On 4 March 2025, the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat in partnership with the East African Civil Society Organizations' Forum (EACSOF) and GIZ through the LIFTED project, convened the first Civil Society Organisations (CSO) Technical Working Group meeting. This long-awaited two-day meeting held at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, follows the successful East Africa Secretary General’s Forum held in December 2024 in Nairobi.
During the meeting attended by all the 8 EAC Partner States representative, the Regional Civil Societies underscored the importance of their involvement, if the East African Community (EAC) policies are to be people-centered.
"Engaging Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is crucial for making the EAC's policies truly inclusive and responsive to the needs of our communities," said Chairman of the East African Civil Society Organizations’ Forum (EACSOF), Mr. Edmund Yakani in his message to the Technical Working Group (TWG).
On her remarks, the EAC Secretary General, Ms. Veronica Nduva, warmly welcomed the TWG meeting, calling it a pivotal step in fostering a collaborative environment where diverse voices can shape regional policies.
"We are committed to incorporating the valuable insights and recommendations from this meeting into our strategic framework," Ms. Nduva emphasized.
EACSOF Executive Director, Ms. Lilian Alex, praised the inaugural CSOs technical working group meeting, expressing gratitude for the partners’ support and advocating for more frequent engagements.
"Regular interactions like this are vital for maintaining momentum and ensuring that the integration process benefits all stakeholders," she noted.
As part of its ongoing initiatives, the EAC Secretariat received various recommendations from the previous CSOs Secretary General’s Forum under the Consultative Dialogue Framework. The framework provides a platform for the private sector, CSOs, and other interest groups to actively contribute to EAC policy formulation and integration processes.
Key recommendations presented by CSOs to the EAC Secretariat included measures for addressing the shrinking civil space to ensure smooth operations of CSOs in the region. The discussions also centered on issues of peace, progress, and prosperity for the EAC and individual Partner States. The visa and borderless community topics were particularly prominent, given the treaty's clear position on free movement.
The TWG meeting's role is to refine these recommendations and prepare them for further review by the EAC’s policy and programmatic bodies.
The TWG meetings are supported by the Leveraging Integration Frameworks for Trade in Services (LIFTED) - a project jointly co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in collaboration with the EAC Secretariat.