Congress Secretariat:
| Email: | congress@wango.org |
| Mail: | World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) International Headquarters 200 White Plains Road, First Floor Tarrytown, NY 10591 USA |
| Phone: | (914) 631-8990 |
| Fax: | (570) 842-5415 |
Due to the changing security situation in Nairobi, Kenya, the 2012 World Congress of NGOs is cancelled.
Nairobi has long had a reputation as a safe haven from the terrorism found in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. When Nairobi was selected as the site of the 2012 Congress, the only travel advisories issued were related to the more remote areas of Kenya, and WANGO held a successful conference in Nairobi in 2010. However, all of this began to change in March, as terrorism and threats of terrorism visited Nairobi. We have been made aware by the US Embassy of potential terror attacks targeting Nairobi hotels, with intelligence information showing the planning of the potential attacks to be in the final stages. In addition, several nations have recently changed their travel advisories to now include travel to Nairobi, referencing the high threat of terrorism in Kenya.
Because of this updated information, the Conference Committee has decided that the safety and security of the participants -- which include NGO leaders, governmental officials, and business leaders -- make it prudent to not hold the Congress at this time.
We deeply regret any inconvenience this has caused.
Sincerely,
Taj Hamad
Secretary General, WANGO
