The
pre-launch activities were as follows:
i.)
Friends of CDD Reception in Washington
This
was the first of the CDD pre-launch activities and it was indeed
a gathering of friends. The reception which took place in
Washington DC on the 17th of September 2002 was a small but
productive meeting. Everyone present at the meeting was very
familiar with the centre’s work and was quite enthusiastic
about the progress of the organisation as a whole. The reception
gave an opportunity to put forward the Centre’s plan of
launching an Endowment Fund Campaign.
The
guests at the Washington reception made recommendations as to
what the campaign process should entail. Those with expertise in
particular fields also offered their services and support. What
made this reception particularly successful was that the CDD
friends present were able to share with the CDD team the
difficulties that should be expected and the need to remain
focused and unmoved when those challenges arise. If the CDD team
lacked confidence in making an appeal for an endowment fund or
was unsure about how successful it would be, the ‘friends of
CDD reception in Washington’ relieved our fears and our
anxiety and increased our confidence to face the task ahead of
us.
ii.)
Media Forum, Lagos
The
media forum was held on the 7th of October at the Golden Gate
Restaurant in Ikoyi, Lagos. The Nigerian media – print, radio
and television – were fully represented. This meeting was the
first of its like in CDD’s history, in that, previous media
forums were with particular focus to ongoing CDD’s programmes,
which were often in coalition with other Non-Governmental
Organisations and as such the focus was not on CDD directly.
At
the forum, the Director of CDD, Kayode Fayemi, and the Senior
Programme Officers Amina Salihu and Otive Igbuzor encapsulated
the programme areas and activities of CDD over the past five
years. It was interesting to know that most of the programmes
mentioned were actually well known, but not as the Centre’s
initiatives. Members of the media actually wondered why CDD had
waited for five years before publicly revealing the organisation’s
profile. The forum provided the opportunity for the media to ask
questions about past and present CDD initiatives, especially
those that were related to the provision of technical advises to
governmental initiatives and to social policy initiatives. The
Director and the Special Project Officer, Bisi Olonisakin, also
gave insight to the plans the Centre has to ensure its
sustainability. The model of the proposed CDD Training Centre
was exhibited at the forum and this confirmed how far gone the
Centre was with plans of operating its own Training &
Conference Centre.
The
outcome of the CDD Media Forum in Lagos was brilliant. The
media, especially the print and television, publicised CDD and
its various activities. As such, the media forum served as an
excellent forerunner to the launch of the endowment fund, the
publicity received as a result of this forum helped prepare the
ground for our local resource mobilisation.
iii.)
Friends of CDD Reception in Lagos
The
‘Friends of CDD Reception’ in Lagos took place on Saturday
October 12th 2002 at the residence of Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, a
member of CDD’s International Governing Council. Unlike the
‘Friends of CDD Reception in Washigton’, the attendance was
huge with people from various backgrounds. A lot of the people
at this reception have had a great deal of interaction with CDD
but with limited knowledge of the centre’s work. The reception
was not a fundraising event but a ‘friends raising’ one,
with the purpose of soliciting support and volunteers for the
campaign and it served as a great opportunity for everyone
present to learn about CDD’s work.
In
a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere, the Chair of CDD, Dr.
Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem and the Director, Dr. Kayode Fayemi talked
about how CDD evolved over the years from its small beginnings
of little in terms of resources to being an influential
Non-Governmental Organisation in the West African Region. More
important than reiterating where the Centre has been and
highlighting its milestones was sharing the vision of the Centre
and divulging the plans the Centre has in place to ensure that
its vision fulfilled. In the same vein, the Special Project
Officer, Bisi Olonisakin talked about CDD’s plan to launch an
Endowment fund with the main aim of sustaining the centre in its
quest to achieve a wholly integrated, peaceful and conflict free
West Africa sub-region.
The
highlight of the day was guests’ response to the plea to make
commitments towards the Endowment Fund and the campaign process.
Each guest was given a donor and volunteer request form as well
as a list of resources and services needed to facilitate
fundraising and preparations for the launch of the Endowment
Fund. Practically all the guests present made pledges to support
the Centre in various capacities. Although some of these pledges
were in cash most of them were in kind. Also, from this
reception, some friends of CDD emerged as local advisers for the
campaign process.
iv.)
