Department of Public Information Associates 19 New Non-Governmental Organizations, Strengthening Coalition with Civil Society Globally
The United Nations Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organizations (DPI/NGO) Committee associated 19 non-governmental entities on Thursday, 28 April, bringing to 1,466 the number of organizations working with the Department in the area of communications and outreach.
Maher Nasser, Director of the Department’s Outreach Division, welcomed the new groups hailing from Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, United States and Yemen. They are engaged in a range of issues, including education, youth, indigenous peoples, peace, human rights, disability, poverty, health, sustainability and terrorism.
“Working with civil society as a whole, and NGOs and academia in particular, are key to the United Nations ability to achieve its objectives, particularly Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” Mr. Nasser said. He added that the Department greatly values working with civil society and appreciates their support for the work of the Organization.
The Department of Public Information welcomes the following newly associated non-governmental organizations (in alphabetical order):
- Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (United States)
- Dar Al Salam (Yemen)
- Dhakabashi (Bangladesh)
- Essl Foundation (Austria)
- Gandhi Global Family (India)
- Global Center on Cooperative Security (United States)
- Handong Global University (Republic of Korea)
- Heart to Heart Foundation (Republic of Korea)
- International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates (Belgium)
- International Surgical Mission Support (United States)
- Light Up Foundation (United Kingdom)
- Lobbying Social Foundation (Mexico)
- Mayan Families (United States)
- Operation Hope (United States)
- Special Olympics Korea (Republic of Korea)
- The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (United Kingdom)
- Win the War Against Violence (United States)
- World Lebanese Cultural Union of New York Inc. (United States)
- World Youth Foundation (Malaysia)
About DPI/NGO Association
The Department of Public Information works with diverse non-governmental organizations ranging from small groups to subsidiaries of large networks and academic institutions around the world. Organizations are required to meet certain minimum requirements before they are associated with the Department.
In addition to their main activities, associated NGOs are expected to use their information assets to disseminate information received from the Department about the work of the United Nations and issues on its agenda to their members and audiences. In 2016, they are expected to join the global effort to support Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. They also have the opportunity to network with other NGOs and to share information about their activities during NGO briefings and the DPI/NGO Conference.
The Department believes youth are a key constituency and encourages NGOs to involve young people in their work. The Youth Representative Programme at DPI/NGO Relations was designed to increase young people’s participation. For more information, please visit http://outreach.un.org/ngorelations/youth.
NGOs associated with the Department also play a direct role in planning the DPI/NGO Conference. The sixty-sixth edition will be held in the city of Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, from 30 May to 1 June. The theme for the Conference is “Education for Global Citizenship: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Together”. For more information, please visit http://outreach.un.org/ngorelations/conference-2016.
NGOs that successfully meet the criteria for association with the Department are provided with up to six grounds passes (including two for youth representatives aged 18 to 32) to facilitate access to United Nations officials, meetings, events and informational sessions at Headquarters in New York. They are also eligible to propose and lead NGO briefings organized by the Department. A dedicated NGO Resource Centre with materials and information on the Organization’s work is located in the UNITAR Building at 801 UN Plaza, 2nd Floor, New York.
For further information, please visit http://outreach.un.org/ngorelations or e-mail undpingo@un.org.
For information on how to apply for association, please visit http://outreach.un.org/ngorelations/membership/application.
To view a full list of DPI-associated NGOs, please visit http://outreach.un.org/ngorelations/membership/dpingo-directory.
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