ImPACT for the Future - An FAQ

 

What is the “ImPACT for the Future”?

One of the key outcomes of the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference (Conference) will be called “ImPACT for the Future.” Given the short time frame for the Conference, as well as the fluid nature of the negotiations around the intergovernmentally negotiated Pact for the Future, the outcomes will take shape in various formats to have the greatest impact. As such, we will produce the following:

  1. A hub for “ImPACT Coalitions,” which will be civil-society generated, diverse stakeholder constituted coalitions which agree to work towards advancing certain key reform initiatives leading up to and beyond the Summit of the Future.
     
  2. A Co-Chair’s Summary as a record and summary of the Conference itself.

 

How will these “ImPACT Coalitions” be formed and what will they do?

The ImPACT Coalitions can either be coalitions that already exist and would like to use the UN Civil Society Conference as an opportunity to expand their reach, or the conference itself (and the lead-up to it) may be the catalyst for the co-creation of the Coalition. Pre-existing coalitions may wish to be a part of this process because of the opportunities to meet new and diverse organizations with similar objectives, to deepen the pool of expertise, share best practices, or to simply become ‘searchable’ through this network. Additionally, the UN Civil Society Conference will bring together many organizations with shared aspirations who can co-create new coalitions. Regardless of how the ImPACT coalitions are formed, they will all need to meet the same criteria to be considered an ImPACT Coalition. The criteria is meant to ensure a rigorous process going forward.

The Criteria: Those interested in forming an ImPACT Coalition will be asked to fill out which will help organize and merge potential initiatives which have similar interests at this early stage. ImPACT Coalitions will be invited to share initial reflections on:

  1. The principles being advanced;
  2. The specific asks being requested;
  3. The Membership of the group; and
  4. A proposed work plan to take this forward. 

In order to be under consideration to be a part of the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference program, expressions of interest must be submitted by 8 April. However, the co-creation of ImPACT Coalitions will take place at and/or after the Conference.

 

How will the Co-Chairs’ Summary be formed?

It is not unusual at conferences of this style that the organizers of each session - whether it is a workshop, a side event, a plenary, or any other category- will be asked to produce short summaries of the key outputs from that session. The relevant UN Civil Society Conference organizers will then compile these summaries into a “Co-Chairs’ Summary.”