The first ever Civil Society in Uganda Convention was held in Kampala last week. The convention brought together representatives from international and national civil society organisations and state actors to dialogue and network.

The convention was put together by the Civil Society in Uganda Support Programme (CUSP) which is co-financed by the European Union ?? and the German government ??, in partnership with the Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda. It provided an excellent platform for CSOs to showcase their contributions to driving Uganda’s development agenda, and exchanges between critical stakeholders.

Speaking at the convention, EU Ambassador Jan Sadek observed that CSOs continue to thrive in Uganda irrespective of challenges, noting that dialogue between civil society and government is important given their complementary relationship. “We have to be entirely open with what we are doing here, which I think we are. We have to have open channels between CSOs, donors, development partners and government to avoid the kind of friction that we had around the Democratic Governance Facility,” he said, while pledging continued EU support to civil society organisations.

European Union

Speaking on behalf of the government, Internal Affairs Minister Hon. Kahinda Otafiire argued that the relationship between government and CSOs must be complementary and not confrontational. “Each of us must understand our roles and responsibilities. We both have the same agenda, which is serving our people,” he said.

To underline the relevance of the convention, German Ambassador to Uganda Matthias Schauer pointed out that for a working and vibrant democracy and for socioeconomic development, elections are not enough. “You need continuous involvement and participation of citizens giving input for decision making and taking on responsibility in all walks of life,” he said.