Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF)

Introduction of Organization
The Afghan Civil Society Forum was developed as partnership between Afghan civil society actors and swisspeace at the request of 76 participants of the first Afghan Civil Society Conference in Bad Honnef, Germany (29 November - 2 December 2001). This conference was facilitated by swisspeace parallel to the meeting of political representatives organized by the UN at Petersburg near Bonn. The goal of the conference was to involve Afghan civil society in the peace and reconstruction process of their country in order to achieve a more sustainable post-conflict reconstruction than a simple top-down approach. The Afghan Civil Society Forum began its activities at the beginning of February 2002 after initial funds from the Swiss and German government were secured. The ACSF Office in Kabul was opened two months later in May 2002. Since January 2005 ACSF is registered as an Afghan social organization with the Ministry of Justice, while still receiving the advice from swisspeace until mid-2005. ACSF is committed to encourage active participation of the society through targeted civic education, advocacy, reconciliation and capacity building programs. This is part of ACSF's goal in its involvement in matters concerning civil society development through raising social awareness, while preserving those social values which are of importance to the process of rehabilitation of the war torn communities of Afghanistan. In order to achieve its goals in a sustainable fashion, ACSF utilizes qualified and trained expertise available locally as part of its efforts in using local human resources, thus preventing further loss of national experts through migration. ACSF coordinates its activities with other like-minded networks or coordination bodies and institutions in order to facilitate the exchange of information and experience within the areas of its activities and nationwide. ACSF is accountable to its partners and communities through periodic and annual progress reports and regular evaluation of its activities. ACSF is committed to encourage active participation of communities in development of their social and economic lives through their involvement in decision-making, planning and implementation of national wide programmers. On a national basis, ACSF promotes coordination between the various social organizations and institutions involved in the social development of the country.
Vision:		Mission:
A developed and prosperous Afghanistan through a democracy supported by citizens who participate in the development of a peaceful, just and accountable society		Encourage Afghan citizens to participate in every cultural, economical, social and political development processes of Afghanistan.
Objectives:		Goal:
To enable civil society to have a voice on important issues in order to influence policies To foster and strengthen coordination and networking among civil society actors To facilitate information sharing and exchange of experiences To increase the role, participation and effectiveness of civil society in cultural, economical, social and political processes of the country To link ACSF with other advocacy and research stakeholders		Contribute to the promotion and development of civil society in Afghanistan.