During the first ten years of global effort to achieve sustainable development, one key lesson that has emerged clearly is that sustainable development requires participation. We have learned that when a diversity of actors in society -ranging from community groups to students, non-governmental organizations to business - work together with governmental authorities to identify problems, to find innovative solutions and to implement programs they designed together, the outcomes are more successful and sustainable in the long term.

An entire section of Agenda 21 is devoted to the importance of participation (Chapters 23 to 32). This section not only distinctly identified those social and economic sectors that have particular roles and responsibilities but also provided general guidance on what participation means in sustainable development. Chapter 23 presented 'broad public participation in decision making' as a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development and acknowledged the 'need for new forms of participation' as a way to enable the kind of social partnership
sustainability requires.

Meaningful participation of citizens and their organizations in decision-making has at least two prerequisites: access to information and mutual accountability. Only when citizens and their organizations are able to equally and freely access information on economic, social and
environmental aspects of sustainability can they make meaningful contributions to making the decisions that affect their lives. Citizens therfore have a right to know before they can be expected to be an active participant in sustainable development decision making.

Mutual accountability is a necessity in order to make decisions that are carried out. Accountability requires commitment to goals, transparency and institutions that protect the citizens' right to demand accountability from governmental and non-governmental partners. When decisions are made transparently and when all actors involved are accountable to each other on these decision, the actions are owned by all and therefore are more likely
to achieve their objectives.

		Working together achieves more durable results.

Genuine participation needs a change in attitudes and assumptions, but also in the cultural, legal and institutional frameworks. The upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa, 2-11 September 2002) may provide an opportunity to start designing better frameworks that serve sustainable development rather than undermine it. The
Summit itself is designed as an unprecedented participatory and partnership oriented process. This design is not by coincidence but on purpose: only through participation and partnership we will be able to move from examples of good practices to making such practices the normal way of doing things.

The future of sustainable development will depend on the extent to which the world community is willing and ready to generate tangible partnerships and committments which can only flourish in an environment of open access to information and transparent systems of mutual accountability.

Ms. Zehra Aydin
Coordinator, Major Groups Focal Point
johannesburg Summit Secretariat
United Nations