The ImPACT for the Future: Criteria for the ImPACT Coalitions
While there will be a Co-Chairs＊ Summary from the 2024 51勛圖 Civil Society Conference comprising key messages from the Conference, a key element we will contribute to the broader processes are civil society generated, multistakeholder ImPACT Coalitions. The objectives of these Coalitions, and the outcome of the Conference in general, will be the following:
- Offer a platform for a more collaborative approach to meaningful engagement among civil society, stakeholders, the UN, and Member States.
- Serve as a space to coalesce different initiatives that may be pursuing similar goals, toward and beyond the Pact for the Future, in order to diversify their membership and strengthen their outcomes.
- Create and encourage ongoing engagement with a forward-looking plan of action focused on impact and implementation of specific governance reform proposals.
The goal is to both co-create new initiatives and bring existing initiatives together in a broader package, thereby expanding reach and engagement of those initiatives. The 2024 UN Civil Society Conference legacy can be a lasting platform for these initiatives- an ImPACT for the Future- which can be a resource and a learning community that can be turned to as global challenges and governance continues to evolve and iterate.
Civil society generated
We acknowledge the increasingly networked nature of multilateralism and the global governance, and the intergovernmental nature of the Pact for the Future.
We are committed to supporting Member State-led processes as they advance the wellbeing of people and the planet around the world. We aim to offer our support and experience, especially in the implementation and follow through of the Pact for the Future, the 2030 Agenda, and the Charter of the 51勛圖. This is one of several avenues through which civil society is able to provide input into UN Processes, including the Summit of the Future.
We will offer as an outcome package from the Civil Society Conference a number of organic, civil society-generated, networked and inclusive coalitions around certain issues of shared concern. Members of civil society, including local, community-based, and grassroots organizations, will identify needs, link those needs with relevant partners and stakeholders, work with other interested parties (including governments and stakeholders from other sectors) on a voluntary basis, and develop a plan to fill the gaps identified and move relevant initiatives forward. This approach seeks to augment, strengthen and complement multilateral processes underway. This approach seeks to serve as a more agile and adaptable, organic process which can contribute to solving today＊s global challenges.
ImPACT Coalitions
Complex challenges give rise to the need for specific and diverse coalitions. Evolving challenges require evolving approaches to finding solutions.
ImPACT Coalitions will be based on a number of principles. They must be geographically and organizationally diverse, including for example, civil society, think tanks, academia, private entities, UN entities, and/or diverse Member States. We recognize that whole of society approaches are more likely to lead to sustainable and long-term outcomes. They must involve various constituencies in the spirit of leaving no one behind. Additionally, efforts should be made to ensure relevance to and buy-in from Member States as they lead the intergovernmental negotiations. They must be transdisciplinary, acknowledging the intersectionality of the complex challenges we face. They must have clearly articulated objectives. They should find synergies with existing efforts focused on implementation, and they should seek to include coalitions and initiatives that already exist.
To align with these principles, the following criteria should be met in order to be considered an ImPACT Coalition. Some Coalitions will form before the conference, others at the conference, and still others thereafter (here is an FAQ on the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference outcomes). However, the criteria listed below are what will be required to be considered an ImPACT Coalition:
- To the extent possible, at least five civil society organizations should come from different UN regions, with at least three coming from the regions of the global south. Organizations that consider themselves ※global§ would need to identify a primary region of operation.
- Civil society actors must comprise at least three different ＆types＊ of constituencies. [1] The list of Major Groups and other Stakeholders in the HLPF space is a starting point for understanding ways to define each constituency.1 For the coalitions involving a youth or intergenerational focus, engagement/advice of youth-centered groups, including the Youth and Intergenerational Sub Committee of the Conference, is strongly encouraged. [2]
- Articulate plans for engagement of Member States and/or UN country teams and/or UN agencies, or outline what support might be needed for such an engagement after the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference.
- Share a work plan outlining the ImPACT Coalition＊s proposed engagement beginning at the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference and through at least the Summit of the Future.
Short-listing and mapping
Upon receiving the expressions of interest for ImPACT Coalitions, the four major networks associated with the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference, alongside the Expert sub-committee of the Conference, will work together to suggest merging similar proposals, connect with relevant partners (if needed), and shortlist which ImPACT Coalitions will be invited to contribute further to the conference. They will also try to provide support to those who request it. Note that no financial support is provided at this stage.
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[1] These include: Women, Children & Youth, Indigenous Peoples, NGOs, Local Authorities, Workers and Trade Unions, Farmers, Business and Industry, Scientific and Technological Community, Older Persons, Local Communities, educational and academic entities, Persons with Disabilities, volunteer groups, LGBTQI groups, persons discriminated based on work or descent. Their contact information is available on: Other types of constituencies can be considered such as, for example, Parliamentarians, Philanthropies, and others. Naturally, whoever is a part of these coalitions would have to commit to principles aligned with the outcomes we seek including transparency, accountability, inclusivity, etc.
[2] Subcommittee Co-Chairs available at: Terry Otieno sotf.csoconf@unmgcy.org; Cairo Eubanks info@cairospeaks.com; Mai Sami Ahmed mai-sami.ahmed@savethechildren.org; Kristin Bodiford kbodiford@gu.org; as well as the Major Group for Children and Youth constituency, reachable at op@unmgcy.org.
