The activities carried out by the environmental and development NGOs are numerous. The environment, as a component of sustainability, is incorporated in the activities of many organisations. Thematic or regionally oriented organisations are merging with like-minded organisations that often focus on issues such as networking, lobby and trade. Organisations that work in the field of solidarity, lobby, campaigning and awareness raising are described in this section.

BBO, the Ecumenical Institute for Advocacy on International Cooperation, has been working on influencing policy in the field of international cooperation since 1992. The office was founded by 10 church-related development organisations and acts on their behalf and on that of their partners in the South. In the last few years, BBO has become recognized as an intermediary for contacts with politicians, government, trade and industry. BBO supports various organisations in their lobbying and advocacy activities. BBO specialises in assisting organisations that work for sustainable development, poverty eradication, combating violence and the promotion of international law and human rights. Many of the activities take place in the Netherlands in support of Dutch organisations. At the same time, direct requests from organisations in the South for activities in the field but also in the Netherlands generate an important part of BBO’s work. BBO closely follows developments related to international actors such as the World Bank, the IMF, the EU, the FAO and the WTO. BBO offers services and carries out assignments on a project basis.

The BCN is an information and lobby centre that aims to raise awareness in the Netherlands about the situation in Burma and strives towards support within the European Union for democratisation processes in Burma. In this context the BCN actively approaches national and EU policy makers and the media. The BCN works closely with other European Burma Groups and in recent years has acted as a clearinghouse for all the groups’ activities aimed at the European Union. In its information work the BCN gives special attention to issues of human rights, the rights of the indigenous peoples, democratisation, tourism and foreign investments in Burma. The BCN mediates on behalf of Burmese NGOs seeking funding and information upon request.

The BCN houses a small documentation centre and publishes a newsletter.

COS - Netherlands is the umbrella association of 16 regional Development Education Centres (COS and DEC) whose main aim is to strengthen solidarity with groups in the Third World. The centres work on a regional/local level in the Netherlands. They support existing local initiatives by offering experienced personnel, technical facilities and topical information materials. On the basis of their own expertise, they also stimulate local governments and NGOs to take action in this field, while functioning as a bridge between (inter) national initiatives and those at the local level. The centres work on a wide range of themes such as international cooperation, sustainable development, multicultural society and the twinning of projects/cities.

Southern partners are welcome at COS-Netherlands, the national umbrella organisation for the 16 COS’. COS-Netherlands offers information and an exchange of views on the way development education programmes take place in local/regional settings.

ECSIEP serves as an information centre on developments in the Pacific and acts as an interface between Pacific civil society and European organisations and institutions. ECSIEP maintains regular contact with churches and NGOs in the Pacific and supports their campaigns and activities. Since its start in 1992, ECSIEP has mainly been working on issues in which a clear link between Europe and the Pacific is visible. Projects and campaigns over the past years addressed issues such as French nuclear testing, climate change, sustainable forestry, the ACP-EU partnership agreements and the involvement of civil society in this process, mining, sustainable development and conflicts.

The ECSIEP handles the secretariat of the Europe Pacific Solidarity Network (EPS). The Network was established by European NGOs and church organisations working on peace, the environment and development issues in the Pacific. It organises annual seminars where activists of the network meet and discuss the current developments in the Pacific.

The ICN is an independent NGO that informs the public in the Netherlands about India and how social, economic and political developments in the West influence the daily lives of millions of Indians. The ICN is based on solidarity with deprived groups in Indian society; it supports their struggle against poverty, oppression, unequal treatment and degradation of their environment.

The ICN's main strategy is to influence public opinion and political decision-making processes in the Netherlands and Europe through lobbying, generating publicity in the media, and organising public meetings and campaigns. In addition, the ICN alerts western consumers and companies about the effects of their behaviour.

The Organisation is campaigning against child labour, and in favour of decent primary education for all children. The Committee also campaigns for socially responsible business and fair trade, for women's rights and for human rights for dalits. The ICN is promoting social labels and codes of conduct to help improve labour conditions in India and elsewhere. For instance by promoting ‘Rugmark’, a label for carpets produced in India and Nepal without child labour. The ICN is also campaigning with other NGOs and unions in favour of a so-called 'Fair Trade Charter for Garments', which is a combination of a social label and a code of conduct. It guarantees 'clean clothes' for the consumer: garments produced in line with internationally accepted fundamental labour standards.

The ICN carries out research, owns a public library, publishes and distributes books, booklets and a bimonthly magazine 'India Nu' (India Today).

IRENE has been stimulating and facilitating the exchange of information on labour issues since 1981 and has contacts, resources and a European programme of work that covers current international labour issues. IRENE is an international network involved with development education. IRENE has the double aim of stimulating development organisations into taking up worker's issues and ensuring that international issues are taken up in trade union education.

IRENE was set up to strengthen international workers' solidarity. By organising seminars and workshops it gives attention to new areas of work or to new information around existing work, it stimulates the exchange between organisations in the South and the North and within Europe, including Eastern Europe. The core theme of IRENE's work is: how workers (women and men) in the South, the North and East are affected by international restructuring in the industrial and services sector. Special attention is given to the position of women workers and the marginalisation of workers. The outcome of IRENE's work is published in News from IRENE.

The aim of the NBvP, founded in 1930, is to prepare its members (75,000) for an active role in society through education and self-development. In local branches and regional groups members work together on several subjects, including: our relationship with women in Third World countries; the consequences of our consumerism on women in Third World countries; influencing government decisions on the above issues; and taking action for a healthy rural environment in our own country. NBvP is a member of the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW).

