Good Governance http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cida_ind.nsf/190b93d3dd8b654a8525677e0073a278/120e9700965d51ce85256919006bf1e5?OpenDocument Governance refers to the manner in which power is exercised by governments in managing a country's social and economic resources. "Good" governance is the exercise of power by various levels of government that is effective, honest, equitable, transparent and accountable. Programming for good governance includes a wide range of activity areas. Public sector development increases bureaucratic effectiveness through organizational, administrative and policy reform; decentralizing government, both internally and externally (to a range of supranational institutions) extends effectiveness and accountability by bringing government to all appropriate constituency levels. Notable Feature(s): Excellent directory of governance resources from this Canadian International Development Agency site, including the USAID Handbook of Democracy and Government Program Indicators. Human Rights and Reconstruction in Afghanistan, May 2002 http://www.cesr.org/Emergency%20Response/Afghanistan%20Reportfull.pdf http://www.cesr.org/Default.htm Established in 1993, the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) is one of the first organizations to challenge economic injustice as a violation of international human rights law. Through its projects abroad and in the United States, CESR has developed an effective strategy that combines research, advocacy, collaboration, and education. CESR believes that economic and social rights -- legally binding on all nations -- can provide a universally accepted framework for strengthening social justice activism. In May 2002, CESR released its comprehensive human rights report on Afghanistan, "Human Rights and Reconstruction in Afghanistan." It is the first study to survey Afghans opinion on key human rights issues facing the country. Notable Feature(s): International and U.S. programs; useful collection of related links. Contact Information: Center for Economic and Social Rights 162 Montague St., 2nd Floor Brooklyn, NY   11201 USA Telephone: 718.237.9145   Fax: 718.237.9147 Email: rights@cesr.org Pandora's box - by Pascal Boniface http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/1999/01/19states.html Separatism, secession, irredentism - all in the name of nationalism - are responsible for an ever-growing fragmentation of existing nation-states. Where once unification was seen as a step forward guaranteeing international status, now we are witnessing a reverse process which is a threat to peace around the world. And most often it is a cover for economic interests. The American Prospect http://www.prospect.org/ http://www.epn.org/commonwealth/ The aim of The American Prospect (TAP) is to contribute to a renewal of America's democratic traditions by presenting a practical and convincing vision of liberal philosophy, politics, and public life. TAP publishes articles for the general reader that attempt to break through conventional understanding and creatively reframe public questions. The American Prospect is not a magazine of complaint, of angry gestures, or of private irritations. It is a magazine of public ideas, firmly committed -- however unfashionably -- to a belief in public improvement. America can do much good, and it can do much better. Notable Feature(s): Full-text articles, columns, policy analysis and recommendations, book recommendations, discussion forums, issues pages and much more, including access to Moving Ideas, news and resources from the Policy Action Network, a consortium of top public policy organizations and advocacy groups, providing timely information and leading ideas about the policies and politics that shape our world. Contact Information: The American Prospect 2000 L Street NW, Suite 717 Washington, DC   20036 USA Telephone: 888.687.8732   Email: editors@prospect.org Civil Society, Governance and Globalisation - by Dr. Kumi Naidoo http://www.comminit.com/printversion.cgi?url=http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2003/thinking-124.html http://info.worldbank.org/etools/vod/PresentationView.asp?PID=133&EID=63 In a presentation at the World Bank in 2003, Dr. Naidoo—Secretary General of CIVICUS, an international alliance established to nurture citizen action and participatory democracy—pointed out that in the past ten years citizen groups have grown "in their capacity, scope, reach, public profile and influence" and that this is occuring by "the same forces that are producing globalisation – democratisation, the spread of new technologies, and global integration of various forms..." He also suggested that civil society groups need to change their orientation to think not only locally but also to recognize that local actions will not get to the "root causes of many social and economic problems." Civil society must then "think locally and act globally" as well. Kumi Naidoo noted that certain innovative international commissions have worked to "involve civil society groups as equal stakeholders in policy-making, rather than in an after-the-fact consultative role." Dr. Naidoo urged that "this challenge of finding meaningful forms of engagement cannot be overemphasised. Creating channels of access should not be confused with establishing truly participatory procedures." Contact Information: Dr. Kumi Naidoo CIVICUS House 24 Gwigwi Mrwebi Street (former Pim) corner Quinn St Newtown, 2001 Johannesburg South Africa Telephone: +27 11 833 5959   Fax: +27 11 833 7997 Email: kumi@civicus.org Common Sense (1776) - Thomas Paine http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/paine/CM/sensexx.htm One of the seminal documents on which the new nation - the United States of America - founded itself. Tom Paine's essay Common Sense proved itself a compelling call to action that led to the American Revolution and independence. Notable Feature(s): Other online texts of Paine's writings. Democracy as a Universal Value - Keynote Address by Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/jod/10.3sen.html http://www.wmd.org/conference/sen.html These two URLs provide full-text and abbreviated versions of a keynote address by Amartya Sen to the founding conference of the World Movement for Democracy held in New Delhi in February 1999. Contact Information: National Endowment for Democracy 1101 Fifteenth St., NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC   20005-5000 USA Telephone: 202.293.9072   Fax: 202.223.6042 Email: world@ned.org Democracy Onstage - by Christopher Reardon http://www.fordfound.org/publications/ff_report/view_ff_report_detail.cfm?report_index=311 http://www.fordfound.org/ Augusto Boal is a theater director who has brought his dramatic vision to some of Europe's most opulent stages, like the Palais Royal in Paris, where he mounted a samba version of Bizet's "Carmen" last summer. His real passion, though, keeps drawing him back to the favelas, or slums, that blanket the hills of his hometown, Rio de Janeiro. Give and take between actors and audiences is a hallmark of the Theatre of the Oppressed, the name Boal uses to describe a set of dramatic techniques and democratic ideals developed over his long career. Once tortured and exiled for his populist views, he later returned to Rio and won a seat on the city council. He lost a bid for reelection, he says, but not his faith in theater's power to give voice to people on the margins of society. Boal's books, workshops and theatrical productions have spawned a movement that is international in scope and independent in spirit. Today hundreds of community theater groups are practicing Theatre of the Oppressed, or T.O., in such disparate places as New York, Omaha, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Vienna, Johannesburg, Ouagadougou, Calcutta and Adelaide to spur public discourse on issues like poverty, race and sexuality. Notable Feature(s): Descriptions of T.O. programs around the