17 April 2020- Apia, Samoa. The Government of Samoa through the Civil Society Support Program II (CSSP II) funded by the European Union (EU) has awarded six Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) grants worth € 800,000 (SAT. 2.4 million) for capacity building and gender equality initiatives or programmes in Samoa.
Civil society organizations (CSOs) make a difference in development of a country. They provide development services, innovate in service delivery, build local capacity and advocate with and for the poor. Acting alone, however, their impact is limited in scope, scale and sustainability. CSOs need to engage in government policy processes more effectively.
The Head of Cooperation for the EU said ‘‘Civil society in Samoa has undergone a major transformation. Today, civil society organizations (CSOs) across Samoa are not only providing essential services but have increasingly become strong advocates of a wide range of causes and communities, including the ones that live in remote areas. The EU-Samoa CSO Partnership seeks to support the creation of an enabling environment for civil society, which is more crucial than even given the challenging situation for Samoa as a result of COVID-19. CSOs will need to play an important role to reduce the negative socio-economic impact of this crisis.’’
The grants will support CSOs in capacity building initiatives such as research-based advocacy, data collection and analysis; engagement and participating on the process of national policy planning, policy making and development, policy process, policy analysis and monitoring and oversight mechanisms. These will be implemented by The Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organisations Inc – SUNGO, Samoa Federated Farmers Incorporated (SFFI) and O le Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI).
In addition, METI Samoa – Matuaileoo Environment Trust Incorporated (METI), SVSG Samoa and Special Olympics Samoa will implement the gender equality component, which includes educating and raising awareness on challenging gender stereotyping, domestic or gender based violence, economic empowerment and promoting rights of women and girls.
The Deputy National Authorizing Officer and CEO of the Ministry of Finance, Leasiosiofa’asisina Galumalemana Oscar Thomas Malielegaoi during the signing ceremony stated ‘’On behalf of the Government of Samoa, I congratulate the CSOs and wish them well in the implementation of their projects to strengthen Civil Society’s role in achieving Samoa’s national priorities’’.
The grants will be implemented over the next two years and will engage a range of stakeholders such as communities, villages, village councils, Government and government institutions.
ENDS.
Background:
The above grants are being provided through the 11th EDF support to Civil Society Programme II. The main aim of this programme is to enhance and improve the capacities of the civil society to be able to better participate in the policy making and advocacy process. The grants were awarded through a call for proposal (competitive procedure).
Media Contact:
Christina Tauā: CSSP Program Manager or Taeaone Tamaseu: Finance Manager on telephone 24616 or email www.cssp.gov.ws
Nazeem Kasim: Press and Information Officer, Political, Trade, Press and Information Section on email mohammed-nazeem.kasim@eeas.europa.eu
