Right a week before the start of Nepal Donors Coordination Meeting (NDCM) by the government of Nepal, the civil society organizations (CSOs) of Nepal have scheduled a civil society forum (CSF) on Peace, Development and Foreign Aid: Civil Society Concerns for 14 and 15 February 2008 in Kathmandu. The forum, organised by the CSOs working in various fields including democracy, human rights, peace, development and constitutional issues, and coordinated by the NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN), is aimed at bringing the concerns of the grassroots people together with dalit, janajati, women, people with different abilities, geographically disadvantaged, poor peasants and squatters, workers, youths and other marginalised groups on people’s perspectives in the peace process and the development priority in changing political context of Nepal and providing inputs and feedbacks to the NDCM scheduled for 20-22 February 2008.

While the government has set agenda for discussion during the NDCM around economic reform and aid effectiveness, peace process, governance and constitutional issues, among others, the CSOs are set to discuss the themes as:

* Role and importance of CSOs in the peace process in Nepal
* How the different interests of the people can be negotiated through constituent assembly elections
* Equitable and justifiable restructuring of the state: how development partners can be a help in Nepal
* Building peace from below: rehabilitation, reconciliation, reintegration and reconstruction

On the first day, the CSF will be inaugurated jointly by Honourable Speaker Subhash Chandra Nemwang and Singer Ani Choing Dolma on 14 February at International Convention Hall, New Baneshwar, amidst a mass gathering attending by the representatives of government, ministries, National Planning Commission, members of interim parliament, CSOs, NGOs and donor including UN agencies. The inaugural session will be addressed by the guests Honourable Minister for Finance Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Honourable Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Pampha Bhusal, civil society leader Dr Mathura Prasad Shrestha and columnist CK Lal, representatives from donor agency and INGOs. Similarly, representatives of various interest groups from 75 districts of Nepal will put their concerns in the inaugural sessions and suggest the government the areas for development priorities in the current context.

The second day will mark thematic parallel discussion forums on the aforesaid themes where ethnic groups, youths, dalits, , women, intellectuals, peasant organizations, trade unions, human rights organizations and other CSOs will attend and participate in deliberations. Outcomes of the processes will be presented to Nepal Donors Coordination Meeting.

The CSF is jointly organised by various civil society networks including NGO Federation of Nepal, Human Rights Alliance, Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, Dalit NGO Federation, National Dalit Network – Nepal, National Network of Indigenous Women (NNIW), Federation of Community Forest Users’ Nepal, National Federation of Disabled Nepal, National Land Rights Concern Group, National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders, Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users’ Nepal, Campaign for Human Rights and Social Transformation-Nepal (CAHURAST), HIMAWANTI – Nepal, National Federation of Irrigation Water Users’ Association – Nepal, Inter Federation Women Network and Joint Forum for Human Rights.