The 2011 CIVICUS World Assembly focused on civil society's role in global decision making, and aimed to find ways to ensure that the voices of civil society and other stakeholders are heard in global decision making.
Areas of discussion included voices and perspectives on the UNCSD and green growth; new generational leadership for climate justice; and protection of human rights defenders.
September 2011: The 10th World Assembly of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation focused on the theme “Civil Society and Global Decision-Making: Doing It Better,” and aimed to find ways of ensuring that the voices of all stakeholders are heard in current and emerging forums of global decision making.
The meeting, held from 10-12 September 2011, in Montreal, Canada, focused on the essential role of civil society in global decision making. It was divided into four “thematic tracks,” as follows: development effectiveness; climate justice; connecting people through technology; and civil society and democratic space. Topics of discussion included: voices and perspectives on the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and green growth; new generational leadership for climate justice; ways to strengthen the voice of civil society; multi-stakeholder dialogue and civil society organization (CSO) development effectiveness; doing advocacy better with social media; and protection of human rights defenders. [CIVICUS World Assembly Website]