By Wangu Mwangi, Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Team Leader

In the last of a series of town halls organized as part of the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference (2024UNCSC), members of the planning committee and representatives of diverse civil society coalitions offered their reflections on the process and their expectations for the upcoming Summit of the Future (SoF) in September 2024.

Opening the hybrid meeting, Maher Nasser, one of the three Co-Chairs of the Civil Society Conference, said the event had marked a number of firsts as the largest, most diverse, first to be hosted in Africa, and first to be attended in person by both the UN Secretary-General and the Head of State of the host country.

Co-Chair Carol Agengo described the Conference as a manifestation of solidarity that had energized civil society in the host country, saying they will “forever remember that the new PBO (Public Benefits Organisations) Act came alive at this Conference.” She further noted that the discussions had effectively tackled the three overarching Conference principles of inclusion, impact, and innovation and brought new energy to bear to the SDG and other multilateral processes.

After the dancing, what next?

Summarizing key expectations for the upcoming summit, Co-Chair Nudhara Yusuf stressed that the aim of the Conference was “not to just to react to the zero draft but help shape the process through a substantive outcome package, offering specific recommendations and commitments for each of the five Pact for the Future chapters.” She noted that the Conference had provided a space for the 20 self-organized ‘ImPact Coalitions’ announced at the Conference “to convene and grow.”

Ishaan Shah, Conference Experts Sub Committee, stressed that the ImPact Coalitions “would not duplicate or undermine” existing engagement mechanisms such as the Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS), the Generation Equality network action coalitions, or the UN Peace and Security Compact. He suggested the coalitions could help civil society to mobilize around issues specifically related to aspirations for the Summit of the Future and beyond, and spearhead action on issues that may not be included in the final outcomes to be adopted at the SoF, “thereby strengthening the Member State-led process itself.” Among such issues, Shah highlighted calls for a more ambitious global governance reform process, particularly in relation to emerging technologies, peace building, future generations, international financial architecture reform, and just institutions.

Leaving no one behind

Ahead of the meeting and during the discussions, various civil society organizations (CSOs) expressed concern about arrangements for civil society engagement in the Summit of the Future process. The #UNmute initiative noted, for example, that despite efforts “on paper” to promote inclusivity and engagement, civil society voices “are increasingly at the periphery” of multilateral negotiations, with constraints ranging from limited access at key UN sessions such as the UN General Assembly (UNGA), to “restrictive participation in other crucial forums such as the High-level Political Forum [(HLPF)], the Commission on the Status of Women […] and the Internet Governance Forum.”

In final reflections, Yugratna Srivastava, Children and Youth Major Group, said the Nairobi meeting had demonstrated the power of people coming together that offers lessons for the UN system to go beyond silos and deliver as one. She called for the ImPact Coalitions to be viewed as “timebound meaningful spaces and certainly not as experiments.”

Concluding that “today’s youth will be tomorrow’s older generation,” a representative of the Stakeholder Group on Ageing underscored the importance of intergenerational collaboration and ensuring the Global Digital Compact addresses the age-digital gap “for all to flourish in the digital world.”

The Town Hall followed a virtual consultation on 30 May, convened by the Summit of the Future Co-Facilitators, Permanent Representative of Germany Antje Leendertse and Permanent Representative of Namibia Neville Gertze. Representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders and other CSOs presented outcomes of the Civil Society Conference and their views on the latest version of the Pact for the Future negotiating text. [Event Recording] [2024 UN Civil Society Conference Website]