Civil societies role and media

1. Role of Civil Societies for Sustainable Development Training Program: Role of Media and Civil Societies in Combating Disasters and Climate Change Center for Climate Change and Environment Advisory (CCCEA) Dr. MCR HRD Institute of AP 28th - 30th June 2011 Dr. N. SaiBhaskar Reddy, CEO, GEO http://e-geo.org

4. CS - Representation the associations of citizens (outside their families, friends and businesses) entered into voluntarily to advance their interests, ideas and ideologies. The term does not include profit-making activity (the private sector) or governing (the public sector). Civil societies are often populated by organizations: Registered charities, development non-governmental organizations, community groups, women's organizations, faith-based, religious and spiritual organizations, professional associations, trade unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups. trade unions, indigenous people’s organizations, academeic

5. In the History During the second half of the 19th century, nationalist consciousness spread across India and self-help emerged as the primary focus of sociopolitical movements. Numerous organizations were established during this period, including the Friend-in-Need Society (1858), Prathana Samaj (1864), Satya Shodhan Samaj (1873), AryaSamaj (1875), the National Council for Women in India (1875), and the Indian National Conference (1887).

6. Defining Non-Governmental Organisations How do you describe an NGO? One survey found 48 different terms and acronyms. Here is a sample: In short, there is no agreed terminology for describing the NGO sector. In some ways, it is easier to describe what NGOs are not, rather than what they are. It is generally agreed that NGOs are not: part of government, or organized primarily for private profit.

7. NGOs By definition, it is an organization that is not directly related to government. The World Health Organization first made the term NGO popular back in 1945. There are more than 50,000 international INGO’s. Other types of NGO’s are International business (BINGO) and environmental ENGO. In the United States there are over 2 million NGO’s and estimated 400,000 in Russia and 1-2 million in India. There is a marked increase in the numbers of NGO organizations worldwide.

8. NGOs / Voluntary Service Though the term NGO became popular in India only in the 1980s, the voluntary sector has an older tradition. Since independence from the British in 1947, the voluntary sector had a lot of respect in the minds of people - first, because the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi was an active participant; and second because India has always had the tradition of honouring those who have made some sacrifice to help others.

9. Voluntary Organizations - Gandhiji In independent India, the initial role played by the voluntary organizations started by Gandhi and his disciples was to fill in the gaps left by the government in the development process. The volunteers organized handloom weavers in villages to form cooperatives through which they could market their products directly in the cities, and thus get a better price. Similar cooperatives were later set up in areas like marketing of dairy products and fish. In almost all these cases, the volunteers helped in other areas of development - running literacy classes for adults at night, for example.

10. Traditional Traditional development NGOs, who went into a village or a group of villages and ran literacy programmes, crËches for children and clinics, encouraged farmers to experiment with new crops and livestock breeds that would bring more money, helped the weavers and other village artisans market their products and so on

11. Research / Advocacy / Legal The second group of NGOs were those who researched a particular subject in depth, and then lobbied with the government or with industry or petitioned the courts for improvements in the lives of the citizens, as far as that particular subject was concerned. Eg: CSE

12. Activists In the third group were those volunteers who saw themselves more as activists than other NGOs did. They petitioned the bureaucrats, they alerted the media whenever they found something wrong and so on. Eg: NBA

13. NGOs, civil society, or major groups? “Major Groups” is a term that was introduced in Agenda 21, agreed by governments at the Rio Earth Summit. It describes nine sectors of society identified as having a significant role in sustainable development: women children and youth indigenous people NGOs Local authorities Workers and trade unions business and industry the scientific and technical community farmers

14. Stakeholders: Yet another term! Stakeholders: Those who have an interest in a particular decision, either as individuals or representatives of a group. This includes people who influence a decision, or can influence it, as well as those affected by it.

15. Advantages of NGOs Less pressure from change in politics Small scale projects More community involvement Can be individually tailored to meet specific community needs Higher “success” rate Less bureaucratic A more “human” face

16. Disadvantages of NGOs Constant funding difficulties Possible lack of legitimacy Difficult to regulate Can lack transparency and accountability Can be ineffective due to lack of coordination

17. Types of NGOs

18. Development OrganizationInter-relationship Specific Project / Issue

19. Role of Civil Society Organizations Advocacy Education Monitoring Service delivery at national and local levels

20. NGOs in Intergovernmental Processes 4 important functions: Setting agendas Negotiating outcomes Conferring legitimacy Implementing solutions

21. NGOs in India The PRIA survey reveals that 26.5% of NGOs are engaged in religious activities, while 21.3% work in the area of community and/or social service. About one in five NGOs works in education, while 17.9% are active in the fields of sports and culture. Only 6.6% work in the health sector.6

22. SPIRIT – KNOW - ACT

23. GOVERNMENT / PUBLIC CONTRACTORS / PRIVATE CSOs Don’t forget to sweep the corners

24. Examples Disasters – Earthquakes, Floods, Drought, Climate Change – Mitigation and Adaptation Agriculture Water Energy Livestock Environment / Climate Change

25. Media and Social Networks Internet Social Networks Multimedia Networks / groups

27. Some initiatives in climate change e.g., GEO

28. “Look to the Future. Accept the Challenges. Society fails if the citizen is not engaged. “Setting an agenda for change is not a burden. It’s a responsibility. And an opportunity to change for good”

29. Thank You… Ref: http://www..............