Welcome to this update on the 'Citizen Voices for Change' project, which is now entering its second year. This newsletter shows some of the activities delivered during the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 - from a full innovative, regional conference on illegal logging organised by the project in collaboration with INTERPOL, development of a radar based alert system for monitoring illegal logging in West and Central Africa (FLEGT WATCH), to important organisational development training for project partners and civil society organisations.

2018 promises to be a very busy year, following the project coordination meeting recently organised in Central African Republic. We will focus on mainstreaming gender throughout the project, resource mobilisation and advocacy strategies in the area of organisational development support. We will launch the radar based alert system for independent forest monitoring this year as well as implement country independent forest monitoring missions and studies. Work will continue to support civil society platforms in the region to play their advocacy role more effectively as well as the organisation of our first forest governance forum under this project.

We thank all the partners and national stakeholders for continuous support and engagement and especially the European Union for funding support. We look forward to an even more successful project year in 2018.

Dr Aurelian Mbzibain, Project Manager

For more Information, please check: Latest updates from the CV4C project - Forest monitoring in the Congo Basin