world. Contact Information: The Ford Foundation 320 East 43rd Street New York, NY   10017 USA Email: office-secretary@fordfound.org Democratising Your School: A Practical Guide for Headteachers - by Ellie Keen and Anca Tîrca http://erc.hrea.org/Library/teachers/keen-tirca00.html This manual was developed in Romania and addresses the connection between internal structures and relations of a school system to those existing in society at large. The authors argue that in order for democratic relations to exist in a a society there needs to be a certain amount of democratisation at the school level as well. The guide offers practical tips to improve relations between and among teaching staff, pupils and parents. It offers many examples on how to create community trust in the classroom and in the school and offers models for school councils, school policies, vision statements, constitutions, job descriptions and questionnaires. Notable Feature(s): Full text of report in PDF format. Rebuilding Bridges - Opportunities and challenges for responsible private sector engagement in Iraq's reconstruction By Jane Nelson and Jonas Moberg, May 2003 http://www.iblf.org/csr/csrwebassist.nsf/550d4b46b29f68a6852568660081f938/80256adc002b820480256d4a003e310b/$FILE/Iraq.pdf Not since the Marshall Plan has the world faced a more challenging statebuilding task than the reconstruction of Iraq. The manner in which this is done has critical implications, not only for Iraq, but also for the region and beyond. As the Adam Smith Institute notes, “ ...(it) has the potential to create positive as well as negative precedents depending on the level of creativity, professionalism and transparency with which this process is overseen.” Contact Information: The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum 15-16 Cornwall Terrace Regent's Park London   NW1 4QP United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)20 7467 3600   Fax: +44 (0)20 7467 3610 Email: info@iblf.org Rediscovery Of The Commons - by David Bollier http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/6016/view/print http://www.tompaine.com/index.cfm This is the first in a series of three articles by David Bollier for TomPaine.com, adapted from his recent book Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth (Routledge). For at least the past 20 years, it has been a mantra in our national political life that the so-called free market is our best hope for a brighter, more beautiful tomorrow. From Ronald Reagan's sermons on the "magic of the marketplace" to the giddy euphoria of the Internet revolution, politicians and business leaders have locked arms in praise of strong property rights, deregulation, globalization and the marketization of everything. But even before the dot-com bust and the astonishing financial and ethical meltdown of some leading American corporations, there has been a growing counter-movement afoot. This insurgency not only insists that markets have distinct limits, but that there are serious alternative ways of creating and managing wealth in socially benign ways. Call it a rediscovery of the commons. Contact Information: John Moyers, Editor and Publisher TomPaine.com The Florence Fund P.O. Box53303 Washington, DC   20009 USA Email: editor@tompaine.com Rigged Rules and Double Standards- a report from Oxfam http://www.maketradefair.org/stylesheet.asp?file=03042002121618&cat=2&subcat=5&select=1 http://www.maketradefair.org/default.asp This new report from Oxfam details the impact of global trade -- one of the most powerful forces linking our lives, and a source of unprecedented wealth. Even so, millions of the world's poorest people are being left behind as global prosperity increases for others. If Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Latin America were each to increase their share of world exports by one per cent, the resulting gains in income could lift 128 million people out of poverty. In Africa alone, this would generate $70bn - approximately five times what the continent receives in aid. Reform of world trade is only one of the requirements for ending the deep social injustices that pervade globalisation. Action is also needed to reduce inequalities in health, education, and the distribution of income and opportunity, including those inequalities that exist between women and men. However, world trade rules are a key part of the poverty problem; fundamental reforms are needed to make them part of the solution. Contact Information: Email: Jo Lyon jlyon@oxfam.org.uk A Citizens Guide to Voluntary Organizations in America http://www.friends-partners.org/oldfriends/ccsi/csusa/cshome.htm Civil Society: USA is a project of CCSI designed to acquaint citizens of other nations with the large and creative role that private voluntary organizations play in America. Notable Feature(s): Good networking directories of organizations in many fields. Contact Information: Center for Civil Society International 2929 NE Blakeley St. Seattle, Washington   98105-3120 USA Telephone: 206.523.4755   Fax: 206.523.1974 Email: ccsi@u.washington.edu Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Practitioner's Guide http://www.usaid.gov/democracy/pdfs/pnacb895.pdf Asia Foundation http://www.asiafoundation.org/ The Asia Foundation is a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization working to advance the mutual interests of the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Utilizing its 47-year presence throughout Asia, The Asia Foundation collaborates with partners from the public and private sectors to help foster greater openness and shared prosperity throughout the region. Notable Feature(s): Program information by subject, by location; grant guidelines for programs: governance and civil society, women's political participation, economic development, and international relations; country by country project list. Contact Information: The Asia Foundation 465 California Street, 14th Floor San Francisco, CA   94104 United States Telephone: 415.982.4640   Fax: 415.392.8863 Email: info@asiafound.org Best Practices http://www.bestpractices.org/ http://www.unhabitat.org/ Conceived as a search for solutions to common social, economic and environmental problems of an urbanizing world, Best Practices caught the imagination of all participants in the Habitat II process. The international community adopted a single definition of a best practices based on the three criteria of partnership, impact and sustainability and also endorsed a unified reporting format for documenting the experiences. The Dubai International Conference on Best Practices (19-22 November 1995), in the Dubai Declaration, elaborated several additional considerations for a "Best Practice:" leadership in inspiring action and change; promotion of accountability and transparency; community empowerment; responsiveness to social and cultural diversity; potential for transferability; appropriateness to local conditions; gender equity and equality and social inclusion. Notable Feature(s): Best Practices Database 2001: This searchable database contains over 1600 proven solutions from more than 140 countries to the common social, economic and environmental problems of an urbanizing world. It demonstrates the practical ways in which public, private and civil society sectors are working together to improve governance, eradicate poverty, provide access to shelter, land and basic services, protect the environment and support economic development. Spanish and French versions also available. The Best Practices database is a joint product of UN-HABITAT and The Together Foundation and has been made possible with the support of Dubai Municipality, the Best Practices Partners and the Government of UK; Best Practices Briefs: Issue Briefs are summaries of selected good and best practices from around the world designed to provide an overall synopsis of how cities, people and their communities are solving critical social, economic and environmental problems. Contact