19 Civil Society Organizations to Join 1,500 Non-Governmental Organizations Associated with United Nations Department of Global Communications
The Civil Society Organizations Association Committee of the United Nations Department of Global Communications approved today the applications of 19 civil society organizations to be associated with the Department. The Committee’s meeting also endorsed the disassociation of two non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This brings the total number of civil society organizations associated with the Department to 1,519.
In addition to being an important partner for the United Nations in implementing work programmes across the three pillars of the United Nations work, civil society organizations amplify and widen the reach of information about the United Nations and priority issues on its agenda and are key advocates around the world for peace and humanitarian concerns, sustainable development and human rights. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told civil society activists he met during the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women on 13 March 2019: “We will only be successful if we are able to combine the institutional approaches, like the ones the UN develops, with the approaches at the civil society level, the grassroots movements and the public opinion in general.”
In associating with the Department to inform the world about the work of the Organization, civil society organizations are also playing an important role using their own communications platforms with their members and beneficiaries to highlight commitments made by Governments and world leaders, such as the agreement by world leaders to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The Chair of the Association Committee — Director of the Outreach Division at the United Nations Department of Global Communications, Maher Nasser — welcomed the new group of associated NGOs, who are based in Greece, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Qatar, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and the United States. “Association with our Department is the beginning of a journey that we hope will be enriching to the organizations and their members and an opportunity for them to work with the 1,500 associated NGOs in furthering the goals and objectives of creating a better world together”, said Mr. Nasser in his message to the newly associated organizations.
The following civil society organizations, working on issues such as education, environmental protection, animal welfare, cultural awareness and youth empowerment, among others, were associated with the Department of Global Communications:
• Asociación de Mujeres Cineastas y de Medios Audiovisuales [Spain]
• Health Promotion South Africa [South Africa]
• Hellenic Association of Political Scientists [Greece]
• Kallipatira [Greece]
• MUN Impact [United States]
• Nonviolence International [United States]
• Progetto Filippide [Italy]
• Qatar Charity [Qatar]
• RED Initiatives [Trinidad and Tobago]
• Saint Francis Ministries [United States]
• Sandals Foundation [Jamaica]
• Shalom Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation [Kenya]
• The Donkey Sanctuary [United Kingdom]
• The Kota Alliance [United States]
• United Network Europa [Italy]
• Vision Care [Republic of Korea]
• World Development Foundation, Inc. [United States]
• World Memon Organisation Charitable Foundation [United Kingdom]
• World Yoga Community [United States]
The Department of Global Communications works with diverse civil society organizations ranging from small groups to subsidiaries of large networks and academic institutions around the world. Associated civil society organizations are expected to use their information platforms and initiatives to disseminate information received from the Department about the work of the United Nations and issues on its agenda to their members and audiences. Civil society organizations associated with the Department gain access to the United Nations Headquarters in New York to attend meetings, events and informational sessions and network with other organization and United Nations entities.
Youth engagement is a growing and important dimension of the work of the Department of Global Communications with civil society, with over 500 youth representatives actively engaged in the Civil Society Unit’s programmes. In addition to leading briefings on issues related to the work of the Organization, youth have taken on planning and speaking roles at the United Nations Civil Society Conference and other events.
Civil society is also key in the planning and coordination of the United Nations Civil Society Conference, the premier event in the civil society calendar at the United Nations. Each conference focuses on a different United Nations topic of interest related to the work of civil society. The sixty-eighth United Nations Civil Society Conference, titled “Building Inclusive and Sustainable Communities”, will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, from 26 to 28 August 2019. This is the first time that the United Nations Civil Society Conference will be celebrated in the United States outside of Headquarters in New York.
More information on the conference can be found at www.un.org/csc2019.
For further information on civil society engagement with the Department of Global Communications, please visit outreach.un.org/ngorelations.