Rivers State, July 12, 2025. In a significant move to strengthen civil society collaboration and impact, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene, Executive Director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC), on Friday convened a strategic meeting of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from across Rivers State.
The meeting, hosted at the YEAC headquarters in Port Harcourt, brought together leaders and representatives from various CSOs to foster synergy, align advocacy goals, and develop a cohesive action plan to address pressing environmental, social, and governance issues in the state.
The strategic session focused on several key objectives, including:
Enhancing Collaborative Advocacy: Identifying common fronts and creating a unified voice on critical state and national issues, particularly concerning environmental justice, community development, and good governance.
Strategy and Resource Sharing: Developing coordinated strategies to amplify the impact of advocacy campaigns and exploring opportunities for shared resources and knowledge exchange among member organizations.
Addressing Emerging Challenges: Analyzing the current socio-political landscape in Rivers State and formulating proactive responses to emerging challenges affecting communities and civil society operations.
Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene emphasized the critical importance of a united civil society front. "In the face of complex challenges, fragmentation is our greatest weakness. By convening this strategy meeting, YEAC aims to build a formidable coalition of CSOs in Rivers State. Together, our collective voice is louder, our strategies are sharper, and our capacity to drive positive change and hold stakeholders accountable is significantly magnified."
Participants at the meeting expressed strong commitment to the new collaborative framework, highlighting its timeliness and potential for creating a more significant and sustained impact in the region.
The meeting concluded with the formation of working groups and a commitment to regular coordination, marking a pivotal step towards a more integrated and powerful civil society network in Rivers State