Dr Frances Pinter, Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Civil Society, the London School of Economics, today outlined the vital role of civil society organisations, including Non-Governmental Organisations, in the processes of globalization. She was speaking at the international business conference ‘Globalization : from conflict to opportunity’, organised by Caux Initiatives for Business at the international centre for Initiatives of Change in Caux, Switzerland.

Dr Frances Pinter, Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Civil Society, the London School of Economics, today outlined the vital role of civil society organisations, including Non-Governmental Organisations, in the processes of globalization. She was speaking at the international business conference ‘Globalization : from conflict to opportunity’, organised by Caux Initiatives for Business at the international centre for Initiatives of Change in Caux, Switzerland.

She described civil society as the ‘space’ between the state, the market and individual households. Civil society organisations were essentially private, not-for-profit distributing, self-governing and voluntary, often from the advocacy, activist sector, and included religiously motivated bodies. In the Netherlands, for example, 38 per cent of all adults gave part of their time to non-profit organisations.
Global (as opposed to local) civil society was when an activity resonated across borders, she said. This often involved the aid sector. Sweden in 1999, for instance, channelled 29 per cent of its bilateral aid through NGOs. Much of the delivery of the World Bank’s loans to developing countries is subcontracted to NGOs. But cross border activity could also end up with anomalies. When the international Campaign to Ban Landmines won the Nobel Peace Prize, it realised it didn’t have a central bank account to receive the prize money.

Addressing the issue of cash flows and accountability, she said that civil society foundations were often supported from the ‘ill-gotten gains’ of corporations ‘who then end up being attacked on the streets of Seattle. So we live in a very intertwined world.’ Whilst civil society bodies gave a voice to citizens, there were still people left out of global civil society altogether. ‘Does everyone in the Amazon think that (campaigning businesswoman) Anita Roddick’s ideas are helpful ? Do they have a voice ? The answer is no.’

Contact: Michael Smith, E-mail: media@caux.ch

See Conference Report