Advisory Committee Members

Advisory Committee Members

Steering Committee for the Civil Society Forum

Terms of Reference

A Civil Society Forum (13-17 November 2009), will be held in Rome as a special event in parallel to the World Summit on Food Security (16-18 November 2009). Key international organizations representative of different civil society groups will form a Steering Committee to facilitate organization of the Forum and participation of a wide range of civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) relevant to food security and the eradication of hunger. These organizations will also serve as focal points for contacting their respective constituencies, farmers, indigenous peoples, women, youth and advocacy, development, environment and emergencies NGOs. The committee may identify other important organizations and groups for the Forum. A proposed list of members of the Steering Committee is attached in annex.

The Steering Committee will coordinate the preparations of civil society and provide the “Liaison Committee” with information about decisions taken on Civil Society Forum. A designated representative of the Steering Committee will facilitate and support the work of the committee members and represent it on the Liaison Committee of the Civil Society Forum. The Liaison Committee will also include representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Comune di Roma, who will co-chair the Liaison Committee, and representatives from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Guiding principles for the work of the Steering Committee

The Steering Committee for the Civil Society Forum is committed to ensuring :-

  • The planning of the Forum involves the full range of constituencies affected by hunger and food insecurity, including social movements and CSOs & NGOs, particularly those from developing countries, committed to the eradication of hunger and the realisation of the right to food and food sovereignty.
  • Participation in the Forum itself also reflects these same constituencies
  • Priority is given to voices from developing countries
  • The Forum will respect pluralism as well as ensure a balance of gender, regions and constituencies
  • Each constituency will have the opportunity to organise its own thematic discussions, whilst priority is given to rural youth, women, Indigenous Peoples and the thematic issues of “access to resources” and “models of production”
  • A range of views are heard on how to address the problems of hunger, malnutrition and violations of the right to food.

Responsibilities of the Steering Committee will include:

  • deliberating on the agenda and content of the Forum;
  • determining the list of invitations to international civil society organizations in consultation with the Steering Committee;
  • organizing, managing and disseminating information to civil society relevant to the Forum and Summit;
  • responsibility for consulting within their respective constituencies to identify possible participants to the Forum;
  • facilitating the process of preparing a common Civil Society Statement and, as necessary, statements from groups or individual organizations;
  • consulting with civil society organizations and networks to encourage preparation of written inputs, for example, in the form of discussion papers, to address summit themes including civil society plans of action and monitoring processes;
  • providing guidance on the organization of the Forum including the logistical arrangements for receiving participants and holding the sessions over three days;
  • through a designated representative, liaising with the Liaison Committee to communicate with and facilitate participation of civil society delegates in the Summit;
  • through a designated representative, requesting the Liaison Committee to report the results of the Civil Society Forum to the World Summit on Food Security including recommendations for follow-up.
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