The organisation representing NGOs in the Pacific says making itself more effective at national and international levels will be a key matter for discussion at its meeting starting in Auckland on Sunday.
The council for the Pacific Association of Non Government Organisations or PIANGO is holding its three-yearly meeting in the same hotel where four years ago regional leaders committed to involving NGOs in their decision making.
But the NGOs feel they have not been included to the extent they hoped and intend looking at new approaches to strengthen the links.
A spokesman for PIANGO, Katabwena Tawaka, says it will be a very important meeting where the strategic direction of the body will be determined.
"So there will be issues on capacity building. There will be issues on information sharing. There will be concerns from each country [from] which we will be able to lay the platform for the strategic direction for the secretariat. Again this is an area where the secretariat lobbies to donors, lobbies to development partners to try and fund activities in the region. So this is a very important meeting."
Katabwena Tawaka
