The overall aim of the Global Secretariat was – and is – to facilitate GCAP mobilisation for both regional and global activities in July, September and December 2005. Those aims included:

• Active support of the work of the Global Action Forum (GAF) and the corresponding working groups of GCAP’s International Facilitation Group (IFG).

• Active contribution to increasing the number of organisations involved in the GCAP movement.•    Contribute to the development of resources that inform and guide civil society’s participation in GCAP.

• Engage a broad range of civil society and inter-divisional forums to carry out advocacy activities related to GCAP.

GCAP objectives were later expanded to include managing a wide process of consultation leading up to the GCAP meeting in Beirut in March 2006.

CIVICUS played three key roles as the Global Secretariat for the Global Call for Action against Poverty. The first was political – facilitating the campaign as well as the consultation on the future of GCAP. The second was representational – Kumi Naidoo, CIVICUS Secretary General, was one of the co-chairpersons for the International Facilitation Group of the Global Call. And, finally, it played a technical role in making the campaign work through information-sharing and networking.