The FAO Civil Society Regional Consultation on Food Security in Asia and the Pacific Region of which AsiaDHRRA is the NGO host is currently underway at The Richmonde Hotel in Ortigas, Pasig City, Philippines from February 24-25, 2010.

We will be posting hourly updates at the activity blog over at http://faocsofoodsecurityconsultasiapacific.blogspot.com/

The overall objective of the regional Civil Society consultations is to agree on a workplan for achieving a concrete civil society agenda with proposed outputs for the upcoming regional meetings, including for the realization of specific partnerships at sub-regional and regional levels.

The first regional consultation process will take place in Manila, Philippines on 24-25 February 2010 to be held in the Richmonde Hotel; 21 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The consultation is being organized by a local NGO host, the Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA) and with support from FAO.

The Regional Consultations will have the following specific objectives:

1. Update and assess existing mechanisms and their contributions relevant to food security and nutrition, including existing networks, alliances and campaigns.
2. Update and identify existing regional spaces for civil society engagement in policy dialogue regarding agriculture, rural development and food security.
3. Contribute to the progressive implementation of CFS reform with a focus on strengthening FAO regional conference processes, engagement and roles of CSOs/NGOs and regional actors, and ensuring direct links and integration with existing  processes relevant to food security and nutrition (including coordination at the regional/national level, monitoring/accountability mechanisms and development of a global framework).
4. Contribute to the development of FAO’s enhanced cooperation with civil society, notably through development of partnerships and regional platforms for exchange of information and action.
5. Nominate a specific team and develop a provisional agenda for a parallel meeting and consultation process during the FAO regional conferences.