The NCIV is an NGO that has been supporting the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide since 1969. The Centre provides lobby, advocacy, technical and financial services to indigenous peoples and their organisations. The main rights indigenous peoples seek are those related to the rights to their lands and natural resources, the right to the preservation of their cultures, the control over their intellectual property rights, and the right to the protection of indigenous knowledge, all of which are contingent upon the recognition and respect for their right to self-determination. The NCIV pays special attention to the role and position of indigenous women.

NCIV supports the collective and individual human rights of Indigenous Peoples as was determined in the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. NCIV is a member of the European Alliance with Indigenous Peoples in Brussels (EAIP) and the Human Rights Fund for Indigenous Peoples (HRFIP).

The Centre works to raise awareness in the Dutch society and beyond. It organises lectures, conferences and other education related programmes. NCIV publishes a monthly magazine INDIGO (Dutch) and maintains a documentation centre.

 

One of the activities of NCIV is the administration of the Grants for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (GRIP). With GRIP, NCIV seeks to increase financial support to small-scale initiatives coming from organisations of indigenous peoples in order to promote, at the local level, the recognition and implementation of their rights.

NiZA was founded in 1997 out of the merger of three organisations with a record of support to the anti-apartheid struggle dating back to the 1960s: the Dutch Committee on Southern Africa, the Dutch Anti-Apartheid Movement and the Eduardo Mondlane Foundation. NiZA’s general objective is the advancement of democratic processes in the southern African region, in order to contribute to structural poverty reduction. NiZA’s aim is to strengthen civil society by stimulating empowerment of organisations and individuals. NiZA considers democratisation to be a precondition for poverty reduction.

NiZA’s activities are concentrated in three thematic programmes: (1) human rights and conflict prevention; 2) media and freedom of expression; and 3) socio-economic empowerment. NiZA programmes are a coherent totality of personnel assistance, linking and twinning, lobby and public awareness raising activities. The contacts with partner organisations are the foundation of the NiZA programmes.

In addition, NiZA wants to strengthen the voice and influence of organisations in the South by lobbying together with and on behalf of them in the Netherlands and Europe. Finally, NiZA aims at keeping the Dutch public interest in and involvement with southern Africa alive.

The NiZA library, information and documentation centre (BIDOC) provides a basis for NiZA's programmes, campaigns and research projects, but is also open to the general public.

Oikos is the Ecumenical Institute for Church and Developmental Cooperation. Oikos supports activities in the Netherlands that contribute to a worldwide just and sustainable development. Its main activities include research, lobbying, education, and campaigns. Oikos focuses on the following topics: globalisation, climate change and sustainable development, international finance, debt relief, sustainable tourism, and migration.

Most of its activities are focused on Dutch society. Some projects, however, are internationally oriented like the Jubilee campaign that advocates for debt relief of the poorest countries in the world. The secretary of Jubilee Nederland has its offices at Oikos.

OLAA’s main objective is to inform Dutch citizens about political, socio-economic and cultural developments in Latin America. OLAA initiates awareness projects in the Netherlands on different aspects of Latin American society. An example of a recent awareness project involved the establishment of a trademark for cut flowers exported from Latin America. OLAA does not execute or finance projects in Latin America itself. In close collaboration with different grassroots organisations, it defines which kind of project it will be able to support and what the most adequate way to help. Furthermore, OLAA organises cultural events and meetings to stress the importance of culture in Latin American societies.

'Omslag' - which means ‘breaking point’ - started in January 1994 as a workshop for sustainable development. Omslag tries to link the issues of the economy, the environment, labour, culture, peace and solidarity. In its vision, these need to be linked in the process of developing a sustainable and colourful world. Omslag brings together innovative ideas and people who work on a mix of these issues, aiming to reach a cultural turn. This implicates a change of lifestyle, starting in the richest parts of the world.

Omslag publishes the bi-monthly magazine ‘ZOZ’ (PTO, ‘please turn over’, look at things from the other side), with information about people who work for a better world, in theory and in practice. Omslag supports various campaigns, produces workshops and games, is co-founder of the 'Anti-War Museum' and introduced the International Buy Nothing Day in the Netherlands.

Health and poverty are closely intertwined. Trough its work, Simavi aims to break the vicious circle of poverty - disease. Simavi remains committed to the principal themes: primary healthcare, water and sanitation, and capacity building. In both the Netherlands and in developing countries Simavi operates within an evolving social context.

Simavi initiates, stimulates and supports projects aimed at improving the health of the poorest populations of Africa and Asia, without regard to race, religion or political creed. Motivating and involving the local population is essential to our approach. To involve the Dutch public with issues faced by developing countries, Simavi engages in awareness-raising activities and raises funds to finance projects.

The core activities of Simavi are: basic healthcare, especially community-based initiatives; water and sanitation facilities; training and education of staff, especially as part of the project that is supported; equipment and materials for health facilities from community to district level; activities aimed at the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and their consequences; eye-care; and activities to promote the (human) right to adequate health (-care).

 

Medical students founded WEMOS in 1979 as a working group on health care and development cooperation. The main objective of WEMOS is to improve the health of men, women and children in developing countries by influencing international policy. WEMOS believes that international standards, legislation and agreements are necessary in protecting and promoting people's health in developing countries.

WEMOS follows five distinct strategies: lobbying, information gathering, cooperation with partners in the developing countries, cooperation with other organisations, and campaigning among Dutch healthcare professionals.

People in developing countries have a right to good health. Through its projects, WEMOS wants to contribute to the fulfilment of that right. The organisation focuses on three specific areas: 1) Health and Trade: to promote better healthcare and access to healthcare services within trade policies; 2) Health and Poverty: to develop and lobby for strategies for poverty reduction and debt reduction/cancellation for Southern countries; 3) Health and the role of the private sector: to ensure that global public-private initiatives make a real contribution in terms of improving the health situation in developing countries.

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