Bertrand, thank you for this article. I love that your are writing from an anthropological perspective.
I am the executive director of Creative Educators International Network, Inc. We originally incorporated in Washington, D.C., but our home office is now in Florida, where I live. Our board of directors is international, but membership and board dues all flow into a U.S. bank. My understanding is that the US has no legal definition of NGO; however, we consider our network to be an NGO. I also heard at a national meeting of USA nonprofits that the current administration has stated NGOs must follow the administration's policies.
Today I'm filling out a UN form and need to identify CEIN as either a CSO or NGO. I've done this before and listed CEIN as an NGO. Our approach is to advance communities around the world through value-creating education. What do you suggest?
By region globally, we have in-person and online events to share experiences and introduce the concepts and actions connected to value-creating education. We partner with Earth Charter International to provide scholarships internationally for the EC's youth program course, Leadership, Sustainability & Ethics. https://earthcharter.org/
Hello Valerie, I m happy to hear from you. Your past experience listing CEIN as an NGO is, in my view, quite correct because within the UN structure there doesn't really exist much of a provision for direct advocacy by citizens' groups. This is because the governance nature of the UN, as a group of countries, responds to advocacy by member states and not member citizens (though associations of citizens' organizations recognized by their various countries have a times been recognized and invited to present their positions - most recently on climate issues, for example). As you see, there is occasional crossover, which is not altogether a bad thing (as it does keep member countries on their toes and responsive to their citizens' positions on international issues!). Thank you for telling me about CEIN. I wish you and your colleagues the very best as you continue to engage the UN (and other country-membership organizations) as an NGO. Cordially, Bertrand
Bertrand, thank you for this article. I love that your are writing from an anthropological perspective.
I am the executive director of Creative Educators International Network, Inc. We originally incorporated in Washington, D.C., but our home office is now in Florida, where I live. Our board of directors is international, but membership and board dues all flow into a U.S. bank. My understanding is that the US has no legal definition of NGO; however, we consider our network to be an NGO. I also heard at a national meeting of USA nonprofits that the current administration has stated NGOs must follow the administration's policies.
Today I'm filling out a UN form and need to identify CEIN as either a CSO or NGO. I've done this before and listed CEIN as an NGO. Our approach is to advance communities around the world through value-creating education. What do you suggest?
By region globally, we have in-person and online events to share experiences and introduce the concepts and actions connected to value-creating education. We partner with Earth Charter International to provide scholarships internationally for the EC's youth program course, Leadership, Sustainability & Ethics. https://earthcharter.org/
Hello Valerie, I m happy to hear from you. Your past experience listing CEIN as an NGO is, in my view, quite correct because within the UN structure there doesn't really exist much of a provision for direct advocacy by citizens' groups. This is because the governance nature of the UN, as a group of countries, responds to advocacy by member states and not member citizens (though associations of citizens' organizations recognized by their various countries have a times been recognized and invited to present their positions - most recently on climate issues, for example). As you see, there is occasional crossover, which is not altogether a bad thing (as it does keep member countries on their toes and responsive to their citizens' positions on international issues!). Thank you for telling me about CEIN. I wish you and your colleagues the very best as you continue to engage the UN (and other country-membership organizations) as an NGO. Cordially, Bertrand