The NGO Affairs Agency within the Ministry of Lands, Regional Government, and Religious Affairs in Gambia, in partnership with the NGO Coalition for Social Development in New York, USA, will host a regional workshop for the restitution of the Second World Summit (SWSS) on Social Development at the SDK Convention Centre, Senegambia, Gambia, on October 12-16, 2026.
The aim is to begin uniting civil society through grassroots solidarity, resilience, and coherence, and to develop a Civil Society Framework of Action (CSFA) to monitor and report the progress and commitments of heads of state toward the 2025 Doha Outcome for Social Development.
The event will be a historic gathering of over 1500 international social development experts from around the world, including parliamentarians, government officials, UN agencies, civil society members, NGOs, indigenous and first nation peoples, seniors, people with disabilities, people of African descent, youth, women, children, community leaders, religious leaders, academics, social workers, trade unionists, advocates, and human rights activists.
The primary goal is to launch the First Edition of the annual civil society “Common Space,” which acts as a platform to mobilize, unite, connect, share, learn, and amplify advocacy efforts to help shape an inclusive global social development agenda.
It will also connect with existing international campaigns, showcase NGOs’ efforts, emphasize the need for leaders to act on the world’s most urgent social and development issues, and lay the groundwork for monitoring and reporting the outcome “2025 SWSS ” in Doha.
Key moments of the Civil Society Restoration Week in The Gambia include:
- Civil society Mobilization
- Round table Community conversation,
- Capital Hills meetings with stakeholders,
- Presentation and validation of the NGO Framework of Action,
- Green Impact and Social Impact Award ceremony and convivial RED CARPET dinner, and sightseeing excursions to a 25-mile beach.
This self-funded event offers a rare chance to start engaging meaningfully in the new social development outcomes after 30 years.
The summit goes beyond speeches or presentations; it acts as a collective voice for civil society, aiming to create “The World We Want” and to encourage greater collaboration with local Gambians and civil society worldwide as “everyone involved”.
Details on participation will be posted soon.