Type                                : Non Partisan Voluntary Organisation (NGO)
Location                          : Room 102 above Elegance Pressing Akwa-Douala.
Date of creation               : 02 January 1990 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Mission : Our mission consists in building partnerships in view of sustainable human development through dialogue, education, communication exchanges and training.

Main goals :

-    To collect, retrieve and disseminate empowering information to grassroots groups. SME’S youth, women and the media.
-    Act as a resource centre for advice, brokerage, training and consultancy to civil society organisations.
-    To strengthen planning, organisational skills and implementation capacities for local personnel (capacity building)
-    To link group needs to available support and resources world-wide (information, sponsorships, scholarships, grants, joint-ventures…)

PHILOSOPHY OF ACTION:

Partnership, networking and empowerment remain at the heart of our philosophy of action.

HISTORY OF THE ORGANISATION:

In Africa, grassroots organisations are isolated and desperately need information and training in management and problem-solving methodology. In Chad, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic there are many initiatives and projects but, unfortunately collaboration, exchange is not systematically promoted amount these groups. From time to time one had to reinvent the wheel. Which is time and resource consuming.

The Coordinator of Partnership attended many meetings and began to sensitise local NGOs and grassroots on information sharing in sustainable development. Because of the interest raised, a network was set up in 1986 and incorporated in July 1987 for a private non-profit making organisation (Centre d’Information pour le Développement et la Vulgarisation). In that capacity, the organisation undertook a feasibility study in order to establish a consortium of NGOs in Central Africa Republic and coordinated that work for 18 months. Back in Cameroon since 1989, the Coordinator of Partnership participated in many workshops where people confirmed the need of linkages amount organisations, individuals and the society in general.

One particular aspect of this is the lack of linkages between producers and consumers; people’s participation in assessments, planning, implementation and evaluation of environmental and sustainable development programmes is extremely difficult. How can this be done without dialogue, Consultation and communication amount all interested parties?
But how can an organisation do this with it’s community? How can organisations learn from one and others, analyse common problems, exchange experience? How can consumers and producers work together towards common ends?

New methods and techniques had to be learned, group dynamics used.
To foster collaborative efforts, in order to bring needs and resource close together, an independent non-profit making organisation called “PARTNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT PROGRAM” was formed on January 2nd 1990 and incorporated in November of the same year.

Objectives:
-    To collect, retrieve and disseminate information on the environment and Sustainable Human Development.
-    To provide Counselling and sensitivity training on Self-reliant Development, Civic and human Rights, and Gender issues.
-    To facilitate Collaboration and Partnership between NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, the Administration and Donor Agencies.
-    To translate from English to French and vice versa, articles of Association, Environment packs and technical documents.
-    To promote Networking and linkages between field and target groups.

SECTOR OF INTERVENTION:

-    Environmental Education and Protection
-    Urban and Coastal Eco-systems
-    Community Development
-    Networking and Studies
-    NGOs Capacity-Building.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

•    Advocacy, Counselling, training and sensitisation in civic, debt, Environment Education and Forest issues.
•    Monitoring and intervention on matters pertaining to Urban Coastal Eco-systems (World Bank and African Development bank)
•    Capacity-building
•    Consultancy.

TARGET GROUPS

•    The media public                                                         *The Administration
•    Small and medium enterprises                                    *Donor Agencies
•    Schools and training institutions
•    Civil Society Organisations
•    Interested individuals

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS:

•    Functional since January 1990 and Bilingual Organisation (English and French).
•    Planning of the campaign on the World Bank reform in May 1990 alongside Green Peace, WWF, EDF, Bank information centre and FOE in Washington DC (USA).
•    Organized  world environment week in Bonamoussadi, Douala as per pictures in www.partnershipcameroon.org
•    Publication of a directory of Littoral Civil Society organisations in March 2009 (77 entries)
•    Planned, organized and celebrated world environment week in June 2007, June 2008 and June 2009.
•    Put in place and animated for two years and environmental weekly radio programme in Radio Veritas (2007 & 2008).
•    Participated in the Libreville meeting on CEFDHAC restructuring November 2007 in Gabon.
•    We participated to the Brazzaville Head of States meeting on the Congo Basin Forests in February 2005.  
•    Vice President of the Provincial Commission for the Fight against poverty for the Littoral Province since January 2004.
•    Partnership participated in the CEFDHAC meetings of 1998 in Bata (Equatorial Guinea), 2000 in Bujumbura (Burundi), and now we are mobilising participants for the Kinshasa meeting, 10-13 June 2002) and Yaounde, May 2004 (Cameroon).
•    We are in charge design of a communication strategy for the NGOs involved in forest management issues
•    Is currently working in mobilisation of Civil Society Organisation for their participation in forests, poverty eradication and Rio + 10 issues
•    Organised and ran the inter-university workshop on Small Enterprises Development in Dschang: 26th-30th July 2000 (funded by United Nations Development Programme).
•    Member of the experts working group of the Conference on the Central African Moist Forest eco-systems (CEFDHAC) since 1998.
•    . Organisation of SME seminar: how to improve African Enterprises competitiveness? 24-25 may 1999 in Douala (World bank funded).
•    Multiple person-to-person counselling and consultations
•    On-going pilot-program on Environmental Education and Horticulture at Rigmor Bilingual School in Bassa, Douala since 1993.
•    Production of environmental education campaign on polluted Mangrove Eco-systems of the Douala zone in 1998 (CARPE).
•    Capacity building workshops in Douala, April 1998; in Abidjan, May 1998; in Brussels, May 1998 (European Union).
•    Environmental seminars at the Presbyterian Church centre of Douala in 1998.
•    Environmental Education Workshop in Douala and Mbalmayo in 1997 (FAO).
•    Publication of Cameroonian based NGO directory 1995 (CAN Insurances).
•    Micro enterprise development (Ebolowa) 1994 (ILO).
•    Training of women groups in primary and health care (Nsingmbongo) March 1993.
•    Organisation of Management Workshop for NGOs and Civil Society Organisation in small and medium Enterprise development, February 1992 (ILO)

CURRENT ACTIVITIES:

-    Environmental governance and ecotourism promotion.
-    Human rights and civic education.
-    Production of directories ( organisations and human resources).
-    Translation and publication of training tools (English and French)
-    Networking, Partnerships and linkages promotion.
-    Organisation and promotion of NGOs and Civil Society Networks.
-    Advocacy and training in Forest, Debt, and Urban issues.

PARTNER ORGANISATION ALREADY WORKED WITH:

-    African development Bank
-    UNDP/UNIDO;
-    Ministry of Environment and Forests;
-    International Labour Organisations;
-    Living Earth ;
-    WWF, SAILD, INADES-Formation, CERUT;
-    Pan African Institute for Development;
-    CARPE;
-    Economic Commission for Africa;
-    Partnership Africa Canada;
-    European Union;
-    World Bank.

KEY EXPERTS:

1.    Mr CHEKEM Pierre, Environmentalist (Education);
2.    Mr YONGA Ernest, Researcher and Financial Analyst;
3.    Dr HIOL Janvier, Marketing and Sociologist;
4.    Mr NDJOKWE Isaac, marketing and Economist;
5.    Mr NDIEBEWU Peter, Food Processing Engineer;
6.    Mr NGASSAKI Dieudonné, Economist;
7.    Mr DJIBENE David, Jurist;
8.    Mr NGWA Fred, Policy Analyst
9.    Mr Alain FOAPA, Computer Engineer.