Nassau, Bahamas — On February 27th, 2018, representatives of 84 different civil society and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) gathered at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island for the country’s first ever Civil Society Conclave. From the opening remarks, brought by Gevon Moss, Civil Society Liaison at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the conclave was a display of the collaborative desire and strength of the civil society sector in The Bahamas and all that it can accomplish with more organization and management.

CEO of the One Eleuthera Foundation, Shaun Ingraham presented on the Standards for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Also presenting were a notable group of other business experts including Matt Albury, Executive Director of The Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG) and Dr. Nicola Rolle, Director of Economic Development and Planning. Ingraham spoke on the One Eleuthera Foundation’s Social and Economic Development Model and then proposed standards in areas including legal, transparency and accountability, financial oversight, and monitoring and evaluation.

Terry Miller, President of Civil Society Bahamas (CSB), followed up Mr. Ingraham’s presentation by speaking on the vision, mission, and objectives of the CSB.

After their individual presentations, Ingraham and Miller hosted a panel where they entertained questions from members of the audience. They addressed concerns of funding and support, networking, and implementing the proposed standards for the civil society sector. 

Explore Mr. Ingraham’s proposed standards for civil society here: https://oneeleuthera.org/news/2018/march/proposed-standards-civil-society-organizations.