The first Steering Committee (SC) of the Civil Society Facility Southern Neighbourhood (CSF South) held its first meeting in Brussels on 22 February 2023. Its main objective was to bring together DG NEAR, representatives of the Framework Partners and the Technical assistance team, the EU Delegations in the Southern Neighbourhood countries, the European External Actions Service and other line DGs in order to provide an overall strategic guidance of the programme.

CSF South programme will be implemented between 2023 and 2026 by 6 Framework partners (Arab Reform Initiative, EuroMed Rights, Euromediterranean Foundation for Human Rights Defenders, Minority Rights Group Europe, COSPE, Norwegian Refugee Council), technical assistance Med Dialogue II and the EC.

Its main objective is to provide a regular structured dialogue between civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Southern Neighbourhood in order to promote the culture and values of democratic governance. Beyond this, the SD aims to influence the decision-making process on EU policies and programmes and to strengthen the voice and action capability of CSOs in the region. Activities envisaged during its first year include SC meetings, four thematic webinars on the topics mentioned, some meetings at the national level and a Civil Society Forum to be held in Brussels.