International Information  Tags: international globalization foreign government trade  

Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are voluntary associations that perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, and often work to make improvements in the environment, human rights, and economic development. Some examples of NGOs are Greenpeace, CARE International, and SocialWatch.

"Civil Society" is often a term associated with NGOs. NGO information is important because of its grassroots knowledge and innovative ideas and solutions to local problems. As a result, many IGOs such as the United Nations and the World Bank establish formal arrangements for NGO's to advocate their concerns and ideas, and they may also rely on the participatory nature of NGO volunteers to carry out projects.

The Yearbook of International Organizations states that in 2004 there were 51,509 NGOs.

This search engine was developed by David Oldenkamp at Indiana University and James Jacobs at Stanford. The site seaches NGOs with Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, sites listed on the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, the Duke University Libraries' NGO Research Guide, and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO).

UN Dept of Economic and Social Affairs NGO Section

More than 3000 non-governmental organizations have consultative status with the UN. Find out about them here or learn how to become one of them.

NGO List (Duke)

Duke University has produced a nice guide to NGOs, which includes this alphabetical list as well as regional and topical lists - all of which can be accessed from this web page.

World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO)

This site includes a world-wide NGO directory and an NGO Handbook.