Casablanca - 3/11/2009 -  The Foundation for the Future (FFF) actively participated in the 6th meeting of the Forum for the Future both of the preparatory civil society and the ministerial sides, which were held in Casablanca and Marrakech respectively from October 30 to November 3, 2009.

The Forum started with preparatory meeting of civil society institutions supported by the Foundation For the Future (FFF), that was attended by more than 60 personalities representing civil societies in the Middle East and North Africa. This meeting  was followed by the ministerial meeting with governmental delegations from Arab countries, and the G8 nations, mostly represented at the level of Foreign Affairs Ministers, in addition to European and global partners and heads of regional and international organizations.

In her key note speech to the preparatory meeting, Mrs. Nabila Hamza, the President of (FFF) emphasized the important achievements of the Forum, in bringing about a qualitative change by transferring civil society organizations in the region, from a marginalized player or opponents to their governments, to active and credible partners.

Mrs. Hamza also confirmed that (FFF) is prepared to support this annual meeting and provide any financial or technical assistance necessary to ensure its continuity.

Over two days, the preparatory meeting of civil society organizations discussed the results of the three workshops held in Beirut, Doha and Rabat, on the alignments of: economical reforms, the private sector, his democracy and human rights relevant to local governance and developing a new vision of human security in the Middle East and North Africa.

The concluding session of the preparatory Forum came up with a set of recommendations, to be carried to the ministerial meeting they include a request to support the establishment of the BMENA Gender institute, and to develop  mechanisms to follow up on the resolutions and recommendations of the Forum for the Future, to institutionalize this process.

The representatives of the G8 governments on the other hand, praised the role the Foundation for the Future is playing in supporting civil society organizations in the region, and the initiatives launched to consolidate democracy, and spreading the principles of human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. The representative of the Netherlands announced his government contribution of one million U.S. dollars to support the Foundation for the Future. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan renewed his country's welcome to host the foundation regional office in Amman; the German Foreign Minister noted the support that the Foundation offers to civil society organizations in the region, and its initiatives to stabilize democracy and human rights.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, whose country shares with the Kingdom of Morocco chairing of the Ministerial Forum this year, pointed out the important role the Foundation for the Future plays in supporting civil society initiatives in the area of human rights and democracy principles in the MENA area.

It is worth mentioning that the U.S.A secretary of states Mrs. Hillary Clinton headed her country's delegation consisting of prominent figures in the U.S. Department of State to the Forum. In her address Mrs. Clinton said: "We seek to support the efforts of civil society globally, because we believe that civil society organizations help making communities more prosperous and more stable. These organizations help to drive economic, growth which benefits the greatest number of people, and influence political institutions to be active, energetic and responsive to the people they serve.

The representatives of civil society In turn,  demonstrated their findings and recommendations that resulted from the three workshops held in Beirut, Rabat, Doha, and  the outcomes of the  preparatory meeting held in Casablanca ahead of the ministerial meeting.

Mrs. Nabila Hamza addressed the Ministerial meeting emphasizing the importance of continued support of this Forum, as it provides the opportunity for dialogue between civil society organizations and representatives of the governments in the region. In her speech she summarized  the achievements of the Foundation in  granting financial support for projects executed by civil society institutions in the region. The Foundation has so far approved to support 60 projects out of nearly 300 applications submitted by institutions in the region, $ 11 million were allocated to support  projects with  themes ranging from  human rights to, good governance, women  empowerment, freedom of information, spreading of civic culture, security sector reform and promoting youth participation.

Mrs. Hamza emphasized the willingness of the Foundation to provide the necessary financial and technical support to contribute to the establish the regional Gender institute, and called on donors to provide the necessary support to ensure the continuity of the Foundation’s support to civil society organizations in the region.