Mr Kebba K. Barrow, the Programme Officer at The Association of Non-Government Organisation (TANGO) left Banjul last Friday for Johannesburg, South Africa to attend the Annual General Meeting of Affinity Group of National Association.

The meeting, which is currently underway in Johannesburg, will avail Mr Barrow and other participants the opportunity to discuss certain issues, key among which are the global financial crisis and its impact on the activities of the civil society.

Speaking to The Point shortly before his departure, Mr Kebba K. Barrow said “the session will bring together partners from other CIVICUS programmes and provide an opportunity for the sharing of experiences and learning on ways in which civil society can be supported during these challenging times”.

According to Mr Barrow, as a member of the AGNA Steering Committee he would join his colleagues to discuss issues on legitimacy, transparency and accountability of national associations. He also said that during this workshop, there will be contributions from a few experts in the field, a guide to resources and presentation of research papers on legitimacy, transparency and accountability of national associations by three pairs of national associations.

He added that the meeting would also provide members with an opportunity to collectively highlight their successes and challenges, and identify new areas of work and priorities for AGNA for 2010.