A renowned industrialist and Chairman of the O. B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation, Dr. Mrs. Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs, has been appointed Chairman of the Fund for the global Alliance of NGOs and CSOs of South South Cooperation (ANCSSC).
She was appointed at a special conference held at the House of Lords, Parliament of the United Kingdom.
A press statement issued in Port Harcourt on Saturday by Dr Lulu-Briggs’ spokesman, Barrister Oraye St. Franklyn, said the event which was hosted by Baroness Pola Uddin, Member of the House of Lords, was held at the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace of the House of Lords, United Kingdom.
He said the event brought together diplomats, business executives, royalty, academia, and members of the ANCSSC, the International Network of 450-member NGOs and CSOs from around the world who work in collaboration with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) to deepen the impact of civil society in the Global South.
Dr. Seinye Lulu-Briggs, according to the statement, thanked the ANCSSC for the honour to chair its important fund and pledged her commitment at ensuring that the global community is galvanised to better fund the civil society in the Global South for the region’s inclusive growth and development.
Speaking on the importance of funding civil society, Dr. Seinye said, “The emerging economies of the world are bearing the brunt of both the global climate change crisis and the ongoing unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. And there is no doubt that civil society organisations in the Global South will be a vital part of the international development community’s efforts to mitigate and create innovative responses at the community level, going forward.
“In my role as the Chair of the Alliance Fund, I would like to highlight the increasing engagement of the Global South in multiple spheres of international development cooperation, and there is significant expansion in the scope of the South South cooperation. This has resulted in stronger economic bonds; but I believe that much more can be done by invoking SDG goal 17 which focuses on achieving the SDGs through strengthening solidarity, collaboration and partnership.”
She expressed the need to focus on the importance of financing civil society in the Global South.
Earlier, host of the event Baroness Uddin praised the ANCSSC for its efforts to bring together NGOs and CSOs to build momentum and energy for organisations in the Global South in order to develop resilience and self-reliance.
In his remarks His Excellency Sheikh (Dr.) Abdulaziz A. Rahman H. A. Al-Thani, the CEO of the Islamic Council of Donor Institutions and President of the ANCSSC , said his two goals were “to build leaders in the humanitarian sector saying that he is proud that he is the Chairman of building leaders in Qatar, his country.
Convener of the ANCSSC, Dr. Husna Ahmad, OBE, in her remarks emphasised the need for global cooperation between civil society and International Development partners to combat both existing and looming humanitarian crises.
