Welcome
to Community Engagement Forum(CEF)
…. make
impact right where you are
Introduction
Justification/Background:
Today, our communities are faced with development
challenges on an unprecedented scale. They include poverty, poor sanitation,
lack of access to credit, food insecurity, water scarcity, deplorable
environmental and housing conditions, lack of jobs and unemployment, unrepaired
roads and other critical services including health and education. In
recent times, the scope, scale, and urgency of these problems have all sharply
increased.
Unfortunately, no
government anywhere in the world can provide all the necessary needs of life to
its citizens or communities. It is becoming increasingly evident that
governments do not have all the resources and funds to carry out development
initiatives, particularly in the social sector in every poor community.
Globally,
international donor agencies and philanthropic institutions are finding it
increasingly difficult to provide development aid or assistance to many needy
communities around the world due to dwindling resources resulting from
world-wide economic melt-down or recession.
Expectedly, the
only viable alternative in the face of the ever rising poverty and other social
problems is for communities to adopt self-help and become self-reliant rather
than waiting endlessly for government or foreign assistance. Progress can be
achieved through community engagement
processes that enable local people themselves to determine their own
development and welfare.
Advocating
for Community Engagement
Globally, there is
a growing commitment to the principles of community engagement. Community
engagement is increasingly recognized as a vital component of efforts to bring
development to the grassroots. Therefore, understanding community engagement
will facilitate and promote its use in solving many of our challenging problems
and thus advance the well-being of all of our communities.
It is against this
backdrop that CDI Nigeria established a platform called Community Engagement Forum (CEF) where individuals (men, women,
youths, professionals, community activists, traditional rulers, religious
leaders, students and other stakeholders) working in isolation, or
collaboratively with others can
systematically design and implement processes to actively engage their
communities in solving many problems facing them.
Who
We Are.
Therefore, Community Engagement Forum (CEF) is a
platform where individuals – acting as change agents, and who are committed to
transforming communities and the society can initiate, mobilize and engage
every stakeholder to address issues affecting the well-being of the people in
their respective communities or areas.
CEF Objectives;
1.
Community Engagement: To promote,
encourage and motivate citizens to embrace, adopt and practice community
engagement.
2.
Capacity-Building: To empower and
enhance CEP members’ capacity and impact and develop their ability to act
collaboratively in key community areas of concern through active engagement.
3.
Create Local Chapters:
To
turn members’ passion into action by encouraging the formation of new CEF
chapters in various communities in Nigeria.
4.
Networking: To build a
national community of social change leaders dedicated to building more
prosperous and peaceful communities.
CEF adopt the
principles of community engagement to addresses a range of social, economic,
political, and environmental issues affecting the people.
CEF’s Area of
focus:
· social
mobilization
· community
participation/involvement
· community
empowerment
· community
organizing
· community
self-help and self-reliance
· constituency
building.
CEF
Principles include:
ü Justice
ü Unity
ü Fairness
ü Empowerment
ü Humility
ü Equity
ü shared
learning
ü partnership
ü Participation
ü cooperation
ü self-determination
CEF
Membership Benefits:
· Members
are empowered with continuous relevant training and professional education.
· Members
are provided with the state - of - the – art information and relevant resource
materials to become more effective in the field of development.
· Members
are notified and technically prepared to apply and attend numerous conferences,
workshops, seminars, training and capacity – building programmes locally and
internationally.
· Members
are exposed to professionals who are already at the top of their career.
· Becoming
a member means joining a network of experienced development practitioners
nationally.
For
volunteers, students, graduates, researchers, corps members, development
practitioners and others with interest in international and community
development CEF in addition to the benefits above
· Provide
members with hands-on experience and knowledge in the prestigious field of
community and international development.
· Provide
members with internship and volunteer opportunities locally and internationally,
including numerous scholarships in development studies and related fields in
various universities around the world.
· Provide
members with the rare opportunities of participating in numerous free short courses
in development field in foreign universities.
· Help
members with job alert in addition to developing strong, clear and compelling
resume and cover letters.
· Empower
members on how to write abstract papers for conferences.
Community Engagement Forum partners
with.
ü Schools
ü Academic/Training Institutions
ü Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs)
ü Businesses
ü Organized groups
ü Government agencies and institutions
ü Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
ü Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)
ü Community Networks and Alliances
The partnership
goes beyond physical involvement to being a platform for generating ideas,
contributing to decision making, and sharing of responsibility to create the
desired change.
Conferences
and Workshops
Community
engagement processes can be complex and labour intensive and therefore require
dedicated people with the necessary skills. CDI Nigeria will work with members
of CEF to grow in their understanding of development and community engagement
aimed at improving their efficiency and effectiveness. CDI Nigeria will
encourage sharing of resource material and participation in meetings, local and
international conferences, workshops, seminars and symposia.
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