Background

Forum for the Future

Reform Initiatives

Mission Statement

Mandate

Objectives

Preamble

Our Commitment

Activities

 Background

The Foundation for the Future (FFF) is an independent, multilateral, non-profit organization, committed to promoting and strengthening Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in their efforts to foster democracy and human rights in the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region.

The Foundation was launched in November 2005 at the second Forum for Future, in Manama, Bahrain, which gathered high-ranking representatives from governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the broader Middle East and North Africa countries and the G8 nations.

It was created in response to calls by regionally-based civil society organizations for mechanisms to support the people of the Middle East and North Africa in their efforts to strengthen democracy and participation, thus achieve a region in which everyone enjoys freedom and human rights as endorsed by international human rights conventions.

The Foundation established its main headquarters in Amman, Jordan, according to a memorandum of understanding signed between the Foundation and the Jordanian government on 24 March 2008.

 Forum for Future

The Forum for the Future is a partnership among the countries of the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region and the Group of Eight (G8), all united around a common agenda that advances the universal values of human dignity, democracy, economic opportunity, and social justice.

The Forum was launched at the 2004 Sea Island summit held in Georgia, USA, in which the G8 industrialized countries showed their commitments to promote reform in the region that aims at :

• Democracy Enhancement.
• Civil participation.
• Rule of Law.
• Human Rights.
• Open market economy.

 Reform initiatives

The beginning of the millennium was marked by several Arab and International initiatives that aim at enhancing democratic reform in the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region. These initiatives are :

• The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).
• Arab Summit in Tunisia 2004.
• Sea-Island Summit 2004.
• Alexandria Library Summit 2004.
• First Forum for Future 2004 – Rabat.
• Democracy Assistance Dialogue (DAD) 2004.
• Second Forum for Future 2005 – Bahrain.
• Third Forum for Future 2006 – Jordan.
• Fourth Forum for Future 2007 – Sana’a.
• Fifth Forum for Future 2008 – UAE.

 Mission Statement

“The Foundation for the Future is committed to promoting and strengthening Civil Society Organizations in their efforts to foster democracy and human rights in the broader Middle East and North Africa”

 Mandate

• The Foundation for the Future supports the people of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa in their efforts to advance and strengthen freedom and democratic trends and practices.
• The Foundation focuses on supporting free, fair and genuinely competitive elections, the rule of law, access to and transparency of information, freedom of association, independent media, access to civic education, the empowerment of women, and human rights as included in the major international conventions and agreements.
• The Foundation recognizes and values the difference between individual nations in the region, and that each represents a unique amalgam of history, culture, religion, and traditions.
• The Foundation is established in the conviction that its resources and activities will foster the spirit of democratic reform so evident in the region, and provide citizens and governments with the means and inspiration in their common efforts to promote freedom and democracy.
• To provide the broadest range of support to the Broader Middle East and North Africa, the Foundation exercises the widest possible flexibility in its activities within the region, seeking to draw on indigenous reformers and their ideas, and to include them in innovative approaches which nurture grass-roots civil society organizations and their leaders, and recognize the creativity of governments as they encourage such organizations to join them in strengthening democratic processes and institutions. 

 Objectives

The Foundation aims :

• To fulfill the commitments made in the recent declarations on reform and democracy.
• To mobilize funds from inside and outside the region to assist indigenous initiatives for reform and democracy with regional and international support.
• To bring together existing pro-democracy initiatives into a process that links national, regional and international movements for democratization.

 Preamble

• Whereas the countries in the Broader Middle East and North Africa region (the "Region") face important political and social challenges;
• Whereas the international partners represented here are committed to help them address such challenges and implement initiatives aimed at advancing and strengthening freedoms and democratic trends and practices;
• Whereas achieving those reform objectives are best accomplished by responding to, and supporting ideas and initiatives generated at the regional and national level;
• Whereas a vibrant civil society is a critical partner in the reform efforts undertaken by governments in the Region;
• Whereas civil society organizations in the Region within the scope of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue and elsewhere, have long been calling for the creation of mechanisms that provide resources supporting the expansion of their activities and capacities;
• Whereas the development and expansion of such civil society requires an enabling regulatory framework as well as vital technical and financial assistance;
• Whereas such assistance is most effective when administered by an independent, and privately managed, not-for-profit entity operating in a local political and legal environment that is conducive to such efforts;
• Whereas both civil society organizations and governments will continue to be critical partners in the development of the Foundation.

 Our Commitment 

The international partners represented today agree to support in partnership with non-governmental organizations and civil society actors in the region :

• A Foundation to promote democracy and reform efforts in the Region.
• The Foundation will be a legally registered, not-for-profit entity with a focus on providing financial and technical assistance to local non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, professional associations, based in the region; and undertaking programs and activities that contribute to the strengthening of freedoms and democracy in the Region.
• The Foundation will not give funding to political parties.
• The Foundation will not support terrorist organizations, illegal entities, their surrogates, or those using or advocating the use of violence in pursuit of their objectives.
• The Foundation would be led by a Board of Directors (the "Board") comprised of distinguished private individuals from the Region, Europe, and North America. No government representatives will sit on the Board.
• The Initial contributing partners to the Foundation are free to nominate qualified non- Governmental officials for Board membership. The Chairperson will select and present the Board of Directors to the initial contributing partners. Initial contributing partners can then vote to approve or veto the entire Board of Directors slate. A majority decision is required. The Chairperson and Board members would be subject to term limits and shall oversee the transition to a self selected Board and an elected chairperson.
• The Foundation will have its operational headquarters in the Region. As necessary, it may also have liaison offices in Europe and North America. The determination of the "seat" of the Foundation will reflect the founding principles and objectives of the Foundation, and will further be a function of the most advantageous and flexible legal environment providing for tax-exempt status, operational autonomy and effectiveness, and efficient financial transactions and monitoring.
• The founding international partners represented here today commit to providing the Foundation both political and financial support. The Foundation will be open to new partners, including the private sector, governments, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral institutions that are ready to make a substantial contribution to the Foundation and to adhere to the Charter of Principles.
• All international partners pledge to exercise their best efforts to help expand the Foundation's operation throughout the Region and provide all necessary support to ensure the Foundation is able to operate freely and independently and to conduct its full range of activities in partnership with civil society in the region.

  Activities

The Foundation for the Future is committed to promoting and strengthening civil society initiatives in their efforts to foster democracy and human rights in the Broader Middle East and North Africa (B-MENA) region, while recognizing and respecting the uniqueness of the heritage and culture of each individual country.