More than 70 participants of the 37 emerging civil society organizations (CSOs) from four North African countries (Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia) met in Tunis from May 9th to 11th 2017, to attend the Regional Restitution Workshop of the Small Scale Initiatives for Civil Society Organisations in North Africa (PPI-OSCAN).

This workshop aimed to capitalize on the preliminary results developed by the beneficiary associations of the programme over the last two years, to share their experiences, lessons learned and success stories. The meeting also discussed alternatives to ensure sustainability of the achievements of the projects, partnerships, as well as the continuity of this initiative.

The directeur Général de l'Environnement et Qualité de la Vie, Mr Mohamed Ben Geddou, the Director of the IUCN Mediterranean Cooperation Center, Mr Antonio Troya and the IUCN North Africa Programme Coordinator, Mr Maher Mahjoub, took part in the opening ceremony of the workshop to be held on Tuesday, 9 May 2017, 9.00 am at the Golden Tulipe El Mechtel Hotel in Tunis.

The PPI-OSCAN is a regional initiative for the strengthening of the Civil Society in North Africa, which helps young associations to get involved in new challenges related to the environment and sustainable development through innovative projects in the region. The beneficiary associations of the PPI-OSCAN program are involved in 37 field projects selected from 248 proposals received from 4 North African countries.

During this workshop, there were also sessions dedicated to results presentation for each country involved and working groups to address various themes, such as: ecotourism, protected areas, environmental education, fund raising and accession to international programmes. Parallel events were planned and booths were made available to participating associations.

The PPI-OSCAN is led by the IUCN - Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN-Med) and jointly funded the Mava foundation and the Fond Français pour l'Environnement (FFEM). This workshop was organized by IUCN-Med and the Ministère des Affaires Locales et de l'Environnement tunisien.

For more information: Maher Mahjoub

Photo: © IUCN-Med | Group photo of all participants.