DSI Informal Dialogue Partnership

Because formal meetings leave little time for in-depth conversations and tend to unfold under considerable pressure, the Partnership seeks to:

• Create more opportunities for informal exchange among actors who rarely talk to each other directly.
• Generate useful information for all sides, through knowledge products and analysis.
• Build trust and relationships, a precondition for finding common ground at the COP.

We design informal, exploratory, non-representative and non-decision-making spaces. Participants speak from their own experience, not on behalf of their government, organization, people or community. Conversations are held under the Chatham House Rule, so that ideas can be explored freely, without the commitments that come with a negotiation.

Our principles

• Support, not advocacy. The Partnership facilitates; the Parties decide in the formal process. We document what emerges without promoting positions or predetermined outcomes.
• Identity protection. Participants are not identified in reports or at closed events. Any identification, photograph showing faces, testimony or attribution requires free, prior, informed and written consent.
• Transparency about the process, not about people. Ideas, areas of convergence and divergence, and findings are public; attributions to individuals, organizations or delegations are not.
• Inclusion and accessibility. We make the diversity of voices visible, with particular attention to women, Indigenous youth and regional balance.

Formats

• Global multi-stakeholder meetings among rights holders and stakeholders.
• Sectoral dialogues (regional and global).
• Open webinars and virtual peer-exchange spaces.
• Side events at CBD meetings.

Tangible outputs

• Technical knowledge products on specific elements of the operationalization of the Cali Fund, such as contribution modalities and triggers ("money in") and allocation criteria and disbursement channels ("money out").
• Synthesis reports of dialogue sessions and meetings, capturing key themes, areas of convergence and points of divergence, in line with the Chatham House Rule.
• Outcome documents or joint statements, co-created when participants agree to endorse shared messages or options.
• Regional meeting reports highlighting the priorities and perspectives of each region.
• Recordings of webinars, learning sessions and technical discussions, available for stakeholders to consult as they prepare for CBD processes.

Find these materials in the Resources section.