The Conference of INGOs is celebrating World NGO Day with the holding of a seminar in Brussels on 28 February entitled “From the Past to the Future : A Living Civic Space for a Living Democracy”.
On this occasion, the Conference of INGOs invited ECF Director Alexandrina Najmowicz to speak at a panel on the articulation between NGOs, social movements and human rights activists.
The emergence of spontaneous grassroots activism and effective, widespread bottom-up initiatives questions the more institutionalised operational models of NGOs, INGOs and other umbrella organisations. But is it possible to initiate lasting changes in the socio-political world without relying on formal self-organised structures? How can the spontaneous mobilisation of citizens be relied on by more institutionalised NGOs? Do the grassroots organisations recognize themselves in the more corporatist NGOs? Are the global networks and institutionalised NGOs inclusive and welcoming enough to marginalised groups and individuals, local and smaller citizen initiatives? Are the goals of both the same?
A closing civic space impacts all forms of independent civil society and appears to be one of the symptoms of the “ill-democracy”. A rapidly changing political, economic, technologic and social landscape impacts quite significantly the civil society sector, and especially its sustainability. Faced with these changes, civil society organisations work to strengthen their organisational resilience, financial viability and capacities for action. They must also constantly look for new solutions to increase their capacities, seek out visibility and partnerships, adapt their engagement with citizens and advocacy with policymakers as well as new means of engaging with their own constituency and membership.
Check the full programme by clicking here and follow the #WorldNGOday on social media.
About the World NGO Day
The universal concept of World NGO Day, which is celebrated on 27 February, is Celebrate, Commemorate and Collaborate – the various NGOs around the world, and the people behind them that contribute to society all year around.
World NGO Day is a global initiative aiming to:
- highlight the efforts and achievements of NGOs from all sectors,
- offer the opportunity for people to understand more clearly what NGOs are doing for society at a local, national and international level and,
- provide a platform for NGOs to discuss the issues that affect their work and share their knowledge and experience with one another.