| INTRODUCTION A Civil Society Forum on the progress in implementation of the World Summit for Social Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 26-28 October 1999. The Forum was attended by representatives of civil society organisations from four countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan) in the region. The Forum was convened by the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) and co-organised by the United Nations Development Programme. The Civil Society Forum is part of a series of more than 20 meetings which ICSW has organised around the world following the World Summit for Social Development, which was held in Copenhagen in 1995. A review of implementation of the Summit will be conducted by a Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in June 2000. The Central Asia and Trans-Caucasus Forum was held over two and a half days and was a mixture of plenary and workshop sessions. Speakers included leading governmental and non-governmental experts. A number of keynote speeches are included in this report alongside the main recommendations arising out of the workshops. The recommendations will be used to promote civil society priorities in the UN’s official preparatory process for the Copenhagen + 5 review.
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