Pre-Launch Reception for Civil Society Organisations, Abuja
The
Pre-Launch Reception for Civil Society Organisations took place
on the 14th of November at the Nicon Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Representatives of several civil society organisations were
present at this reception. This was one meeting that did not
require CDD to reiterate its achievement over the years,
everyone present at this meeting knew about CDD’s programmes
in one area or the other. Also, many of organisations
represented there had either partnered or collaborated with CDD
on different programmes or initiatives, or benefited from such
programmes.
The
aim of the meeting was clearly not to solicit for funds but to
engender solidarity. At this reception, rather than dwell on our
milestones, all emphases were laid on our vision to establish a
Regional Institute for Peace and Security Studies, a
Transitional Justice Initiative, operate a Training and
Conference Centre as well as ensure the Centre’s
sustainability.
v.)
Site Tour, Ilishan, Ogun State, Nigeria
A
few members of staff and International Governing Council members
had seen the proposed Training and Conference Centre in Ilishan,
but a large percentage of them had not. It was therefore thought
that a site tour would be helpful. Although those that had seen
the structure as well as those that had not identified with the
need to establish a training centre in order to ensure the
Centre’s sustainability, seeing the physical structure
intensified this belief. The questions as to the possibility of
CDD owning its own Training & Conference Centre changed to
how soon it could be done.
The
tour was a very exciting one. The tour of the magnificent
structures was not all that was done, there was also a tour of
the Ilishan township with a visit to the Oba at his palace and
to the Babcock University. The Oba was particularly pleased and
expressed that the presence of CDD’s Training & Conference
Centre would go a long way to further development in the town.
vi.)
Public Lecture
The
Public Lecture was held on the 29th of November, a day prior to
the launch of the Endowment Fund, at the Muson Center, Lagos.
The lecture was delivered by Professor Richard Joseph, one of
CDD’s International Advisers and renowned for his work on
Democratisation in Africa. Prof. Joseph’s paper titled
"State, Governance and Insecurity in Africa" took a
critical look at the challenges of democratic development in
Africa and generated rigorous, thought provoking discussions
within the audience. The lecture and subsequent media interviews
held by Prof. Joseph emphasised the role of CDD and other
Non-Governmental Organisations in the development of Democracy
in Africa.
vii.)
Fifth Anniversary & Launch of Endowment Fund
The
Launch of the Endowment Fund was the first of its like in the
Non-Governmental sector within the West African region. The
Launch was held at the Eko le Meridien Hotel in Lagos on the
30th of November 2002. The event was moderately well attended,
and the pedigree of persons at the event was a good measure of
the quality of CDD values. Guests cut across sectors, from
renown democracy activists such as Professor Abdoulaye Diallo,
Chairperson of the Mano River Union; to high profile
personalities from the corporate sector such as Mr. Akin
Kekere-Ekun, Managing Director, Habib Bank, Mr. Knut Ulvmoen,
Managing Director, Dangote Group of Companies; to Government
representatives such as Nigeria’s Director-General of the
Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and a
host of other dignitaries. A great number of the personalities
represented at the launch including the Director, Dr. Kayode
Fayemi, and Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, member of CDD’s
International Governing Council, were featured in a well read
Nigerian Daily, as a new generation of leaders this country
sorely needs. This shows that the Centre has the right kinds of
friends and is truly investing in the future and in people.
The
décor, food, entertainment etc. was exquisite and the keynote
address was inspiring. The Chair of the event, Nobel Laureate,
Prof. Wole Soyinka; the Keynote Speaker, Prof. Abdoulaye Bathily,
and a number of dignitaries present at the Launch laid emphasis
on the relevance of CDD’s work in the promotion of peace and
stability in West Africa. The Launch was highly successful in
creating public awareness of CDD and its work over the years. An
estimate of N8.5 million (in cash, cheques and pledges) was
generated from the Launch. It was not a huge success in terms of
raising funds, but it gave CDD the opportunity to generate
funds, resources, support and solidarity from individual
philanthropists within the local African environment. The
opportunity given to encourage local philanthropy is also not a
one-time deed but hopefully a continuous and more prolific one.
For comprehensive details of the Launch of the Endowment Fund,
please refer to "CDD’s Endowment Launch" by
Ololade Bamidele.
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