On September 8-10, 2014, an Asia Regional Civil Society Experience Summit was held in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was attended on behalf of Naifaru Juvenile by the organisation’s Vice-Chairperson, Mohamed Ahmed. The Summit brought together more than 96 civil society leaders working in 21 Asian countries and jurisdictions to meet, share experiences and discuss best practices on how civil society, the international community and governments can build better development partnerships. The Summit was held in response to the Stand with Civil Society agenda that emerged from the roundtable, chaired by President Barack Obama and Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, at the United Nations General Assembly of 2013, and was co-convened by The Asia Foundation, the Foreign Ministry of Indonesia, USAID, the U.N. Development Programme, and local Indonesian NGO Kemitraan.

Summit participants acknowledged civil society’s important roles to promote democracy through inclusive and participatory advocacy for all; monitor and evaluate governments’ performance and hold them accountable; provide services to local populations; and educate the public on policies, laws, and rights. Participants also highlighted the leading sectors in which Asian civil society work, which include efforts to strengthen civil society, improve governance and support decentralization, promote and protect human rights, especially for vulnerable and marginalized populations, promote conflict prevention and social cohesion, increase access to justice and strengthen rule of law, and engage media to enhance information dissemination and  access. This statement gives voice to the challenges that Asian civil society encounters as well as actions that civil society, governments, and the international community can jointly undertake to support and empower Asian civil society in achieving above-mentioned efforts.