The “Peoples Summit”, defined as a peoples initiative has been held since 2000 in parallel with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The Summit aims to promote people to people dialogues, exchanges and linkages in South Asia to address regional issues.

This joint civil society initiative provides a platform to act on “peoples agenda” and helps the civil society to engage with national governments and regional institutions. The six summits held since its commencement in Colombo, Kathmandu, Islamabad (twice), Dhaka and Delhi in the years 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 respectively played four important functions:

1. Enhancing the need for a follow-up to create a common understanding on the issues of people’s agendas among various civil society actors of South Asia;
2. Developing alternative linkages and communication among civil society organizations, marginalized sections within South Asia;
3. Engaging with like-minded civil society organizations on the issues of peoples agenda to lobby with SAARC Head of states and other regional forums; and
4. Promoting dialogue within each country involving civil society actors working with marginalized sections of the society for culminating into a regional dialogue.

Through these Peoples Summits different means were adopted to organize, strengthen and link civil society actions for development, policy alternatives and promotion of human rights and peace in the region. Different actors of civil society were bring together and forums were formed on the issues of human security, poverty and livelihood, democratic governance and peace regional civil society. It has played effective role in:

• Promoting people to people dialogues, interactions, exchange and linkages in South Asia
• Building linkages among various civil society actors of the South Asia
• Advocating on behalf of marginalized with national governments and regional forums such as SAARC and other bodies
• Developing alternative South Asian peoples agenda and role of civil Society organizations in making South Asia a cohesive and peaceful region.
• Experimenting and strengthening people-based development models.