National forum for Advocacy Nepal (NAFAN) is a social organization which was formally established in 2004 (2063BS) by the professional, academician, expert, campaigner who have keen interest to undertake advocacy and carry out development initiatives in Nepal/activities in different fields on behalf of Nepal’s civil society. NAFAN has been working on various thematic issues such as environment, sustainable development human right, peace building and other cross cutting issues. This organization has been prioritizing the issues of peoples right on resources by effective, efficient, and managed advocacy procedure for the improvement of livelihood of backwarded, poor and marginalized community. NAFAN has been working in the field of environmental conservation, sustainable resource management and its equitable distribution and capacity building, promoting gender equity and equality. Currently, NAFAN is partnering with Swallows Finland, Rydam Foundation, Raksirang Gaunpalika and other organizations for various initiatives in Nepal.
The Regional Planning Workshop on Capacity Building of Community Based Organizations in Advocacy Strategies organized by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Chittagong city of Bangladesh from 3 to 6 November 2003 was the founding stone of NAFAN. The representatives of civil society organizations from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan were participating in this workshop. The workshop was facilitated by experts in advocacy strategies connected with the Center for Advocacy Strategies, Pune India.
The Regional Planning Workshop on Capacity Building of Community Based Organizations in Advocacy Strategies organized by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Chittagong city of Bangladesh from 3 to 6 November 2003 was the founding stone of NAFAN. The representatives of civil society organizations from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan were participating in this workshop. The workshop was facilitated by experts in advocacy strategies connected with the Center for Advocacy Strategies, Pune India.
After political changes in 1990, some non-governmental organizations advocated and persuaded the government to change some policies and legislations relating to forestry, women's property rights, and consumer protection issues. Some of these policy changes brought good impacts on the protection of rights of the underprivileged, marginalized communities and women. Some of the groups launched movements for ensuring access to natural resources and benefit sharing. Some organizations raised issues of gender and equity, and some others raised the issues of bounded labor and so on. All of such organizations and groups faced a tough time during the movements. Therefore, such members of civil society organizations realized that Public Advocacy in isolation did not produce the intended results. Since then the need for a national-level forum as a resource organization for public advocacy on various issues was strongly felt.
However, the northern part of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the whole of Nepal did not have adequate knowledge and skills in public advocacy by that time. Therefore, the initiative of ICIMOD was to bring advocacy expertise from the South to the North in these countries. Such knowledge and skills transformation were also not possible without a professional forum. These are some of the rationales for establishing NAFAN.
Peace and prosperity of the nation and environmental conservation.
Influence, encourage and shape the plan, policies and decisions in political, social, economic and environmental dimension