The Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (CEPS) was created on the 8th November 2014, through the dissolution and establishment vote by the General Assembly of the Liaison Unit of Non-Governmental Organizations of Seychelles (LUNGOS) . LUNGOS had been in existence for 25 years.
LUNGOS was a platform for NGOs, whereas CEPS is the platform for civil society.
The mission of CEPS unfolds, into relevant working themes, which include: providing common ground for Civil Society participation in development, enabling overall growth and development of the Civil Society sector, capacity development, Inter-organizational/sector networking and liaison, partnership facilitation, policy engagement and the delivery of some essential services to the sector.
Key Strategic Areas further deploy those themes:
- Representation of the interest of the Seychelles Civil Society/NGO Community
• Information and Research Services
• Administrative Support Services Advisory / Consultancy Services
• Capacity Development Services
• Partnering and Policy Engagement Services
• Accreditation Services
• Collaborative Facilitation Services
• Projects and Events Management Services
Representation
Currently, over 72 of the active Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Seychelles are affiliated to CEPS. They are clustered into eight different Thematic Commissions according to areas of intervention and focus. CEPS is the national platform for Civil Society in Seychelles, establishing itself as representative of the collective interest of Civil Society Organizations and the voluntary sector in Seychelles. It is affiliated to CIVICUS and SADC-CNGO.
Currently, over 72 of the active Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Seychelles are affiliate with CEPS. Based of their areas of interest and intervention, we split them into eight different Thematic Commissions. As the national platform for Civil Society in Seychelles,we stands as the voice for the country’s volunteer sector and Civil Society Organizations as a whole. We are affiliated with CIVICUS and SADC-CNGO.
In order to provide value and benefit the community as a whole, we serve as an interface with both state and non-state actors on a national and worldwide level. CEPS assumes a pivotal role in lobbying for increased civil society involvement in national development and decision-making, as well as in voicing the interests and concerns of the sector. International organizations like IMF, ADB, World Bank, and EU consult CEPS when seeking the inputs of civil society organizations on a range of development topics.
The goal of CEPS is to increase civil society’s ability and role in national development initiatives and policymaking processes. CEPS offers a wide range of training and capacity building programs for the Third Sectors in addition to its many other tasks.
To date, we as CEPS have a permanent seat on several national boards and committees.
