The largest coalition of non-government organizations, people’s organizations and cooperatives working on social development in the Philippines will converge for its Social Development Week 2022 and 7th Congress from October 24 to 28, 2022.
The Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) said the event, which carries the theme “Magpakahusay: Strengthening Civil Society in a Democracy in Flux”, will discuss and chart various courses of action for rebuilding its collective strength following the 2022 national and local elections.
The event will also tackle crucial issues and view the present and future from different perspectives, with the current administration expected to emulate the authoritarian playbook that proved to be popular to the majority.
On Oct. 24, the Congress will have its opening plenary session where it will discuss the situation of Philippine democracy in the aftermath of the May 2022 national and local elections.
It will also validate outputs of recent studies on Filipino’s voting behavior, and discuss possible ways to strengthen democratic practices such as elections moving forward.
Focus will shift on community organizing the following day, where emerging challenges for NGOs in doing community organizing work amid the emerging challenges will be tackled.
A public forum will be held on Oct. 27 where a snapshot of Philippine CSO sustainability will be presented together with the discussion regarding the multidisciplinary perspectives on CSOs such as silos and echo chambers, misinformation and disinformation.
The Social Development Week 2022 will be capped by the 7th Congress where Senator Risa Hontiveros is invited as guest speaker.
To keep up with the changing times, CODE-NGO recently amended its Covenant on Philippine Development, updated its Development and Reform Agenda, elaborated its Democracy Agenda, and crafted its Strategic Plan for 2023-2027.
