Raising Pacific Voices (RPV) is a three-year pilot program supported by the European Union with 2.3 million euros (FJ$5.46m) aimed at strengthening Pacific civil society organisations’ effectiveness in shaping regional and international policy-making. The project is implemented by Oxfam in the Pacific, working in partnership with Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) and the Pacific Regional Non-Governme
ntal Organisations Alliance (PRNGO Alliance) members in Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Oxfam in the Pacific has contributed 250,000 euros (FJ$592,036) to the overall program budget of 2.55 million euros. HOW WILL RPV WORK IN THE PACIFIC REGION? The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisation Alliance (PRNGO Alliance) and its members’ networks located in 10 Pacific countries are the primary beneficiaries of this program, with plans to spread the benefits widely and sustainably across the region. The RPV program’s uniqueness is that it will produce capacity-building packages contextualised for each sub-region – Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. The program is further expected to generate a pool of 40 trainers representing the three sub-regions, trained in strengthening civil society governance and financial systems, influencing capabilities, constituency building and collective actions. COUNTRY CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERS
RPV will roll out this pilot in partnership with country civil society organisation (CSO) partners in each of the three sub-regions. Our partnership with in-country CSOs is vital to achieve two of RPV’s four result areas. Country CSO partnerships are required for implementing the capacity development program to strengthen governance and transparency of national CSOs (result area 1) and strengthening national CSOs’ capacity to effectively represent constituency voices in relevant local- and national-level governance spaces, customised and tested in each of the three sub-regions (result area 2). The three initial country CSO partners are: Vatu Mauri Consortium in Vanuatu, in the Marshall Islands is Radiation Exposure Awareness Crusaders for Humanity – Marshall Islands, while in Tonga it is the Civil Society Forum of Tonga. Melanesia: In Vanuatu, Vatu Mauri Consortium is a network of national NGOs and umbrella bodies with a track record of community implementation and broad representation including the National Council of Chiefs, churches, women, and youth leaders. Micronesia: In the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the year-and-a-half old community organisation Radiation Exposure Awareness Crusaders for Humanity (or REACH-MI) is working to raise awareness about, and seeking justice for the survivors of nuclear testing. Polynesia: The Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT) is a 16-year-old national umbrella organisation that has positioned itself as the lead civil society organisation in the Kingdom. Three civil society organisations (CSOs) in each of the three sub-regions were selected after an open call to pilot the development of capacity building packages around institutional strengthening and influencing. The call for expressions of interest were advertised widely across the region, with a strong focus on the three pilot countries: Vanuatu, Tonga and Republic of Marshall Islands. Only one expression of interest each were received from Tonga and Republic of Marshall Islands. For Vanuatu, five expressions of interest were received. All the expressions of interest were considered by the Raising Pacific Voices’ Program Steering Committee before the country CSO selection was confirmed. Selection was based on the organisations’ local registration and operational status, status as an umbrella or membership-based CSO/network operating at national level, and the organisations’ ability to absorb and spread the benefits offered by the program.
