Catholic-inspired NGOs FORUM
Forum des ONG d’inspiration catholique

November 2009

To all Forum Participants

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

On behalf of the working group, it is my pleasure hereby to invite you to the next Forum meeting to be held in Rome on 12-14 February 2010. We are grateful to the Secretariat of State and to the Working Group Members for all the work they have done which has greatly contributed to making this second Forum possible.

More than two years have passed since our first meeting.  Ever since that memorable occasion, the Secretariat of State and the Working Group have had continued exchanges on the need to increase the impact of the Christian message at the level of international policy.  You were informed about these exchanges in June.  As is clear, the past two Working Group meetings have been fully focused on preparations for the upcoming Forum, which we hope will be another excellent opportunity not only for sharing but also for constructively looking at the future.  We were very pleased to receive a letter of encouragement from the Secretariat of State, which we gladly share with you (see Attachment 1).

The enclosed agenda for the upcoming Forum includes two important dynamics, the first of which is that of the ethical foundations and new challenges which will be treated during the plenary sessions. The second dynamic is the development, in the thematic group sessions, of a collaborative way forward. These sessions have been organized according to the themes identified during the mapping process, a final and updated copy of which will be sent to you soon. Even if time for discussion is very limited and cannot possibly be sufficient to cover the many issues related to the various themes, we have tried to organize the sessions in such a way that they could become the starting point for new dynamics to be pursued by the participating organizations.

Every participant is asked to register for a maximum of two groups. Given our invitation for two participants per organization, it offers the possibility – if the organizations so wish – to participate in four different groups. Joining other groups once they have already started their activities remains a possibility as well. The networking proposal (see Attachment 2) explains how we hope to see this future configuration work.

The registration form for the groups you have chosen to attend (see Attachment 3) asks you to state what your organization has identified as its major goals (maximum three), as well as its means and targets (maximum three), within the policy and political perspectives of the specific themes. Receiving these in advance will help the moderators to prepare for the group session.  You will find more on this in the preparatory guidelines for the group sessions (see Attachment 4). The moderator of the group you have indicated will inform you in advance as to how s/he intends to proceed, so as to employ the precious time as well as possible.

To simplify hotel registration, we ask all participants who wish to stay in the Clarhotel to contact the hotel directly, doing so no later than 30 November 2009.

CLARHOTEL
L.go Lorenzo Mossa, 4  -  00165  Roma
Tel: +39 06661028   Fax: +39 066635216
www.clarhotel.it – clarhotel@clarhotel.it

We have managed to obtain a special rate for you of 86 Euro for a single room and of 66 Euro per person sharing a double room. This price includes accommodation, breakfast and dinner. Please mention that you are part of the NGO Forum and organize with them for settling your time of arrival and departure. Accommodation and travel expenses remain your own responsibility, and a participation fee of 100 Euro (50 Euro for participant from overseas) will be asked upon arrival. Lunch, translation costs and meeting room rental will be paid for.
Looking forward to meeting you all in February, I am

Yours sincerely,

 Johan Ketelers
Chair of the Forum’s Working Group

Documents Attached:

1. Letter of the Secretariat of State
2. Invitation Letter
3. Program Planning
4. Future Networking Proposal
5. Preparatory guidelines for the Group Sessions