Two central tenets of NGO ‘good practice’ are that NGOs should be rooted in a particular constituency or target group and at the same time reflect diversity within the community. In reality, these tenets are frequently contradictory. NGOs, and the civil society they form part of, are subject to and reflect the prejudices of their own culture. This is especially true in societies where people limit their trust to close affiliations of kin, race and class, as for instance in the Balkans, where there is arguably the greatest need for NGOs to repair the torn fabric of society, find remedies for injustice and corruption and redress inequality and discrimination. Instead, NGOs in such transition countries are all too weakly connected with any constituency at all, let alone a diverse one.
This edition of ontrac explores the theme of diversity and answers the question: ‘Have NGOs progressed towards more inclusive development?’ from a number of perspectives. Indrani Sigamany reflects on current debates on gender mainstreaming within NGOs from around the world, whilst Esther Mebrahtu provides a case study of women’s participation from Ethiopia. Finally, Simon Forrester writes about the experience of a transitional country facing the challenges of diversity and inclusion within the Kazakhstan context, both at government and civil society levels.
Download:
ONTRAC 29. Diversity and Inclusive Development: Do NGOs Engage Effectively with Diverse Populations?
.pdf (0.40mb)
Download:
ONTRAC 29. Diversity and Inclusive Development: Do NGOs Engage Effectively with Diverse Populations? Arabic
.pdf (0.28mb)
Download:
ONTRAC 29. Diversity and Inclusive Development: Do NGOs Engage Effectively with Diverse Populations? Chinese
.pdf (0.36mb)
Download:
ONTRAC 29. Diversity and Inclusive Development: Do NGOs Engage Effectively with Diverse Populations? French
.pdf (0.09mb)
Download:
ONTRAC 29. Diversity and Inclusive Development: Do NGOs Engage Effectively with Diverse Populations? Portugese
.pdf (0.09mb)
Download:
ONTRAC 29. Diversity and Inclusive Development: Do NGOs Engage Effectively with Diverse Populations? Russian
.pdf (0.18mb)
Download:
ONTRAC 29. Diversity and Inclusive Development: Do NGOs Engage Effectively with Diverse Populations? Spanish
.pdf (0.09mb)