Information: Habitat Best Practices Database The Together Foundation 113 East 64th Street 2nd Floor New York, NY   10021 USA Telephone: 212.879.9334   Fax: 212.879.9440 Better Together http://www.bettertogether.org/index.htm BetterTogether is an initiative of the Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America at Harvard University. The Saguaro Seminar issued the report Better Together, in December of 2000, calling for a nationwide campaign to redirect a downward spiral of civic apathy. Warning that the national stockpile of "social capital" – our reserve of personal bonds and fellowship – is seriously depleted, the report outlined the framework for sustained, broad-based social change to restore America's civic virtue. Launched by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Saguaro Seminar drew its 30 participants from academia, the arts, clergy, business and the top leaders and policymakers of both major political parties. Saguaro members studied the essential character of public participation in their effort to develop remedies to redirect a decades-long decline. Notable Feature(s): The Better Together report in PDF to download for free; list of 150 Ways to build social capital and an invitation to participate with the Saguaro Project in helping the list to grow. Contact Information: The Saguaro Seminar Kennedy School of Government Harvard University 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA   02138 USA Telephone: 617.495.1148   Fax: 617.495.1589 Email: saguaro@ksg.harvard.edu Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy http://us.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.worldbank.org%2FWBSITE%2FEXTERNAL%2FNEWS%2F0%2C%2CcontentMDK%3A20111574%7EmenuPK%3A34457%7EpageP The repercussions of civil war are often felt in countries far removed from their countries of origin, civil wars cannot be allowed to continue towards their ill-fated conclusions. Rather, cohesive international intervention is needed to avert externalities such as drug trafficking, spread of disease and global terrorism. Indeed the report finds that contrary to popular opinion, ethnic tensions and ancient political feuds are rarely the primary cause of civil wars. Instead economic forces such as entrenched poverty and heavy dependence on natural resource exports are usually to blame. This study urges three specific sets of actions to prevent civil wars: more and better-targeted aid for countries at risk, increased transparency of the revenue derived from natural resources, and better timed post-conflict peacekeeping and aid. Notable Feature(s): Online text of the entire report. Contact Information: The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, DC   20433 USA Telephone: 202.473.1000   Fax: 202.477.6391 Building A Worldwide Movement for Democracy http://www.wmd.org/conference/founding.html http://www.wmd.org/ Here are the founding statement and other documents related to the world movement for democracy initiative of the National Endowment for Democracy. Contact Information: Gautam Adhikari, Project Dir. World Movement for Demcracy National Endowment for Democracy 1101 Fifteenth St., NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC   20005-5000 USA Telephone: 202.293.9072   Fax: 202.223.6042 Email: world@ned.org Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) http://www.ceip.org/files/programs/programhome.ASP The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace conducts programs of research, discussion, publication, and education in international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. Notable Feature(s): Expert policy papers and research perspective on world and regional issues, civil society, economic reform, growth of democracy, environmental security, educational reform, global governance, human rights, health policy, refugees, and many other areas of interest. Contact Information: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC   20036-2103 USA Telephone: 202.483.7600   Fax: 202.483.1840 Email: info@ceip.org Center for Civil Society International (CCSI) http://www.friends-partners.org/oldfriends/ccsi/ccsihome.html An excellent site for information about NGOs and their work in Eurasia (the former USSR) and Central and Eastern Europe. Notable Feature(s): Links; on-line resources; CivilSoc mailing list focuses on the development of civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other democratic reform projects; announcements re grants and conferences. Contact Information: Center for Civil Society International 2929 NE Blakely Street Seattle, Washington   98105 USA Telephone: 206.523.4755   Fax: 206.523.1974 Email: ccsi@u.washington.edu Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) in Africa http://www.cipe.org/region/africa/index.php3 The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, works to build democracy and market economies throughout the world. CIPE works in four principal areas: a grants program currently supporting over 90 indigenous organizations in developing countries, an award winning communications strategy, training programs, and technical assistance through field offices. Since its inception in 1983, CIPE has funded more than 700 projects in 80 countries and has conducted management training programs throughout the world. CIPE conducts their programs with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy and the United States Agency for International Development. CIPE has received support for specific programs from IBM, Coca-Cola, Ernst & Young, Capitol Health Partners, The Pew Charitable Trusts, RJ Reynolds Tobacco and the United States Information Agency. Notable Feature(s): CIPE newsletter on women's issues; on-line Economic Reform Today articles; training materials; Overseas Report on corporate governance and building foundations for democracy; information on grants program. Contact Information: CIPE 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC   20005 United States Telephone: 202.721.9200   Fax: 202.721.9250 Email: cipe@cipe.org Change Management Toolbook http://www.change-management-toolbook.com This Web site offers a broad range of methods and strategies that one can apply during different stages of organizational development. In its core, the Toolbook is based on the concept of "Learning Organizations", which was mainly introduced by Peter Senge of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Toolbook for Change Management is a collection of practical exercises that can be applied for initiating change processes in any kind of organizations - private companies, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, self-help groups, etc. There are cultural differences of communication, and some tools that will work in one culture won't in another. It's also true that some tools work in one organization and also work in another, which is 5000 miles away - but the same tools don't work in an other organization which is just next door. It is more the organization's culture that makes it receptable for change or not. Contact Information: Holger Nauheimer Email: h.nauheimer@berlin.snafu.de CivicSource News http://civicsource.org/ Resources for Community Leaders and Grassroots Organizers. Notable Feature(s): Fields included: Children, Youth and Families, Community Development,Environment, Government and Public Policy, Health Organizational Development, Social Justice; links. CIVICUS http://www.civicus.org/main/server_navigation/skeletons/Civicus_01/framework/index2.cfm CIVICUS is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. CIVICUS' special purpose is to help nurture the foundation, growth, protection and resourcing of citizen action throughout the world and especially in areas where participatory democracy, freedom of association of citizens and their funds for public benefit are threatened. Notable Feature(s): News, updates on civil society around the world. Contact Information: CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation 919 18th