In preparation for the Special Summit of the Americas, held in Monterrey, Mexico in January 2004, a Regional Forum “Civil Society in the Hemispheric Integration Process within the Framework of the Special Summit of the Americas,” was held on November 24-25, 2003 in Mexico City, Mexico.

The objective of the forum was to offer a space for dialogue among civil society organizations, opinion leaders and academics in the region to discuss and formulate recommendations regarding the three central themes of the Special Summit of the Americas.

The recommendations formulated and prioritized by the participants of the Forum were intended for the governments of the region with the purpose of supporting the governments in their efforts to facilitate concrete action towards economic growth with equity, social development, and democratic governance among our countries.

At the Special Summit, the Heads of State and Government agreed that, through citizen participation, civil society organizations should contribute to the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies adopted by different orders or levels of government.

They also recognized the role of civil society and its contribution to sound public administration and reaffirmed the importance of continuing to forge new partnerships that would enable constructive ties to be built between governments, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and the diverse sectors of civil society in order to work in favor of development and democracy. Likewise, they pledged to encourage civil society participation in the Summits of the Americas process and to institutionalize meetings with civil society and with the academic and private sectors.