South Asian Regional Consultation in Kathmandu next month

The members of all five nations of the South Asian Alliance of Grassroots NGOs (SAAGN) will meet at the South Asian Regional Consultation Summit to be held in on August 30th and 31st, next month  in Kathmandu, Nepal.  17 Sri Lankan participants including members from Kantha Shakthi, Jaffna Social Action Center, Lanka Muslim Women's Society- Kurunegala,  Rural Women's Front- Galle, Changers Foundation- Batticaloa and government officials will represent Sri Lanka for the summit.

The meeting will be the first of its kind, under the ‘Civil Society Alliance for Child Rights in South Asia’ project where members of NGOs, stakeholders along with key actors from relevant ministries and government bodies will meet, consult and put forth recommendations to the governments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. This consultation aims at positioning SAAGN  at the SAARC convention and to suggest recommendations which will be the final outcome of the consultation. The summit marks the culmination of the communication campaign initiated by the alliance on Children’s Right to Family. Apart from sharing highlights of the campaign, the 139 net-work partners of SAAGN will use the two-days to draw up the network’s roadmap and commitment towards specific issues within Child Rights protection and promotion in the region.

The core agenda for the meeting is as follows:

1-Release of the Research Study conducted by SAAGN on the Status of Children in South Asia with specific recommendations to SAARC and regional governments.

2-Sharing of Case Studies and Best Practices from Workshops with children and stakeholder groups.

3-Screening of Documentary Film developed by the alliance along with release of a booklet of Images from the project and excerpts from the Research Study.

4-Sharing overview of the five nation campaign on ‘Children’s Right to a Family’.

      5-Releasing Roadmap for SAAGN coalition on collaborations on Violence against Children

The meeting will also include the launch of a Documentary Film made on the activities and achievements of the SAAGN forum along with the release of a Research Book that will carry excerpts of a lengthier research study conducted as part of the project to understand the Situation of Children in the South Asian region.