d. Work in groups. Think what types of local, regional and global actors can increase the complexity of the task of defining NGOs.

c. Below you can see some information about several types of organizations. Match the names of these organizations with their descriptions and say why the term NGOs is sometimes used interchangeably with the names of these organizations.

A.The name of these organizations was coined at the time of the United Nations 1992 Rio “Earth Summit” as a part of Agenda 21 to encompass the societal sectors which were expected to play roles, in addition to nation-states and intergovernmental organizations, in environment and development. These organizations are the sectors of society recognized as having a substantive contribution to make to the achievement of a sustainable future. NGOs are identified as one of these sectors, but NGOs overlap with many of the other sectors.

B.These organizations became popularized at the end of the Cold War to describe what appeared to have been missing in state-dominated societies, broad societal participation in and concern for governance, but not necessarily government. Such organizations are thought to be the necessary ingredient for democratic governance to arise. NGOs are one part of these organizations.

C. Organizations of this type are generally locally organized groups of individuals which have spring up to empower their members and take action on particular issues of concern to them. Some NGOs belong to this type of organizations. But many are not.

D. This notion encompasses a broad segment of society which is interested in fomenting or resisting social change in some particular issue-area, such as disarmament, environmental, civil rights, or women’s movements. Organizations of this kind may include NGOs and grassroots organizations.

e. Do you think a similar description of NGOs is possible? Work in groups. Study the descriptions of NGOs given below and try to make your own descriptions using the information.

An NGO is . . .

(notes from the NGO Workshop)

NGO

· A non-profit making, voluntary, service-oriented/development oriented organization, either for the benefit of members (a grassroots organization) or of other members of the population (an agency).

NGO

· It is an organization of private individuals who believe in certain basic social principles and who structure their activities to bring about development to communities that they are servicing.

NGO

· Social development organization assisting in empowerment of people.

NGO

· An organization or group of people working independent of any external control with specific objectives and aims to fulfill tasks that are oriented to bring about desirable change in a given community or area or situation.

NGO

· An independent, democratic, non-sectarian people’s organization working for the empowerment of economic and/or socially marginalized groups.

NGO

· An organization not affiliated to political parties, generally engaged in working for aid, development and welfare of the community.

NGO

· Organization committed to the root causes of the problems trying to better the quality of life especially for the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized in urban and rural areas.

NGO

· Organizations established by and for the community without or with little intervention from the government; they are not only a charity organization, but work on socio-economic-cultural activities.

NGO

· An organization that is flexible and democratic in its organization and attempts to serve the people without profit for itself.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 905