The annual Membership Meeting of the Non-Governmental Committee on UNICEF took place on Thursday, February 2nd, at the UNICEF House in New York. The meeting is an opportunity to increase collaboration between the NGOs and the work of UNICEF.
The ceremony was opened by José Alejandro Vázquez (IFFD), co-chair of the Committee. He highlighted the importance of reinvigorating it and using the session as a first step to do so.
Next, Pernille Ironside, the Deputy Director of the Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring (DAPM) and Lead, Programme Effectiveness Team (PET) of UNICEF shared a short presentation to overview how CSOs feature in UNICEF’s Strategic Plan (2022-2025).
The co-chair, on behalf of the Committee, asked about ways to better engage with the work of UNICEF and highlighted how UNICEF was, in many ways, an open door for the NGOs.
Bee Khan and Sarah Wilbanks, representatives from UNICEF, shared different opportunities to engage with the work of UNICEF and demonstrated support for open collaboration.
Ignacio Socias, from IFFD, stated the importance of working together, leaving differences behind, and underscored the gains felt by every party to achieve better results.
The session was closed by a membership discussion and a brief presentation about the family measures included in the Strategic Plan 2022-2025. The recent activity of the Committee, upcoming engagements, opportunities and ways to join the advisory group were also featured during that discussion.
The Non-Governmental Committee of UNICEF is a group of transnational civil society organizations based in New York that has always been committed to fulfilling its mandate to advise the Executive Board of UNICEF. The Membership Meeting was organized to explore opportunities to engage with the work of the Executive Board and send recommendations.
