society among themselves. Not as observers but as full-pledged equal
stakeholders for Africa’s development should civil societies of Africa
and Japan be conceded regular membership in the co-organizers’ steering
committee for TICAD IV.

*TICAD facing and concentrating on people
We propose that TICAD should be the forum, even the stage for
demonstrating accountability to the people of Africa and Japan insofar
as African policy is concerned. TICAD IV should be the occasion to
clarify the gains derived and lessons drawn from Japan’s ODA for Africa
and also to discuss openly how best ODA should be utilized in future.

March 16, 2007


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*TCSF operates an English mailing list to facilitate communication
between TCSF and African CSOs, and among African CSOs.
If your address is not on our list and you wish to join, please
contact TCSF. news@ticad-csf.net
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TICAD Civil Society Forum(TCSF)
http://www.ticad-csf.net/eng/
news@ticad-csf.net
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