The Third Annual EISA Symposium
Strengthening Democratic Governance through the APRM: A civil society dialogue
Polana Hotel, Maputo, Mozambique
21 - 22 October 2008
Introduction
The 2008 Annual Symposium will be the third event of its kind organised by EISA. In 2006, the first symposium examined the challenges of conflict, democracy and development in Africa. In 2007, the second symposium looked at sustainable democratic governance, asking the question whether democracy works in Africa under conditions of entrenched poverty and enfeebled institutions. In 2008, the symposium focuses upon the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It will draw upon the experiences of policy makers and civil society stakeholders over the five yeas since its inception in 2003. It will also interrogate the mechanism's impact on African governance around its four thematic areas, namely:
- Democracy and Political Governance;
- Economic Governance and Management;
- Corporate Governance; and
- Socio-economic Development.
The principal thrust of this symposium will be to unravel whether the APRM has had a positive impact on the governance landscape in participating states thus far. In grappling with this complex question, the symposium will draw lessons from country experiences and identify areas where the APRM has had a notable impact as well as areas where there is a need for further improvement and reinforcement.
Goal and Objectives of the Symposium
The primary goal of the symposium is to interrogate the early successes and shortcomings of the APRM process, draw lessons for future participants in the APRM from early country experiences, and provide an opportunity for key stakeholders in the APRM process at many levels to engage with and debate these issues.
The specific objectives of the Symposium are as follows:
- Promote a common understanding of the APRM process, methods and outputs among key stakeholders;
- Assess successes of the APRM and its main challenges since its inception in 2003 drawing lessons for countries that have not yet undergone the review process;
- Provide a comparative analysis of the implementation of the APRM interrogating in particular the extent of civil society engagement throughout the process.
Stakeholders
The APRM process draws on inputs from four key groups of stakeholders, namely:
- Government and state institutions;
- Civil society organisations;
- Official APRM implementing agencies; and
- The corporate sector.
These groups have an important stake in promoting improved governance practices. Thus, stakeholders from all groups, as well as country experts with experience in all four thematic areas will be attending the symposium.
Donors/Supporting Agencies
EISA would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of its donor agencies and supporting partners in this exciting initiative. In this regard, we extend our profound gratitude to the following partners for their generous financial support: The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA); The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); The Open Society Institute through the Afrimap Initiative. EISA would also like to thank the APRM Secretariat in Midrand, South Africa for their invaluable assistance and collaboration.