COOPERATION BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE TRAINING OF MANAGERS AND MEMBERS OF LOCAL COUNCILS

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liubomyr Hrytsak ◽  
◽  
Mykola Durman ◽  
Olena Durman ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Budget Process ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
International Ngos ◽  
Local Government Officials

The article notes that today a key place in civil society belongs to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as they serve as a link between citizens (business) and government. During their activities in Ukraine, international NGOs have offered and implemented a wide range of services, as well as developed and implemented various projects aimed at developing various sectors of the economy and activating civil society. One of the points of the NGO's efforts is the education of local government officials and deputies of local councils, which is especially relevant in the framework of the implementation of decentralization reform, which has been taking place in Ukraine since 2014. At the same time, deputies must have knowledge and skills in very broad areas of government, and their political literacy directly affects the success of democratic change in Ukraine, especially changes at the local level, and the dynamic socio-economic development of local communities. In this case, non-governmental organizations and non-governmental foundations come to the fore, which in close cooperation can give deputies of local councils the opportunity to learn throughout their lives and update their knowledge in the areas of governance that they need today. One such organization is the All- Ukrainian NGO Institute of Political Education (IPE), which has been conducting non-formal education activities for local government officials and local council members for more than 10 years with the support of international NGOs. Thus, in the period 2011-2018, more than 1,000 deputies of local councils and public activists from different regions of Ukraine took part in the training within the project "Strengthening Local Democracy" (supported by NED). In 2020, IPO began cooperating with another international non-governmental organization - the DOBRE Program. In 2020-2021, more than 500 people (392 deputies and 141 local government officials) took part in the training with the support of this Program. Participants in training projects can now not only better manage their own status, rights and responsibilities as people's deputies, but also know the specifics of the budget process, land and communal spheres. In addition, the training included soft-skills units aimed at training deputies to better communicate their views, defend their position, communicate effectively with opponents, voters, and more. The study concludes that international NGOs form an educational platform for local government representatives, deputies of local councils, and Ukrainian NGOs on the basis of this platform create an educational environment aimed at activating Ukrainian society, strengthening the influence of civil society on relations with the authorities, promoting Ukraine's European integration and improving the lives of Ukrainian citizens.

From Local Activism to Local Politics: The Case of Moscow

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yana Gorokhovskaia
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Private Realm ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Local Problems ◽  
Training And Support

Conventional wisdom holds that civil society is a sphere of activity separate from the state and the private realm. Due to a combination of historical, developmental and institutional factors, Russian civil society today is dominated by the state. While not all interactions with the state are seen as harmful, scholars acknowledge that most politically oriented or oppositional non-governmental organizations today face difficult conditions in Russia. In response to the restrictions on civil society and the unresponsive nature of Russia’s hybrid authoritarian regime, some civil society actors in Moscow have made the transition into organized politics at the local level. This transition was motivated by their desire to solve local problems and was facilitated by independent electoral initiatives which provided timely training and support for opposition political candidates running in municipal elections. Once elected, these activists turned municipal deputies are able to perform some of the functions traditionally ascribed to civil society, including enforcing greater accountability and transparency from the state and defending the interest of citizens.

scholarly journals Transformation from Below in Bangladesh: Decentralization, local governance, and systemic change

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 1668-1694 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEAN-PAUL FAGUET
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Joint Product ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Government Responsiveness

AbstractI examine decentralization through the lens of the local dynamics it unleashed in Bangladesh. I argue that the national effects of decentralization are largely the sum of its local-level effects. Hence, to understand decentralization, we must first understand how local government works. This implies analysing not only decentralization, but also democracy, from the bottom up. I present a model of local government responsiveness as the product of political openness and substantive competition. The quality of politics, in turn, emerges endogenously as a joint product of the lobbying and political engagement of local firms/interests, and the organizational density and ability of civil society. I then test these ideas using qualitative data from Bangladesh. The evidence shows that civic organizations worked with non-governmental organizations and local governments to effect transformative change from the grass roots upwards—not just to public budgets and outputs, but to the underlying behaviours and ideas that underpin social development. In the aggregate, these effects were powerful. The result, key development indicators show, is Bangladesh leap-frogging past much wealthier India between 1990 and 2015.

scholarly journals Absence of Cultural Awareness Training in International Non-Governmental Organizations

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s99-s99
Author(s):  
Alexander Hart ◽  
Fadi Issa
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Awareness Training ◽  
Local Staff ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
International Ngos ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity Training ◽  
Different Cultures

Introduction:Cultural awareness is the understanding of differences in cultures, and openness to these differences. It is a vital step in the development of cultural sensitivity and becoming operationally effective when working within different cultures. The benefits of Cultural Awareness have become apparent in recent decades, including within governments, militaries, and corporations. Many organizations have developed Cultural Awareness training for their staff to improve cross-cultural cooperation. However, there has not been a large movement toward cultural sensitivity training among Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who provide aid across a number of countries and cultures. Cultural Awareness can be a useful tool which enables an NGO to better serve the populations with which they engage.Aim:To evaluate the presence within International NGOs of Cultural Awareness Training to employees and volunteers.Methods:Ten of the largest international NGOs were identified. Their websites were evaluated for any mention of training in Cultural Awareness available to their employees and volunteers. All 10 were then contacted via their public email addresses to find out if they provide any form of Cultural Awareness training.Results:Of the ten NGOs identified, none have any publicly available Cultural Awareness training on their websites. One NGO deals with cultural awareness by only hiring local staff, who are already a part of the prevalent culture of the area. None of the others who responded have any cultural awareness training which they provide.Discussion:Cultural awareness is a vital tool when acting internationally. Large NGOs, which operate in a wide range of cultures, have an obligation to act in a culturally aware and accepting manner. Most large NGOs currently lack cultural awareness training for their employees and volunteers. It is time for these NGOs to develop, and begin to employ, cultural awareness training to better prepare their staff to serve international populations.

scholarly journals Decentralisation and Health Services Delivery in 4 Districts in Tanzania: How and Why Does the Use of Decision Space Vary Across Districts?

