SUN Civil Society Network Inaugural Meeting

On June 11, 2013, the SUN Civil Society network had its inaugural meeting. Civil society representatives kept the conversation going with a packed agenda of information sharing, priority setting and action planning at the Inaugural SUN Civil Society Network meeting. With participation of two Lead Group members, Tom Arnold and Marie Pierre Allié, and representatives from Asia, Africa and Latin America, civil society was encouraged to realize their full potential in transforming commitments into action. This meeting represented a crucial milestone for the SUN Civil Society Network to identify the key priorities of national Civil Society Alliances, understand how best to support countries who are all in different phases of organizing and mobilizing civil society and crystalizing opportunities to work together as effectively as possible.

A compelling panel of representatives from Peru, Malawi and Uganda shared their experiences in mobilizing the potential of civil society to support the implementation of national plans to scale up nutrition. Each shared unique perspectives, successes and challenges but several themes were clear: focus and clarity of purpose is essential; professionalism and commitment to work together is critical to gaining recognition as a key partner in national efforts and in order to be successful, organizational interests must give way to the collective aims of improving nutrition.

To close the meeting, Brendan Cox, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Save the Children UK and SUN Civil Society Network Chair reminded the group that “All too often we forget the very human face and very human problem that is at the core of what we are trying to achieve. We have the core components to achieve success.”

Brendan Cox, SUN Civil Society Network Chair and Tom Arnold, SUN Movement Lead Group Member urged civil society to realize their full potential to help transform recent commitments into action.

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