The World Bank defines NGOs as “Private organizations that pursue activities to
relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment,
provide basic social services, or undertake community development”. In wider
usage, the term ‘NGO’ can be applied to any non-profit organization which is
independent from government. NGOs are typically value-based organizations
which depend, in whole or in part, on donations and voluntary services. Although
the NGO sector has become increasingly professionalized over the last two
decades, principles of altruism and volunteerism remain its key defining
characteristics.
The government is supposed to act for the development of the downtrodden
society. However, since it has multiple roles to play, it is difficult for the government
to take care of each and every section of society. The concept of NGOs have been
conceived to cover up this shortcoming of the government. NGOs try to
communicate the concerns of a community to the government. Besides, NGOs also act independently for the welfare of society by empowering the people through
training and programs, financial support, disaster management, etc.
Joke van Kampen defines advocacy thus: “Advocacy is a process that requires
civil courage: The courage to speak out, to stand up, to generate and stir debate
and controversy”. He has mentioned components of a successful advocacy for
NGOs (Exhibit 1). How to advocate is also a major concern for most of the NGOs,
as it may create a chaos in communication process if not properly guided. There
are three advocacy methods for NGOs (Table 2), i.e., networking, conferences and
protests. Each has its strength and weakness but how to get the work done
is the essence of these methods. |
