The fourth and last session of the CSO Media Forum was hosted in Zanzibar on November 29, 2019. The event was co-hosted by Foundation for Civil Society (FCS) with Association of Non-Governmental Organizations of Zanzibar (ANGOZA) a network of NGOs in Zanzibar, and it brought together media practitioners and Civil Societies operating in Zanzibar.
FCS believes in creation of a national space where all parties (political and non-political, state and non-state) can converge and hold meaningful discussions and dialogues on Tanzania nation building. Subsequently, holding these media-civil society forums is meant to break barriers on information dissemination through sharing about the role of Civil Society and the CSOs in amplifying citizens’ voices and facilitating their participation in inclusive development processes.
In widening knowledge on the CSO sector, in 2018, FCS commissioned a study on the quality of media engagement with the Civil Society in Tanzania. Through the study, FCS aimed to bring together stakeholders to discuss the findings in view of forging new strategies for effective CSO – Media partnerships to strengthen their engagement and relations in national development processes.
Justice Rutenge, FCS Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning advisor said: “FCS has reached and strengthened over 5,500 CSOs in all of Tanzania’s districts on the Mainland and Zanzibar through grants and capacity development of CSOs. Our core focus is to create an enabling environment for Civil Society to grow in the country by undertaking such roles as commissioning research studies, creating space for multi-stakeholder dialogues and discussions on various matters of interest to the nation’’
In Dar es Salaam, two CSO Media forums were held. The first was attended by CSO representatives and media participants, while the second was a technical feedback session for the Tanzania Editors’ Forum (TEF) hosted at the FCS premises. The forum in Dodoma was co-hosted by Central Press Club (CPS) and the Dodoma NGOs Network (NGONEDO).