Fair puts spotlight on NGOs

For the second time, the virtual TT NGO Fair hosted by the civil society digital hub CSO Go brought together non-governmental organisations (NGOs) over two days in recognition of World NGO Day on February 27.

The interactive event took place on the CSO Go digital platform on February 27-28, and saw 190-plus participants and 140-plus NGOs registered. Participating local and regional NGOs covered a wide spectrum of fields spanning disability, gender, mental health, wellness, environmental sustainability, agriculture, education, capacity building, research and much more.

Organisers at CSO Go, an arm of The Cropper Foundation, were guided by 2022 participants in selecting themes for this year’s event: The importance of good governance on day one – led by the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute (CCGI) team – and The role of digitalisation in a modern NGO on day two, a media release said.

Through focused breakout sessions following feature presentations, the former drilled down into the NPO Act and NGO responsibilities facilitated by Cerron Bayley (CCGI) ; the difference between governance and management with CCGI CEO Kamla Rampersad De Siva; and establishing sub-committees for Boards with Simone Francois-Whittier (CCGI), while the latter amplified the complex issues of data protection and cybersecurity with presentations by Rishi Maharaj (Privicy Advisory Services) and Ken Manohar (TTLAB).

For George Gobin, who presented on behalf of Microsoft Caribbean & Technology, “NGOs who are thinking about the sustainability, reliability of diversified funding streams, and business insights of their organisations, must start the acceleration of their digitalisation strategy in order to maintain their relevance and the impact on their constituents.”

This sentiment is echoed in Future Fishers’ Dennis Sammy’s reflections, “The ability of NGOs to ‘do more with less’ can only happen by using technology to stay relevant and effective to their target groups.” He added, “focusing on technology for this year’s World NGO Day was useful in promoting this message. As a people, we must grow with technology to be able to understand and maximise its benefits.”

Participants’ feedback to this year’s event mirrors 2022, with over 95 per cent of respondents rating their level of satisfaction and overall experience of both days at the maximum score of five (5).

The Cropper Foundation CEO Omar Mohammed says, “Governance and digitalisation have been talked about for ages in the public and private sector. We chose these topics for 2023's World NGO Day fair in T&T to showcase how these issues are tangibly and effectively being implemented within TT's NGO community.”

Heartened by the optimistic reception to the second instalment of the TT NGO Fair, Mohammed adds, “One of our missions through CSO Go is to find innovative ways to help strengthen and empower the sector so we look forward to working with our partners to create more of these opportunities beyond World NGO Day.”

TT NGO Fair 2023 programme partners and contributors included Veni Apwann, Advisors Next Door, CAISO: Sex and Gender Justice, The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute, Future Fishers, TTLAB, Microsoft Caribbean and Privicy Advisory Services.

To learn more about CSO Go, visit www.csogo.tt or follow its Facebook page.