Street, N.W., Third Floor Washington, DC   20006 USA Telephone: 202.331.8518   Fax: 202.331.8774 Email: webmaster@civicus.org Civitas http://www.civnet.org/index.htm http://www.civnet.org/journal/vol3no4/ftdborn.htm Civitas is an international, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting civic education and civil society. Notable Feature(s): An excellent source of teaching materials, the world's great historic documents, organizations,news, links; the Civnet Journal. Contact Information: Balazs Hidveghi, Exec. Dir CIVITAS International 8, rue des Ecrivains F-6700 Strasbourg France Telephone: 333-88-24-7100   Fax: 333-88-24-7109 Email: bohidveghi@compuserve.com Civnet's Journal for Civil Society http://www.civnet.org/journal/journal.htm http://www.civnet.org/journal/jaft.htm An especially valuable source of thoughtful analysis and perspective on the growth of civil society and the role of NGOs in development today. Notable Feature(s): The New Social Entrepreneurs by David Bornstein. Contact Information: Karen Lehrman, civnet 150 E. 52nd Street, 5th floor New York, NY   10022 USA Telephone: 212.317.8329   Fax: 212.317.8355 Email: klehrman@usia.gov Common Cause http://www.commoncause.org/ Common Cause was founded in 1970 by John Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. Gardner envisioned a movement propelled by the focused and concerted grassroots lobbying activities of Common Cause members and reinforced with professional lobbying on Capitol Hill. His nonpartisan, citizens' lobbying group made an immediate impact. Common Cause has more than 200,000 members nationwide, with active members and volunteers in every state. Common Cause works for open, accountable government and the right of all citizens to be involved in shaping U.S. public policies. Contact Information: Common Cause 1250 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 600 Washington, DC   20036 USA Telephone: 202.833.1200   Common Wealth http://www.epn.org/commonwealth/ America is blessed with a rich sector of nonprofit organizations and philanthropies. Since Tocqueville, the institutions of our civil society have been celebrated -- and fought over -- by left, right, and center. As public services dwindle, the profit motive crowds out community institutions, and political participation declines, the health of America's third sector is vital to the revival of our democracy. The Common Wealth site will allow interested users to access the archive of The American Prospect (TAP) articles from past issues, important reports on issues affecting nonprofits and philanthropies, original articles written just for the Common Wealth site, and links to the Web sites of other organizations. Common Wealth will be updated on a weekly basis. Notable Feature(s): News; TAP articles; excellent links directory. Contact Information: Robert Kuttner, Editor in Chief Common Wealth, The American Prospect 5 Broad Street Boston, MA   02109 USA Email: epn@epn.org Conciliation Resources (CR) http://www.c-r.org/ Conciliation Resources serves as an international resource for local or national organisations pursuing peace or conflict prevention initiatives. The principal objective is to support sustained practical activities of those working at the community and national levels to prevent or transform violent conflict into opportunities for social, political and economic development based on more just relationships. CR's journal Accord provides detailed narrative and rigorous analysis on specific war and peace processes, combining readability with practical relevance. Accord's readers work in governments, non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations in the fields of conflict resolution, human rights, relief and development. Its appeal also extends to anyone with a general interest in its themes including academic researchers, armed opposition groups and journalists. Notable Feature(s): Online and print Accord archives; Occasional Papers. Contact Information: Catherine Barnes, Series Editor Conciliation Resources PO Box 21067 London   N1 9WT UK Telephone: (44) 171 359 7728   Fax: (44) 171 359 4081 Email: conres@c-r.org Defend the Global Commons http://www.citizen.org/documents/defendeng0803.pdf http://www.citizen.org/cmep/ This August 2003 issue reports on organizations around the world defending water as a common resource. Notable Feature(s): Extensive collection of materials, reports, findings, and more from Public Citizen, protecting health, safety, and democracy in the United States. Contact Information: Public Citizen 1600 20th Street, NW Washington, DC   20009 USA Telephone: 202.588.1000   Email: slittle@citizen.org Dialogue to Action Initiative http://thataway.org/dialogue/index.htm Developed in 1998, the Dialogue to Action Initiative aims to help enable more people to experience the dialogue process and to help dialogue groups integrate talk with action more effectively. The Initiative relies on the principle that dialogue does more than improve the lives of the people who engage in it. Dialogue leads people to take action in their communities. Dialogue can be - and has been - the impetus communities need to begin solving deep-seated problems and breaking down long-standing barriers. Notable Feature(s): How-To organize a dialogue; Links to resources collected following the 9.11 crisis. Contact Information: Sandy Heierbacher P.O. Box 402 Brattleboro, VT   05302 USA Telephone: 802.254.7341   Email: heierbacher@hotmail.com Diario de la Sociedad Civil http://www.sociedadcivil.cl/ El Diario de la Sociedad Civil busca ser un órgano de información electrónica que posibilite la expresión y comunicación de la sociedad civil chilena. Pretende ser el inicio de un proceso de construcción de mecanismos de comunicación, de diálogo y de debate al interior de la sociedad civil y a la vez de expresión de la pluralidad y diversidad que ella contiene. Contact Information: Email: diario@sociedadcivil.cl Directory of organizations active in change, communications and development http://www.comminit.com/links.html Contact Information: Warren Feek, Director Telephone: (250) 658-6372   Fax: (250) 658-1728 Email: wfeek@coastnet.com Economic Reform Today http://www.cipe.org/ert.html This is the on-line information service of the Center for International Private Enterprise. The Forum is designed to serve as a primary source of information on efforts to promote economic reform, private enterprise, and democratic consolidation around the world. Contact Information: CIPE 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC   20005 USA Telephone: 202.721.9200   Fax: 202.721.9250 Email: cipe@cipe.org Effective Governance: Managing for Change: Leadership, Strategy and Mangement in Asian NGOs - by Ian Smillie and John Hailey http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3199 Funding Heavyweight Throws Itself Behind the Idea of Cultural Policy http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/pew-culture-policy.html http://www.pewtrusts.com/ This New York Times' article describes an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the $4.7-billion foundation that put its weight behind causes like global warming, civic journalism and campaign finance reform when they were first emerging. Its new crusade is to help shape a national cultural policy. Over the next five years, the Pew plans to devote about 40 percent of its culture budget, some $50 million, to an attempt to get policymakers to focus on issues like arts financing, intellectual property rights, zoning in historic areas and an arts curriculum for public schools. The new effort will involve academic research, opinion polls and more media coverage, among other things. Notable Feature(s): Extensive collection of on-line case studies, publications, "lessons learned" and other information; grant procedures and program areas: culture, education, environment, health and human services, public policy, religion, and the Pew venture fund for independent and