February 2023
The Agents for Citizen Drive Transformation (ACT) Programme hosted the first ‘Knowledge Share Fair’ and the Lesson Learning Series on 16 February 2023 in Abuja. It brought together CSOs and stakeholders to exchange learnings and expertise on strengthening the capacity of CSOs in Nigeria. Participants were drawn from civil society groups, government agencies, development partners, the media, academia, the private sector, and others active in Nigeria's civil society sector.
The theme of the event was ‘Nigerian CSOs: Translating Knowledge to Capacity and Impact’. The focus was on enhancing CSOs' capacity to act as more effective agents of sustainable development.
The event highlighted the results of ACT’s four-year lifespan and focused on two key outcomes: capacity strengthening of 200 chosen CSOs in ten states, and promoting collaboration between CSOs and other stakeholders to create an inclusive regulatory environment for the industry.
"The biggest marker of success is how the work of CSOs improve the lives of Nigerians.”
Jude Ilo, Senior Director, the Advocacy Centre for Civilians in Conflict, in the Hague (Netherlands)
The event culminated with the launch of an e-learning platform: Civic Action Platform - a one-stop learning portal for CSOs, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders. It was born out of the need to have a viable, functional, and operative learning platform within the civil society space, as well as other learning tools for CSO capacity building for better operations across Nigeria.
With the successful debut of the event, ACT will now make it a quarterly initiative going forward. The quarterly event will serve as a platform to highlight major results, outcomes or impact of the programme.
“This event is about taking the work of ACT over the last four years and putting it out there for CSOs to use and adopt.”
Wynyfred Achu Egbuson, Programme Manager, European Union, CSOs & Youth
