CHAPTER 4: ROLES OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGO S ) AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

The Rise of the NGO  NGO is short for Non-Governmental Organization  NGOs entered the mainstream because of the United Nations in 1945  NGOs were needed to assist in fulfilling the tasks of sustaining peace and improving quality of life for humans on a global scale  NGOs are private organizations run by two, sometimes competing, groups: professional staff and volunteers

Criteria to become a NGO  Organization needs to simply abide by the following rules:  Remain independent from government control, non- profit, non-criminal, and not seeking to challenge governments on issues of control/power  An NGO cannot support or become a political party of any sort  NGOs can vary in size. Red Cross is largest. UNESCO has 310 NGOs registered with it alone

Charitable Orientation NGO  Involves a top down, paternalistic effort with little participation or input by beneficiaries  Activities are directed towards meeting the needs of the poor, such as distribution of food, clothing, or medicine; provision of housing, transport, and schools. Aid with literacy and media training  This type of NGO may also undertake relief activities during a natural or man-made disaster

Service Orientation NGO  Deals with activities such as the provision of health, family planning, women’s rights, agriculture, or education services  Frequently media training falls in this category  People are expected to participate in its implementation and receiving its service

Participatory Orientation NGO  Characterized by self-help projects where local people are involved particularly in the execution of a project by contributing funding, ideas, natural resources, or voluntary labor

Empowering Orientation NGO  Aims to help poor people develop a clearer understanding of the social, political and economic factors affecting their lives, and to strengthen their awareness of their own potential power to control their lives  Sometimes they develop spontaneously around a problem or issue  Considered to be the most important in terms of promoting development  Has a social justice aim

The Big Three  The three biggest, oldest, and most well known NGOs in the US are: 1. The Carnegie Foundation 2. The Ford Foundation 3. The Rockefeller Foundation All three have participated in development communication work

Social Change Consortium  Communications for Social Change Consortium (CFSC) is an international nonprofit organization based in New Jersey  Their goal is to build the local capacity of people living in poor and marginalized communities to use communication to improve their lives  It was chartered in 2003 and started as a special project of the Rockefeller Foundation in 1997  Seeks to focus on applied projects in LDCs

World Social Forum  These groups were led by labor unions and environmentalists at the beginning, and attempted to rebalance the benefits of the expanding global economy  The WSF meetings are meant to debate ideas, and come up with proposals and effective actions against the spread of pure capitalism, deregulation, privatization, and neo-liberalism

Canada’s IDRC  The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) – is a Canadian Crown corporation  Created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help developing countries to undertake research and use technology to find long-term solutions for their social, economic, and environmental problems  IDRC is guided by a 21 member, international Board of Governors  Provides assistance to groups in Third World

Conclusions  Chapter 4 focuses on three main areas:  The role and functions of NGOs  The role and background of US Foundations  Three major stakeholders in the development communication scene