Dear Friend

According to the Editor-in-Chief of the Guinness Book of Records, the 23,5 million people who participated in the October 2006 Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) led International Day for Poverty Eradication, constituted the largest-ever mobilisation of people in a twenty-four-hour period in the history of the Guinness Book of Records.

I open this section with this anecdote because this GCAP mobilisation effort, called Stand Up Against Poverty, holds a lot of hope for united civil society action across countries, sectors and regions. I mention it also because in reviewing this past year, I would like to reflect on some of the highlights that have characterised civil society efforts over the past twelve months. Stand Up Against Poverty being one of them, these actions - which seek to keep pressure on governments to deliver on their fairly modest commitments and to open up pathways for the participation of new constituencies of citizens - show the importance of focusing civil society on the considerable number of areas where there is agreement and common ground, and to agree to respectfully disagree on the smaller number of areas of difference.

As civil society grows more powerful, not only at the national level but also globally, governments and critics of civil society increasingly question the legitimacy, transparency and accountability of civil society. Which brings me to another 2006 highlight; This past June, a diverse group of international NGOs agreed to an International NGO Accountability Charter. This agreement illustrates civil society's commitment to maintaining the highest ethical standards possible and that we never take the high level of public trust that we enjoy for granted. As Aruna has noted in her story, through its own involvement in the Accountability Charter campaign, CIVICUS has embarked on an important and exciting new phase of reflection and self-criticism.

CIVICUS occupies two roles with respect to the Charter: both as host to the global secretariat for the charter, and - more importantly - as a signatory. In the former role, CIVICUS coordinates activities of the Charter's steering group regarding matters of interpretation, improvement, eligibility criteria, et cetera. As a signatory to the Charter, CIVICUS is bound by the terms of compliance stipulated in the Charter. These cover the entire range of signatories' activities and operations. In applying the charter to our own work at CIVICUS, we have also chosen to take its terms as the basis for preparing our annual reports, and plan to use these reports going forward as an even more robust stakeholder accountability mechanism.

One of the realities that civil society organisations must increasingly come to terms with is that unless we can find greater common ground for dialogue and action we will not have the impact that is necessary to create a more just world. The unification this past November of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the World Confederation of Labour, as well as a few other independent trade unions, yet another 2006 highlight, was probably one of the most important steps towards greater unity in recent years, and has important lessons for NGOs and other civil society organisations.

Sadly, one of the dominant trends of the past year has been the ever-growing number of countries that are passing legislation to restrict the rights and activities of civil society. Many of these actions have been "justified" in the name of the so-called "war on terror". As a result, we will almost certainly be called upon in 2007 to increase our efforts to support and help defend civil society organisations and activists who are being threatened across the world. I therefore appeal to you to consider becoming involved more closely with the work of CIVICUS' Civil Society Watch Programme, and to sign up for the monthly CSW Bulletin that specifically tracks these threats to civil society.

In 2006 CIVICUS made the audacious move to turn its World Assembly into an annual event. Supported by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, we have launched a series of three meetings which started in 2006 in Glasgow. These three assemblies will all run under one and the same overarching theme: Acting Together for A Just World. Each year will then have an individual focus theme. For this year our focus theme is Accountability: Delivering Results. We hope that you will join us in Glasgow for our 2007 World Assembly.

The challenge for us in 2007 is to reflect deeply, from the local level to the global, on how we, as civil society, can enhance and improve our effectiveness. We are called upon to recognise that one of our key strengths is our diversity. We are called upon to do so while also recognising that diversity can sometimes be used as an excuse for parochialism, to justify a lack of willingness to explore collaborative ways of working together and sometimes for pursuing individualistic approaches to the detriment of achieving social change for the greater public good. I sincerely hope that in 2007, the myriad, diverse organisations, constituencies and communities that constitute civil society will create space to talk more about how we can act together more effectively to create a just world.

Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to the CIVICUS Board of Directors and Staff for their many efforts that so often go far beyond the call of duty. I would especially like to acknowledge the contribution of Aruna, who in May will step down as Chairperson of CIVICUS, having served in that capacity since the CIVICUS World Assembly in Botswana in 2004. There have been many challenges since Botswana, and Aruna has provided invaluable leadership in helping us find our collective way through them. My heartfelt gratitude also goes out to our members, partners and financial supporters. Without you our work would be less rewarding if not downright impossible.

The friendship, support and solidarity we experienced at CIVICUS in 2006 and throughout all the past years of our existence will stay with us for the rest of our lives. For this too, we are deeply grateful.

Kumi Naidoo
CEO of CIVICUS