African NSOs empower strategic partnerships & resource mobilisation
Seventeen participants from 16 African National Scout Organizations (NSOs) met in Nairobi in November for a five-day Regional Workshop on Partnership and Resource Mobilisation. The diverse profiles of the participants included National Executive Commissioners, Finance Commissioners, Fundraising/Resource Mobilisation Commissioners, Grant Managers, Project Managers and Public Relations Executives. The workshop aimed to enable them to acquire critical skills, knowledge, and an enhanced capacity to actively support their NSOs/NSAs to tap into and mobilise necessary resources to deliver Scouting programmes.
As Scouting in Africa emerges from the harsh effects of COVID-19 and with the increased unprecedented global challenges, it navigates a far more competitive environment, within which it must secure the required resources for the growth and sustainability of Scouting in the Region.
National Scout Organisations need to diversify their resources by utilising the available national funding opportunities and exploring national partnerships to support Scouting while documenting and sharing their impact to enhance their credibility, accountability and visibility within the country. We must capitalise on the brand of Scouting and our social impact in local communities for the benefit of young people that we serve“ — Frederic Tutu Kama-Kama, Regional Director, Africa.
At this workshop, the NSO leaders deepened their technical expertise in resource mobilisation to ensure recovery and sustainability post-COVID. They also acquired skills for conceptualising, designing, implementing, and evaluating an efficient resource mobilisation strategy. The training further provided an opportunity to develop new contacts, build networks and share experiences with other NSOs. This led to the creation of a regional Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation Network to promote continuous learning, collaboration, coaching and peer support through sharing case studies and best practices. This was achieved through expert presentations, topical discussions, peer learning and sharing best practices, and practical working sessions.
This workshop is very timely and important to strengthen the capacity of our NSOs to face and respond to the challenges we face today due to insufficient resources.“ — Aby Sane, International Commissioner, Confédération Sénégalaise du Scoutisme
As a follow-up, the NSOs will receive tailored support through WOSM Services to develop and implement national partnerships and resource mobilization strategies. This support will help the NSOs facilitate opportunities for engagement and partnerships at a national and community level, as well as guidance and best practices for establishing and managing partnerships and mobilising the much-needed resources to support and grow Scouting. To learn mor about the External Relations service are, visit https://services.scout.org/service/12.
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News story content courtesy of scout.org / World Scout Bureau.
Photo Credits: ©Scouting in Africa, WOSM.