The meeting held on March 12-13 was organised with the following aims:

-  To review, assess and to situate GCAP-Asia in the current development landscape (both the internal and external environment) 

- To synergise GCAP national coalitions and GCAP Asia as a regional network,  and develop an immediate action plan for 2007 to strengthen the global call to action

- To formulate or refine the policy framework, plans and strategies, and activities; this includes uniting on a common position on the future of GCAP post-2007 to be  forwarded in GCAP Global Assembly in May 2007 in Montevideo

- Refine existing regional structures and mechanisms and to develop synergy and collaboration  between two sub-regional constituencies/Secretariats; a) South Asia and b) South East, North and Central Asia (SENCA)

ASPBAE was represented by Raquel Castillo, the Asia Advocacy and Campaigns Coordinator at this Meeting. A total of thirty participants attended the meeting representing fourteen national coalitions, Asian Facilitating Committee members, partner organizations and Secretariat members.

National coalitions reported on their mobilizations and campaigns in 2006, especially during the GCAP month of mobilisation, and their plans for 2007.   Raquel Castillo shared the ASPBAE analysis and campaign plans on education as a right. She also shared the GCE Global Action Week activities set for the last week of April.  Several working groups were formed and ASPBAE is part of the working group on ODA and the assembly of the marginalized. ASPBAE would also be giving its inputs in the Working groups on Public accountability, governance and social entrepreneurship. ENet Philippines and ENet for Justice, Indonesia (coalitions supported by ASPBAE) are in the Working Group on Privatization.  

Three sub-groups were created to look at the future of GCAP for 2007 and beyond. They were tasked to discuss the following topics: policy, structures, and mobilization.

The group presentations focused around the following points:

         1. There is a consensus that the GCAP Asia effort against poverty should continue till 2015.

         2. The emphasis will be on the political leadership of the campaign, which in the case of Asia will be the Asia Facilitation Group, with the representation of marginalized groups.

         3. GCAP needs to set the highest standards of accountability and transparency from the national to global levels.

         4. There is a consensus that the AFG will provide the political leadership of GCAP Asia.

         5. There is a need for an operational mechanism across the Asia region.

 The meeting ended with thanks to the various people, partners and groups who contributed to making the meeting possible, specially the support of the funders’ group. The meeting provided an opportunity for ASPBAE to push education as a campaign priority task in the Asia-Pacific region.