The work of these groups and government services encouraged and supported the free association of ordinary citizens in voluntary organizations of different forms. Their work also facilitated access to activities and services on a range of subjects related to HOACBP's four thematic areas: non-formal education, justice, women and information/communication. The purpose of the Nairobi Encounter project was to engage with people from the Horn of Africa on the issues of equity and participatory development, in an effort to improve the program's developing understanding of the context in which it operates. The Nairobi Encounter was viewed as an opportunity to explore links between Justice and the development of civil society and to identify a range of potential programming initiatives in this area. This explains why participants were largely lawyers from the Horn and from Canada with appropriate experience in this sector. To encourage engagement JES organized presentations from participants with the intention to highlight main issues and discuss organizations in their respective country considering the proposed classification as a starting base.