interdisciplinary approaches to broad areas of significant concern; archive of grantees' publications and organizational information. Contact Information: The Pew Charitable Trusts 2005 Market Street, Suite 1700 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania   19103-7077 USA Telephone: 215.575.9050   Email: webmaster@pewtrusts.com Global Citizen Action - Edited by Michael Edwards and John Gaventa http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3443 As late as 1990, there was little talk of civil society in the corridors of power. But now, the walls reverberate with the sound of global citizen action – and difficult questions about the phenomenon abound. This book presents the cutting edge of contemporary thinking about non-state participation in the international system. Against the background of the changing global context, the authors present case studies of the most significant social movements and NGO networks influencing the course of world politics today. Contact Information: Earthscan Publications Ltd 120 Pentonville Road London N1 9JN UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 7278 0433   Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 1142 Email: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk Global Corruption Report 2003 http://www.globalcorruptionreport.org/ http://www.transparency.org The 2003 edition of the Global Corruption Report focuses on the need for greater access to information in the struggle against corruption. It explores how civil society, the public and private sectors and the media use and control information to combat – or conceal – corruption. The Global Corruption Report 2003 includes: expert reports and features on access to information; an assessment of the state of corruption around the world in 16 regional reports; detailed explorations of national corruption topics from a local perspective; a diverse selection of the latest corruption-related data and research; special contributions by renowned prosecutor Eva Joly and Interpol Secretary General Ron Noble. Notable Feature(s): Full-text download of the report. Contact Information: Global Corruption Report Transparency International Otto-Suhr-Allee 97-99 10585 Berlin Germany Telephone: +49 30 343 8200   Fax: +49 30 3470 3912 Email: gcr@transparency.org Global Trade Watch http://www.tradewatch.org http://www.citizen.org/trade/ Global Trade Watch (GTW) promotes democracy by challenging corporate globalization, arguing that the current globalization model is neither a random inevitability nor "free trade." Its work seeks to make the measurable outcomes of this model accessible to the public, press, and policymakers, while emphasizing that if the results are not acceptable, then the model can and must be changed or replaced. GTW works on an array of globalization issues, including health and safety, environmental protection, economic justice, and democratic, accountable governance. GTW is also a member of the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network, a loose grouping of organizations, activists, and social movements worldwide fighting against the current model of corporate globalization embodied in global trading systems. OWINFS is committed to a sustainable, socially just, democratic, and accountable multilateral trading system. Notable Feature(s): Whose Trade Organization? - A Comprehensive Guide To the WTO by Lori Wallach and Patrick Woodall. This is a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the nearly nine years' experience and track record of the World Trade Organization that reveals which elements of the WTO and its operating terms have led to U.S. job losses, the race to the bottom in wages, unsafe food, attacks on environmental and health laws, and burgeoning international inequality. Not content with a searing, reasoned look at the WTO and its evident failure to adhere to the "first-do-no-harm" rule of commonsense and wise decision- and policymaking, the report lays out a path of alternatives to ensure social justice for all and accountable making of priorities to maximize democratic, community involvement. Contact Information: Public Citizen 215 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Washington, DC   20003 U.S.A. Telephone: 202.546.4996   Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) http://www.ilsr.org/ ISLR is a nonprofit research and educational organization that provides technical assistance and information on environmentally sound economic development strategies. Since 1974, ILSR has worked with citizen groups, governments and private businesses in developing policies that extract the maximum value from local resources. Notable Feature(s): The Home Town Advantage, a free bi-monthly e-bulletin about land use policies and other tools that can protect the character and vitality of one's hometown; The New Rules Project, that builds community by supporting humanly scaled politics and economics: These are the principles of "new localism" that call for viewing communities and regions not only as places of residence, recreation and retail but as places that nurture active and informed citizens with the skills and productive capacity to generate real wealth and the authority to govern their own lives. Contact Information: Neil Seldman - President Institute for Local Self-Reliance - National Office 2425 18th Street - NW Washington, DC   20009-2096 USA Telephone: 202.232.4108   Fax: 202.332.0463 Email: nseldman@ilsr.org Institutional Assessment - strengthening organizational capacity http://www.idrc.ca/books/focus/771/ This book (from Canada's International Development Research Centre) is intended to assist both external and internal efforts to strengthen organizations and to provide a framework for documenting the effects of such efforts. Still at the formative stage, it is a working document for assessing institutional capacity: ready to be tested in a variety of situations, and readily adaptable in light of the testing. The framework presented in this book, once tempered through field testing, will move us towards three goals: helping IDRC be more effective in targeting its investments and in reporting on the results; helping our partners create and maintain institutions well adapted to serving the needs of the world's poor; and, on a global scale, adding to the tool kit available for making international aid more responsive to its intended beneficiaries. Contact Information: Terry Smutylo IDRC Offices Head Office (Ottawa, Canada) 250 Albert Street, 5th floor, Ottawa, ON   K1P 6MI Canada Telephone: (+1-613) 236-6163   Fax: (+1-613) 238-7230 Email: info@idrc.ca International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) http://www.iclei.org/ Established in 1990 through a partnership of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), and the Center for Innovative Diplomacy, ICLEI is the international environmental agency for local governments. Contact Information: World Secretariat - ICLEI City Hall West Tower 16th Floor Toronto, Ontario   M5H 2N2 Canada Telephone: 416-392-1462   Fax: 416-392-1478 Email: iclei@iclei.org International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law - Country Reports: Africa, Asia, Central Europe, Latin America, and North America http://www.icnl.org/journal/vol1iss2/index.html Contact Information: INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT LAW 733 15th St., NW, Suite 420 Washington, DC   20005 USA Internet Democracy Project http://www.internetdemocracyproject.org/ The Internet Democracy Project seeks to enhance the participation of Internet users worldwide in non-governmental bodies that are setting Internet policy and to advocate that these bodies adhere to principles of open participation, public accountability and human rights. The Internet Democracy Project will promote public education about Internet governance and encourage public participation in Internet policymaking. IDP will publish a newsletter, establish and maintain its Web site, and