Civil society must be at the center of global decision-making, Fuad Karimli, Secretary General of the Global South NGO Platform, said during his speech at the opening ceremony of the “WUF13 NGO Forum,” held for the first time in WUF history at Azerbaijan’s initiative.
“The gathering of hundreds of non-governmental organizations today demonstrates the strength and common will of global civil society,” he said.
Karimli noted that as a result of the first general assembly held in Baku in recent days, a broad platform uniting more than 1,000 NGOs was established, and this process became an important stage in the institutional strengthening of global civil society.
He stated that civil society organizations from the Global South are beginning to see the city of Baku as a new strategic center for international cooperation and solidarity.
He added that the role of civil society in solving urban planning and global urbanization problems should be increased:
“For a long time, civil society remained outside global urban planning. However, challenges such as climate resilience and fair housing show that solutions cannot be created without people.”
It was noted during the speech that the integration of local and regional experiences into global policy is important and that civil society should become an integral part of the decision-making process.
