Who are we?

Tournons La Page (TLP) is an international citizens' movement, bringing together nearly 250 organisations, which leads and relays actions to promote democratic alternation in Africa.

On the ground, in ten countries (Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Niger, DRC, Togo) our coalitions are carrying out peaceful and non-partisan actions to contribute to the democratic future of their countries.

In France, the International Secretariat based in Paris supports the coalitions: training, coordination and animation of the network, lobbying and advocacy, media presence, protection of activists...

On 15 October 2014, two weeks before the fall of Blaise Compaoré in Burkina Faso, we launched an appeal, to which many personalities and associations associated themselves.

Tournons La Page (TLP) first saw the light of day in the form of an international campaign launched on 15 October 2014 by an appeal entitled "In Africa as elsewhere, no democracy without alternation" signed by 550 organisations and personalities from Africa and Europe. In 2019, it became an international citizens' movement with a legal existence and elective governing bodies.

Tournons La Page (TLP) is today the international reference network on the issue of democratic processes in Africa.

Our objectives

Conduct advocacy actions:

• To refuse any constitutional manipulation for personal purposes;
• To delegitimize authoritarian regimes in the eyes of public opinion and international decision-makers;
• To stop the endorsement by Western leaders of undemocratic practices in Africa;
• To ensure the defence of our members in danger;
• To build a solid expertise and give content to the post-alternation.

Support civil society movements committed to democracy:

• Through networking, exchange of practices and experiences and pan-African solidarity;
• Through media coverage, relay and promotion of citizen mobilisations;
• By supporting and protecting movements and activists who are threatened or arrested;
• Strengthening the capacities of the movement's member organisations to ensure its sustainability.

Governance

Tournons La Page (TLP) is therefore an international citizen movement that today brings together 250 civil society organisations in Africa and Europe, gathered in 11 collectives (called coalitions).

Each coalition has its autonomy in the implementation of its actions and in the definition of its strategy. They are led by coordinators, elected for a 3-year term, renewable once.

At the international level, every three years the International General Assembly (GA) is held, bringing together two representatives per coalition and invited personalities or partners. It is the sovereign body of TLP at the international level and it elects the members of the International steering committee and, among them, the members of the Board.

COPIL is composed of one representative per country and at least three qualified personalities. Its role is to define the orientations of the movement as the guarantor of the vision, values, principles and objectives of the movement.

The Bureau, the executive body of Tournons La Page (TLP), is composed of a President, a Vice-President and a Treasurer.

The movement and its governing bodies are supported in their mission by the International Secretariat, whose role is to animate and represent the movement, protect members and support national coalitions in their activities.

The Board

The other members of the steering committee

The International Secretariat 

Partners

 Technical and financial partners

Members and allies in Europe

Become a member

To become a member of Tournons La Page, you must be either an organization or an individual, join one of the ten (10) existing national coalitions or create one in the country to which you belong, if no coalition exists.

Members are integrated into the governance of their national coalition, participate in the definition of TLP's positions and have access to all services (communication support, relays, networking, technical and political support, protection in case of threat...).

Membership Criteria

• Be involved in one or more areas related to the promotion of democracy (good governance, citizenship education, advocacy, human rights defense, social rights promotion, fight against corruption...);
• Have an associative/strategic project or a personal commitment in line with TLP's visions, missions, values and principles;
• Adhere to the TLP Charter.

Create a new coalition

To create a coalition in a country where one does not yet exist, interested organizations or individuals need to get together to share their motivations for joining TLP.

A first step would be to visit the TLP website (www.tournonslapage.org) as well as the organization's social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn...) to get a feel for the work and documentation that is being done by the various coalitions.

Applicants should then send a formal application by email to contact@tournonslapage.org with a list and contact information of organizations or individuals who have expressed interest in coalescing and a description of their activities. Their application will be evaluated by the Steering Committee of Tournons La Page, which meets once a month.

If the application is approved by the Steering Committee, the applicants will be asked to set up a provisional office in charge of the day-to-day business and which will be the interface between the International Secretariat and the new coalition. They will therefore choose a coordinator and a secretary, and a communicator. TLP insists on parity in leadership positions within the coalitions.

This office will function for a minimum of six months during which time, in close collaboration with the International Secretariat, it will develop its organic texts (statutes, rules of procedure, manual of procedures, organization chart, etc.).

At the end of this probationary period, the International Secretary and/or the President of TLP International, accompanied by another member of the board, will proceed with the official installation of the new coordination team after the election of the new coalition's board.

Membership

Membership in the movement for an African coalition is 100€, payment is made online, via Hello Asso.

The International Secretariat remains at your disposal for any further information: contact@tournonslapage.org