produce a sourcebook on Internet governance issues. Notable Feature(s): Excellent set of links to organizations, including ICANN, involved with setting Internet policy and regulation; the Cyber-Federalist newletter. Contact Information: Email: Webmaster: cchiu@aclu.org MercyCorps http://www.mercycorps.org/ Mercy Corps is a not-for-profit organization that exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression. The agency now operates in more than 25 countries reaching 4 million people worldwide. With headquarters in the United States and Scotland, Mercy Corps is an international family of humanitarian organizations that includes Mercy Corps, Mercy Corps Scotland, Pax World Service in Washington, DC, Proyecto Aldea Global in Honduras, Proyecto Aldea Global Jinotega in Nicaragua, and MerciPhil Development Foundation in the Philippines. Mercy Corps is a humanitarian organization established by Christian leaders who incorporated their faith values into an agency that has developed into the broader vision we share today. Among the faith values most influential in the life of the organization have been Catholic social teaching and Quaker-Mennonite peace philosophies. Mercy Corps provides assistance exclusively based on need, without regard to religion or politics. Since 1981 Mercy Corps has provided more than half a billion dollars in aid in 73 countries. It has gained a reputation as an innovative, problem-solving organization, committed to a strategy of social entrepreneurship to alleviate poverty, improve health and build just communities in some of the world's most challenging regions. Notable Feature(s): The Bridge civil society newsletter; profiles of Mercy Corps programs in environment, alleviating food shortages, micro-enterprise, development training, and emergency relief in communities around the world; top news stories. Contact Information: Mercy Corps 3015 SW First Dept W Portland, Oregon   97201 USA Telephone: 800.292.3355 x250   Email: info@mercycorps.org Moving Ideas Network http://movingideas.org/ The Moving Ideas Network is dedicated to explaining and popularizing complex policy ideas to a broader audience. Its goal is to improve collaboration and dialogue between policy and grassroots organizations, and to promote their work to journalists and legislators. In order for journalists, activists, students and citizens to keep up with public policy and politics, the Moving Ideas Network publishes an online magazine called Moving Ideas. MIN posts the best ideas and resources from leading progressive research and advocacy institutions, as well as promotes high-quality Web sites and publishes original content. It hopes to strengthen democratic participation by providing a more inclusive and intelligible debate about critical issues. Notable Feature(s): Related links; weekly roundup of ideas; wide-ranging and informative free e-newsletter. Contact Information: Moving Ideas Network c/o The American Prospect 2000 L Street, NW, Suite 717 Washington, D.C.   20036 U.S.A. Telephone: 202.776.0730 x.111   Fax: 202.776.0740 Email: manager@prospect.org National Endowment for Democracy (NED) http://www.ned.org/ NED is a private, nonprofit, bipartisan, organization created in 1983 to help strengthen democratic institutions around the world. Funded by an annual congressional appropriation, the Endowment's grants program assists organizations abroad working for democratic goals. The Endowment's programs encourage democratic political development primarily in three major functional areas -- pluralism; democratic governance; and education, culture, and communications. The Endowment's grants have supported nongovernmental prodemocratic programs in some 90 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Newly Independent States. Notable Feature(s): New guide: Sources of Funding in International Affairs and Fellowships, Scholarships, and Grants for Individuals. Contact Information: National Endowment for Democracy 1101 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC   20005 USA Telephone: 202.293.9072   Fax: 202.223.6042 Email: info@ned.org Network of Democracy Research Institutes http://www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html http://www.wmd.org/index.html The Network of Democracy Research Institutes, organized by the World Movement for Democracy (WMD), is an association of organizations that conduct research on democracy, democratization, and related topics in comparative government and international affairs. Included in the Network are independent institutions, university-based study centers, and research programs affiliated with political parties, labor unions, and democracy and human rights movements, and other organizations. The Network was established to facilitate contacts among democracy scholars and activists and to promote a greater awareness of the diversity and vitality of democracy studies today. Through this Web site, a newsletter, and other means, the Network provides information about the work of its member institutes, including their research, conferences, publications, and other activities. Notable Feature(s): Institutional profiles of organizations involved, their research, programs, publications, and contact information -- all organized by region: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Russia and the New Independent States, Middle East, Latin America, the United States and Canada. Contact Information: Thomas W. Skladony, Senior Program Officer International Forum for Democratic Studies at NED 1101 15th Street, NW Suite 802 Washington, DC   20005 USA Email: skladony@ned.org Next Generation Leadership (NGL) http://www.nglnet.org/ http://www.nglnet.org/about_ngl.htm Next Generation Leadership (NGL) is a program of the Rockefeller Foundation. The two-year program is designed to provide new insights and skills that can be applied creatively to enduring problems threatening democracy in this country and the world. The program aims to utilize conceptual frameworks for examining challenges facing the U.S. and the world and develop strategic collaboration amongst participants. The goal is for participants to use these models to concretely solve complex problems while also learning to transfer gained knowledge, skills and experiences to others. Each year NGL selects a group of 24 outstanding individuals with demonstrated leadership skills generally between the ages of 25 and 50. They are diverse in race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation and represent different economic backgrounds and ideological perspectives. Applicants are selected from various fields and sectors, including business, government, law, the unions, non-profit organizations, media, religion, the military, media, and the arts. Notable Feature(s): The NGLNet Web site has two goals: to further communication amongst NGL fellows through its discussion groups, intranet, and listserv, and to communicate critical issues of democracy to the public at large. Contact Information: Surita Sandosham, Program Manager Next Generation Leadership The Rockefeller Foundation 420 Fifth Avenue New York, NY   10018 USA Email: ssandosham@rockfound.org Non-Profits and Development: The Challenge and the Opportunity http://www.usia.gov/journals/itdht/0198/ijde/salsdb.htm The Institute for Policy Studies at The Johns Hopkins University, an independant, non-profit institution which bears no relation to the United States Information Agency presents a comprehensive look at the special compentancies that non-profit organizations bring to the process of development, the barriers that non-profit organizations confront in this field, and outlines the actions that will be needed in order to take fuller advantage of the important contributions non-profit organizations can make. Contact Information: Center for Civil Society Studies/Institute for Policy Studie The Johns Hopkins University 3400 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD   21218 USA North-South Institute