According to CEPS’s statutes, the Thematic Commission is a formal part of the organization. CEPS supports the Commission in important operational initiatives that further the ideas of collaborative participation. The Commission’s primary goal is to give Non State Actors (NSAs) in the Seychelles, a platform to exchange knowledge and firsthand experience on certain topics, as well as to offer crucial information and counsel to CEPS, its partners, and stakeholders. We envisage for the Commissions to offer a common forum for organizations to engage in group discussion, cooperation, and action.
The Commissions are directed as per Article 8 of the CEPS Constitution. The Commission comprises of accredited members of CEPS.
The Commissions provide a common meeting ground for collective dialogue (Forum), collaboration and action by CSOs. They provide civil society representation at national, regional and international levels as and when required by CEPS Board.
Objective of the Commission:
Provide a forum for CSOs sharing information and experiences regarding key issues.
- To provide information and advice to CEPS Board, partners and stakeholders.
- To promote networking.
- To strengthen collaborative action.
- To ensure effective use of resources.
- To provide for representation of the combined interest of Civil Society nationally and internationally
The 7 Commissions
Currently CEPS comprises a network of 72 accredited organizations which are categorized into seven thematic commissions according to areas of common interests operating within a given sector of intervention. The classification of CEPS Accredited Members are as follows:
Representation:
CEPS board may mandate Commissioners to represent CEPS in meetings/committees/boards both at local regionally and international level. In agreement with CEPS and Commission members, the Commissioner, may confer the representative role to another individual.
The structure of Commissions are as follows:
The 5 Key Office Bearers: The Commission elects amongst its core members individuals that will facilitate the work of the Commission up to a period of 3 years. No person shall serve in the same position for more than three consecutive terms.
If a Commission chooses a Core Member’s representative to serve as a KOB, that representative will not qualify to serve as a KOB on another Commission.
Upon admitting into the Commission’s Interest Group, Interest Members will not be eligible to vote or be elected as KOBs. The CEPS Board will contact regarding the eligibility of Interest Members to serve as Key Office Bearers in the event that insufficient Core Members are available to fill the KOB posts. They will give this out case by case according to standards that are reasonable and beneficial to the Commission’s operation.
The key Office Bearer Roles and Functions:
- Commissioner (elected from the nominated core group)
- Deputy Commissioner
- Secretary – Administration (Organizing meetings, minutes, etc )
- Treasurer (Financial Matters)
