NGOs

Non-governmental organisations (NGO) are organisations that, as the name already indicates, work independent of any governments and are usually involved in humanitarian or social justice, and other social and society issues. It is difficult to establish when the first NGO started to work, however the term NGO was established in the period after the end of the Second World War by the United Nations, when the UN Charter was drawn up in 1945. At that time the designation was awarded to international non-state organisations which gained consultative status in UN activities. Since the 1980s, the term NGO has also established itself at the societal level. Non-governmental organisations (NGO) are organisations that, as the name already indicates, work independent of any governments, and generally do not pursue profit objectives. 

The legal context of an NGO can vary from country to country. In general these organisations are private, but can have public entities as associates, however they can not be hierarchically dependent of the public entities and have to have an independent management with no public influence. In general, non-government organisations are committed to humanitarian, social, societal or environmentally relevant topics. To name a few, these include: Development cooperation, human rights, social justice, political participation, aid or environmental and climate protection. Examples of very well-known NGOs are Greenpeace or Amnesty International. NGOs are often financed by membership fees, donations, proceeds from the sale of products or services, and also government or international funding (e.g. EU funding). There are a variety of activities that NGOs do. Often project or campaign work is done, which is intended to educate or raise awareness of the above examples. In addition, NGOs often engage in dialogue with policy makers, and there are a lot of NGOs that work as Think Tanks.

In the literature, the term NGO is distinguished from NPOs (non-profit organisations). In society the two terms are often used synonymously. However, there are some minor differences. As referred before NGOs work independently of public influence, but that does not guarantee that they are not for profit. In some countries there is no distinction between NGOs and private companies. In these countries the only distinction is in the way they declare their economical activity in the country tax system. For this reason the two terms have different meanings. However, almost every NGO is also an NPO. For this reason the terms are usually interchanged. But it is important to understand that there are some exceptions. To  simplify: NGO is about the way the organisation is managed and its legal status, and NPO it is about how the money is used and its tax status.

Where I can find a NGO to join?

Now that you have learned about the different types of participation, we would like to introduce an example of an NGO that works at European level.

JEF Europe

The Young European Federalists (JEF) is the oldest pro-European youth organisation that promotes the idea of a federalist Europe. JEF Europe believes that bringing together Europe as a wider and deeper community can bring long-term peace and guarantee human rights across the continent. While they promote working together more closely, they also stress that power should be decentralised in those areas in which problems can be solved on a more local or national level. Thus, JEFs goal is a Europe that tackles issues together that need problem-solving on a broader level, for example: energy supply, economic stability, environmental protection, security and protection of human rights inside and outside of Europe. 

These ideas are promoted through demonstrations, campaigns, collaborations with other organisations, working together with policymakers, offering training courses, publishing magazines or encouraging meetings between young Europeans. 

The organisation can be found in over 31 countries with more than 10.000 activists overall. If you are interested in becoming a member, there are many ways for you to get involved in the organisation. You can, for example: become a member, volunteer in a working group or contribute to the online magazine, or even do an internship. The easiest way to become a member is to find a national section near you and simply get in touch. JEF emphasises that everyone is welcome to participate. Through the following link, you can get more information: https://jef.eu

Working for JEF can be a great opportunity as it is a big and well-known NGO. However, it is not the only one who works to promote a strong and connected European Union.

Find other NGO

There are many other NGOs, also on a more national and local level which work in accordance with values of the European Union.

If you would like to get information on more local NGOs and activities which promote the idea and the values of the EU, you can check out SALTO (link below). This network collaborates with Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps and is a great way for you to find an organisation, programme, exchange or training in the country of your choice that you would like to participate in. To find a suitable organisation, you can specify certain criteria. For example, in which country the organisation should be, if it should follow certain activities, etc. This way you can find a suitable NGO for you on the site. Using the login function you can now get more information about the NGO and directly see the contact information to get in touch with the organisation. 

If you are interested, click on the following link: //www.salto-youth.net/tools/otlas-partner-finding/organisations/