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramadhani Kigume ◽  
Stephen Maluka
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Health System ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
District Health ◽  
Decision Space ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Health Managers ◽  
Local Government Officials

Background: Decentralisation in the health sector has been promoted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for many years. Inherently, decentralisation grants decision-making space to local level authorities over different functions such as: finance, human resources, service organization, and governance. However, there is paucity of studies which have assessed the actual use of decision-making space by local government officials within the decentralised health system. The objective of this study was to analyse the exercise of decision space across 4 districts in Tanzania and explore why variations exist amongst them. Methods: The study was guided by the decision space framework and relied on interviews and documentary reviews. Interviews were conducted with the national, regional and district level officials; and data were analysed using thematic approach. Results: Decentralisation has provided moderate decision space on the Community Health Fund (CHF), accounting for supplies of medicine, motivation of health workers, additional management techniques and rewarding the formally established health committees as a more effective means of community participation and management. While some districts innovated within a moderate range of choice, others were unaware of the range of choices they could utilise. Leadership skills of key district health managers and local government officials as well as horizontal relationships at the district and local levels were the key factors that accounted for the variations in the use of the decision space across districts. Conclusion: This study concludes that more horizontal sharing of innovations among districts may contribute to more effective service delivery in the districts that did not have active leadership. Additionally, the innovations applied by the best performing districts should be incorporated in the national guidelines. Furthermore, targeted capacity building activities for the district health managers may improve decision-making abilities and in turn improve health system performance.

Absence of Cultural Awareness Training in International Non-Governmental Organizations

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (05) ◽  
pp. 486-488
Author(s):  
Alexander Hart ◽  
Mariana Toma ◽  
Fadi Issa ◽  
Gregory R. Ciottone
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Awareness Training ◽  
Local Staff ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
International Ngos ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity Training ◽  
Different Cultures

AbstractIntroduction:Cultural awareness can be defined as an understanding of the differences that exist between cultures. This understanding is a crucial first step towards the development of cultural sensitivity, a willingness to accept those differences as having equal merit, and becoming operationally effective when working within different cultures. The benefits of cultural awareness have become apparent in recent decades, including within governments, militaries, and corporations. Many organizations have developed cultural awareness training for their staffs to improve cross-cultural cooperation. However, there has not been a large movement toward cultural sensitivity training among non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who provide aid globally, across a number of countries and cultures. Cultural awareness can be a useful tool which enables an NGO to better serve the populations with which they engage.Problem:The goal of this study was to evaluate the presence of cultural awareness training for employees and volunteers working within international NGOs.Methods:Ten of the largest international NGOs were identified. Their websites were evaluated for any mention of training in cultural awareness available to their employees and volunteers. All ten were then contacted via their public email addresses to find out if they provide any form of cultural awareness training.Results:Of the ten NGOs identified, none had any publicly available cultural awareness training on their websites. One NGO dealt with cultural awareness by only hiring local staff, who were already a part of the prevalent culture of the area. None of the others who responded provided any cultural awareness training.Conclusion:Cultural awareness is a vital tool when working internationally. Large NGOs, which operate in a wide-range of cultures, have an obligation to act in a culturally aware and accepting manner. Most large NGOs currently lack a systematic, robust cultural awareness training for their employees and volunteers.

Challenges to immigrant associations and NGOs in contemporary Greece

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apostolos G. Papadopoulos ◽  
Christos Chalkias ◽  
Loukia-Maria Fratsea
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Geographical Range ◽  
Legal Form ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Migrant Integration ◽  
Concentration Patterns

The paper explores the challenges faced today, in a context of severe economic crisis, by immigrant associations (ΙΜΑs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Greece. The data analysed here was collected between October 2009 and February 2010 and incorporates references to all recorded migration-related social actors operating in Greece. The paper takes into account such indicators as legal form, objectives, financial capacity and geographical range of activity, concluding with a typology of civil society actors dealing with migration issues. This study aims at informing the migration policymaking and migrant integration processes. By a spatial hot-spot clustering of IMAs and NGOs, we also illustrate the concentration patterns of civil society actors in Greece.

The Great Eastern Crisis (1875–1878) as a global humanitarian moment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Adrian Ruprecht
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Colonial India ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Spread ◽  
Global Movement

Abstract This article explores the global spread of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement to colonial India. By looking at the Great Eastern Crisis (1875–78) and the intense public ferment the events in the Balkans created in Britain, Switzerland, Russia and India, this article illustrates how humanitarian ideas and practices, as well as institutional arrangements for the care for wounded soldiers, were appropriated and shared amongst the different religious internationals and pan-movements from the late 1870s onwards. The Great Eastern Crisis, this article contends, marks a global humanitarian moment. It transformed the initially mainly European and Christian Red Cross into a truly global movement that included non-sovereign colonial India and the Islamic religious international. Far from just being at the receiving end, non-European peoples were crucial in creating global and transnational humanitarianism, global civil society and the world of non-governmental organizations during the last third of the nineteenth century.

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