17 Feb 2014

The Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) will host its first biennial conference in Botswana next month, the organisation’s executive secretary, Ms Bagaisi Mabilo has announced.

The conference, which will the first of its kind, would provide a platform for NGO’s to shed light on major breakthroughs made by NGO’s in the development of Botswana, Ms Mabilo said during a press briefing on February 13 in Gaborone.

She said the conference would be combined with the launch of both the NGO policy and the NGO council; there will also be a discussion on how the policies would be implemented at national, regional and international developments.

“The conference will be a platform to share the achievements by NGO’s, challenges faced as well as solutions with government and other stakeholders,” she said.

Ms Mabilo said NGOs were an integral part in the development of a country, highlighting that a lot has been achieved by NGO’s in the country in some areas particularly as regards children.

She pointed out that the conference would focus on critical issues such as HIV/AIDS, non-communicable and chronic diseases, youth unemployment, and poverty eradication.

The biennial conference will be held next month between March 11 and 13 in Gaborone and Ms Mabilo said they intended to make it every two years, since it is crucial to exchange information affecting development with government and other stakeholders. ENDS