HomeThe European Union has announced that they will dedicate billions to support various Kenyan Civil Societies (CSOs) because of the important role they play in society. The EU with member states Italy, France, Finland and Denmark have pledged Ksh 3.4 billion (27.05 million EUR) for the period 2021-2024.
EU Deputy Ambassador to Kenya Katrin Hagemann said that the funding which will be issued on a competitive basis will focus on cross-cutting issues. The issues that they will focus on are such as human rights, gender, civil society and youth.
The engagement roadmap was developed after the EU held extensive consultations with different civil societies in Kenya. “All in all, around 140 civil society representatives took part in these sessions. In addition, we received 266 responses from CSOs in our online survey. With these contributions duly noted, we have finalised the revision of our roadmap in late 2021 and received the endorsement of EU MS Heads of Missions,” said Ms Hagemann.
The EU delegation had invited various CSOs to engage in dialogue so that the EU can better understand the civil society landscape in Kenya and how they can support those efforts.
The deputy ambassador acknowledged the important role of civil societies in Kenya, noting that it will have a ripple effect in other African countries.
“Kenyan civil society is vibrant, dynamic, resilient and innovative, and has been key in the democratic and developmental gains made by the country. It plays an important role in ensuring adequate civic space is realised in Kenya and the entire region. Efforts by Kenyan CSOs in Kenya build confidence in other CSOs across the continent,” notes Ms Hagemann.
The EU says that they want to see the civil society in Kenya become more successful in playing their role as the watchdog. As a bridge between the citizenry and the government, financial support will go a long way to strengthen the Kenyan CSOs in fulfilling their mandate.
EU plans to have two more consultative meetings in the course of the month of March to engage with other CSOs in events dubbed EU roadmap to engagement with CSOs which will be held in Nairobi.
The different member states such as Italy are calling for proposals so that they can release funding. They’re offering direct funding in various industry disciplines such as agriculture and supporting the value chain.