http://www.nsi-ins.ca/index.html The North-South Institute (NSI) has built a reputation for sound research and analysis of Canadian foreign policy, offered an independent voice on the urgent importance of world development issues The Institute's research supports global efforts to strengthen international development cooperation, improve governance in developing countries, enhance gender and social responsibility in globalizing markets, and prevent ethnic and other conflict. Contact Information: The North-South Institute 55 Murray Street, Suite 200 Ottawa, ON   K1N 5M3 Canada Telephone: 613.241.3535   Fax: 613.241.7435 Email: nsi@nsi-ins.ca One World Trust http://www.oneworldtrust.org/ The One World Trust was formed in 1951 by the All-Party Group for World Government to promote a greater sense of world community. The Trust believes that sustainable world peace, prosperity, and justice will only be achieved when individuals see themselves as world citizens as well as citizens of their own nations. To that end, among other initiatives the One World Trust has established an informal accountability forum for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The forum aims to provide a space for NGOs to share learning and resources on accountability and begin to articulate a common vision of the type of accountability the NGO sector requires. A crucial aspect of the Trust's work is to promote stronger and more just world law that will help the nations of the world solve those problems they are unable to solve by themselves. Notable Feature(s): Links to global governance, the environment, peace and security, poverty reduction, global economy, international justice, and the UN. Contact Information: Simon Burall, Executive Director One World Trust Houses of Parliament London   SW1A OAA UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 7219 3825   Email: owt@parliament.uk Public Citizen http://www.citizen.org/index.cfm Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 to represent U.S. consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts. Public Citizen fights for openness and democratic accountability in government, for the right of consumers to seek redress in the courts; for clean, safe and sustainable energy sources; for social and economic justice in trade policies; for strong health, safety and environmental protections; and for safe, effective and affordable prescription drugs and health care. Notable Feature(s): Extensive and reliable background information on many urgent topics, including the Water for All initiative in which Public Citizen is campaigning to protect universal access to clean and affordable drinking water by keeping it in public hands; profiles of the major multinational corporations with water interests. Contact Information: Public Citizen 1600 20th St. NW Washington, DC   20009 USA Telephone: 202.588.1000   Email: CMEP@citizen.org Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/ http://www.bettertogether.org/ The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America is an ongoing initiative of Professor Robert D. Putnam at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The project focuses on expanding what we know about our levels of trust and community engagement and on developing strategies and efforts to increase this engagement. A signature effort was the multi-year dialogue on how we can increasingly build bonds of civic trust among Americans and their communities. The Seminar strives to develop a handful of far-reaching, actionable ideas to significantly increase Americans' connectedness to one another and to community institutions. In selecting this goal, the Saguaro Seminar is explicitly neither developing a civic engagement blueprint for the twenty-first century that specifies every action to be taken, nor producing a cookbook with thousands of potentially promising programs that may lead to civic engagement. The project seeks to publicize a few approaches, networks, organizations, or strategies that are working but need to be exploited more broadly both to build effective social trust and reciprocity in neighborhoods nationwide and to loosen America's hardened civic arteries. The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" (who people know) and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ("norms of reciprocity"). Notable Feature(s): Better Together stories of community initiative throughout the United States; social capital bibliography; the World Bank's related collection of social capital measurement tools and other resources; an Atlantic Monthly interview with Robert Putnam. Contact Information: Thomas H. Sander, Executive Director The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America Harvard Kennedy School of Government 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA   02138 USA Telephone: 617.495.1148   Fax: 617.495.1589 Email: saguaro@ksg.harvard.edu The Access Initiative (TAI) http://www.accessinitiative.org/ The Access Initiative (TAI) is a global coalition of public interest groups collaborating to promote national-level implementation of commitments to access to information, participation, and justice in environmental decision-making. TAI is led by five organizations: Corporación PARTICIPA (Chile) Thailand Environment Institute (Thailand) World Resources Institute (United States) Environmental Management and Law Association (Hungary) Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (Uganda) The Access Initiative is motivated by a vision of the world in which all people — regardless of citizenship, country of residence, wealth, or education — have access to the information and decision-making processes necessary to participate meaningfully in the management of their natural environment. Notable Feature(s): How-to Guide: a set of tools to help civil society groups measure how well governments are performing on access to information, public participation, and justice in decision-making for the environment. Contact Information: Karin Krchnak, director World Resources Institute Washington, DC USA Email: access@wri.org The Civil Corporation: The New Economy of Corporate Citizenship - by Simon Zadek http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3316 The role of business in society is this century's most important and contentious public interest issue – a core concern of governments, international and non-governmental organizations, citizens and, increasingly, business leaders themselves. In his book Simon Zadek explores how far we should expect corporations to improve their social and environmental performance, and how best to realize this potential. Adopting his usual stance of ‘optimistic scepticism', he argues that corporate citizenship is an outcome of the dynamics of the New Economy, as is the role of NGOs as civil regulators. Looking to the future, he provocatively suggests that the new civil governance will be rooted in a web of local, national and global private–public partnerships. Contact Information: Earthscan Publications Ltd 120 Pentonville Road London 9JN UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 7278 0433   Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 1142 Email: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk The Search for Civil Society - Benjamin R. Barber http://www.cpn.org/sections/partisans/perspectives/new_democrat/rebuild_search.html Towards Financial Self-Reliance: A Handbook on Resource Mobilization for Civil Society Organization in the South - by Richard Holloway http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3285 This is a clear and practical guide aimed at the managers of civil society organizations, including non-governmental organizations, citizens' movements, cooperatives, trade unions and other grass-roots organizations primarily in developing countries, on how to mobilize funds and other resources and in doing so become financially self-reliant. The author examines a numerous and varied options, covering earned