31-January 2010/ Dead Sea- A regional conference entitled "Research on Civil Society Organizations; Status and Prospects" was organized by the Foundation for the Future at the Dead Sea of Jordan during 26-28 January 2010 with the purpose of reviewing the compilation of literature on civil society organizations (CSOs) over the last two decades, and exchanging ideas on the findings deducted from the related research work in this period within the region. His Excellency, the Minister of Political Affairs, Mr. Mussa Al Ma’ayta, patronized the opening ceremony in the evening of Tuesday the 26th with a number of officials from government offices, diplomatic corps as well as civil society attended the opening in addition to the over ninety participants who arrived to Jordan from several countries all over the world. The visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Ms. Tamara Wittes attended part of the opening and took this opportunity to hold side meetings with the officials present at the ceremony.

Few dignitaries spoke at the opening session prior to Minister of Political Development’s inaugural speech, highlighting their own perspectives for the need to support civil society organizations and how research can help in dedicating utmost efforts towards this aim. The representative of the League of Arab States, Mr. Farouq Al-Amad spoke on the important role civil society can play to efficiently complement the ongoing efforts undertaken by governments, and the recent initiatives the Arab League has launched in support of this direction. From his side, Dr. Kamel Abu Jaber, as a university professor in political science and an ex-Foreign Minister in Jordan who is currently enjoys membership on the Board of the Foundation for the Future, stressed the moral obligation that should be the dominant factor that guide all actors in various fields of development, especially related conduct by civil society. In his speech, the Minister elaborated on a number of initiatives the Ministry of Political Development has undertaken in building the capacity of CSOs to ensure their effective role at the grassroots level.

In her opening speech, Mrs. Nabila Hamza the President of the Foundation for the Future affirmed that civil society organizations across the region witnessed a major transformation during the 1990s, repositioning themselves as one of the major actors for economic and political reform in the world from and facing the challenges related to their new role in advocating for the promotion of human rights and democracy. She emphasized “This conference gains particular significance from the fact that through its subsequent ample knowledge and information on the civil society, practical recommendations could be formulated towards the Foundation’s short and long term strategies for CSOs in the region. It will help identify our priority actions, as well as those of the CSOs concerned for Evidence Based Research. The conference also avails a unique opportunity for local and international scholars to exchange perspectives and experiences with exclusive focus on CSOs and help them in identifying future partnerships”. She acknowledged with appreciation the generous contributions of all respective donors for their support to the Foundation for the Future since its inception as an idea, and for reinforcing its effective collaboration with the civil society for the promotion of democracy and Human Rights throughout the region. “Concurrently, we extend our profound gratitude to all our donors for supporting the Foundation to effectively evolve through the different stages from the time when it was established, and to ensure the sustainability of our current operations in supporting the CSOs in this region; especially, recognizing the contribution of the European Union that has made this important event, among other activities, possible.”

By organizing this conference, the Foundation for the Future aimed to shed light on the different research studies conducted on CSOs operating within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, whereby special attention was paid to those countries that had seen significant development over the past two decades. As it was destined to highlight future outlook of research policies to be adopted by the Foundation, the conference also sought to create a deeper sense of awareness of the developments seen in CSOs across the region. These policies aim at making more information available to interested parties, and at raising the level of collaboration between CSOs and research centers.

The first day offered a healthy discussion on the research conducted on CSOs and on civil society in general in the region. It was dedicated to presenting a critical assessment of the research conducted on CSOs in the region over the past 20 years. Examples were taken from Morocco, the Gulf Region, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and Iran. In light of the many differences found in regards to the research work that has been conducted on CSOs in various Arab countries and the discrepancies between the legal, political and social environments these CSOs function under; participants were not in favor of identifying any regional generalizations. This allowed for a chance to evaluate the research, pin-point areas of concern and gaps in knowledge that need to be filled.

The second day was more directed towards providing the space for exchanging experiences, where international experts presented the research work they have conducted on CSOs in the region, in addition to looking at the links between research and policy. In  the second half of the day, the participants where separated into working groups to discuss  in more details issues of vital concern, such as the relationship between the state, society, donors and CSOs; the various tools used to measure the impact generated by CSOs and the bridging of research and policy. Participants during these working groups were able to identify more succinctly the gaps and provide recommendations on future areas of research.  One of the main aims of this day was to foster fruitful partnerships between Arab based CSOs and their counterparts abroad in addition to linking them with local, regional and international research centers.

At the end of the conference a closing session was held where Mrs. Hamza provided overall review of the outcome of the conference and thanked all participants for their valuable contributions towards its success. HE Mrs. Zahira Kamal, in her capacity as Board Member of the Foundation for the Future made the closing remarks with a comprehensive rundown of the conference’ proceedings, while finally the main reporter Mr. Slahedeen Al Jurshy recited the  concluding report with the main recommendations, among which the following strongly came out:

• Providing support for research  pertaining to the CSOs, and that this should be part of the civil society strategy
• Encourage  research centers and civil society practitioners to work together  thus making research studies catalyst for social change,
• Increasing trust between CSOs  and researchers through fostering collaboration and bridging the relationship between both sides
• Encouraging documentation by creating a referencing system that records research studies pertaining to CSOs  within a bibliography encompassing all countries and compiling all documents and testimonials from all nations in this regard

 Click here to review the conference documents