income, local foundations, governmental sources, foreign agencies, the corporate sector, microcredit, the internet and social investments, setting these within a strategic overview of planning and management effectiveness. Contact Information: Telephone: +44 (0)20 7278 0433   Email: weborders@earthscan.co.uk Transparency International (TI) http://www.transparency.org/ Transparency International, a global coalition, is a non-governmental organization dedicated to increasing government accountability and curbing both international and national corruption. TI's National Chapters are building coalitions to strengthen integrity systems in their countries. Its framework for strengthening integrity systems is set out in a National Integrity Source Book that describes practical reforms that can be taken in each sector of society. TI has National Chapters (established and in formation) in over sixty countries in the world. Contact Information: Transparency International Unit 1, The Quadrangle 49 Atalanta Street London, SW6 6TU UK Telephone: +44-20 7610 1400   Fax: +44-20 7610 1550 Email: webmaster@transparency.org ti@transparency.org UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific http://www.unescap.org/ http://www.unescap.org/huset/m_land/index.htm A regularly updated site with analyses and perspective on issues of importance to the region. Notable Feature(s): Local government and country research and profiles; a paper entitled Municipal Land Management in Asia: A Comparative Study. Contact Information: ESCAP The United Nations Building Rajadamnern Nok Avenue Bangkok   10200 Thailand Telephone: 66.2.288.1234   Fax: 66.2.288.1000 Email: webmaster@unescap.org UN Economic Commission for Africa http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/ This is an important and useful source for information, resources, news, and events on major issues facing Africa. Notable Feature(s): Special section on empowering women. Contact Information: Communication Team Economic Commission for Africa P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Telephone: +251.1.51 58 26   Fax: +251.1.51 22 33 Email: ecainfo@un.org Vital Voices http://www.vitalvoices.org/ Vital Voices is a global partnership to support women's progress in building democracies, strong economies and peace. Its work focuses on three critical areas: expanding women's roles in politics and civil society; increasing women's successful entrepreneurship; and fighting trafficking in women and girls and other human rights abuses. The nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership grew out of the U.S. government's successful Vital Voices Democracy Initiative. The Vital Voices Democracy Initiative was established in 1997 by then-First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright after the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing to promote the advancement of women as a U.S. foreign policy goal. Vital Voices regularly hosts international forums and events that engage emerging women leaders in discussions with policy makers, business leaders, field practitioners and other experts about issues affecting women in their communities and countries. These international forums allow participants to share successful strategies, facilitate cross-cultural dialogue, and create valuable networks and partnerships with other individuals and organizations also working to advance the status of women. Contact Information: Vital Voices Global Partnership 1050 Connecticut Ave., NW 10th Floor Washington, DC   20036 USA Telephone: 202.772.4162   Fax: 202.772.2353 World Bank "soul searching" on privatization http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/privatesector/p3302private.html In February, the World Bank's Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) department's Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure section staged a seminar called 'Rethinking Privatization: A soul searching exercise'. The seminar provided an opportunity for three critics of public services privatisation in Latin America to explain their concerns to sixty Bank officials....Focusing mainly on water, electricity and railways, they pointed to the economic and social impact of privatisations, such as on access to services by the poor, jobs and terms of employment, and small and medium-sized enterprise development. Regulatory arrangements, even when designed to improve and expand services, were proving incapable of doing so effectively. Increasingly, tensions between the interests of transnational service providers and poor people were forcing, as the seminar demonstrated, a rethink. Contact Information: Bretton Woods Project c/o Action Aid Hamlyn House Macdonald Road N19 5PG London UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 7561 7610   Fax: +44 (0)20 7272 0899 Email: info@brettonwoodsproject.org World Movement for Democracy (WMD) http://www.wmd.org/ http://www.wmd.org/conference/wmd.html The World Movement for Democracy is an initiative to strengthen collaboration among those working to promote democratic values and institutions. The World Movement is inspired by the belief that the new global economy and the expansion of instantaneous global communications can create new opportunities and potential for effective collaboration among democrats on a worldwide scale. The conference report featured here is an attempt to capture in a few pages the spirit and substance of an extraordinary gathering--the founding assembly of the World Movement for Democracy (WMD). The venue for this gathering of 400 democratic activists and thinkers from over 80 countries was India, the world's largest democracy. The fact that India is neither a Western nor an affluent country highlighted the assembly's central theme of democratic universalism. The idea of democracy as a system of self-government and a way of life suitable to people everywhere, regardless of their culture or level of economic development, unified and inspired the assembly and made possible the unanimous decision to found the WMD. The World Movement for Democracy will hold its Second Global Assembly on November 12-15, 2000, in São Paulo, Brazil. Notable Feature(s): "Democracy" alerts; funding, fellowship, and scholarship grants to individuals; WMD's global committee members and contact information; calendar. Contact Information: World Movement for Democracy National Endowment for Democracy 1101 Fifteenth St., NW, Suite 612 Washington, DC   20005-5000 USA Telephone: 202.293.9072   Fax: 202.223.6042 Email: world@ned.org World Social Forum http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/eng/index.asp The World Social Forum is an open meeting space designed for in-depth reflection, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and planning of effective action among entities and movements of civil society that oppose neoliberalism and a world dominated by capital and any form of imperialism and that are engaged in building a planetary society centered on the human being. The first edition of the World Social Forum was held in Porto Alegre from January 25 to 30, 2001, on the same dates as the World Economic Forum in Davos. This event had its place in time and space. From now on, based on the certainty proclaimed in Porto Alegre that "a different world is possible," it will become a permanent process of seeking out and constructing alternatives, supported by editions of the Forum held in other countries on the same dates as Davos. Yet, these events are not the only elements of the World Social Forum. It is a worldwide process. Notable Feature(s): On-line Library of Alternatives, containing reports and analysis from around the world; declarations and documents from 2002 Forum; Web site materials in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Contact Information: World Social Forum Rua General Jardim, 660, 8º andar, sala 81 Cep 01223-010 São Paulo- SP Brazil Telephone: (+55 11) 3258-8914   Fax: (+55 11) 3258-8914 Email: fsm2003@uol.com.br