Social entrepreneurship organization and WANGO awardee Ashoka has published a new report identifying actions international NGOs (INGOs), social entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and funders can take to unlock the potential of INGO and social enterprise collaborations for advancing the international development sector toward more inclusive, localized, and co-created action and to drive systemic social innovation. In addition to showcasing successful collaborations, the report explains how partnership challenges can be overcome and offers recommendations for key actors in the ecosystem to catalyze more such partnerships. (Read more...)

Delhi-based Routes 2 Roots, an NGO affiliate of WANGO engaged in cultural exchange programs in India, marked its listing on the country’s Social Stock Exchange (SSE), an initiative operating within the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to help nonprofits raise public funds for their missions and scale their impact, with a bell ringing ceremony at the exchange. The event, which was broadcast live to more than 22,000 schools across the country, was attended by NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan; actress and Routes 2 Roots advisor Juhi Chawla; and film director Sudipto Sen, among others. (Read more...)

This year, World Environment Day (WED), celebrated annually on June 5, will focus on three often overlooked challenges: land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience. One of the most effective ways to restore degraded land, halt desertification, and build drought resilience is through ecosystem restoration. "Our priority now must be on restoring ecosystems - on replanting our forests, on rewetting our marshes, on reviving our soils," says Elizabeth Mrema, UN Environment Programme deputy executive director. If you are organizing a restoration or event or activity for WED, register it today at www.worldenvironmentday.global/get-involved/register. (Read more...)

April 15 marked a year of war in Sudan that started over a dispute on how to incorporate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the country's military, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). It has created the world's largest internal displacement crisis and the world's worst hunger crisis, with nearly 5 million people at risk of famine. "Yet, despite the risk to regional peace and security and the immense suffering inflicted on the Sudanese people, the international community's response has been wholly insufficient," says Susan Stigant, Director of Africa Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace. She suggests advancing four priorities that could foster peace, among them, getting back to basics in the next round of ceasefire talks. (Read more...)

In 2025, the UN will conduct a comprehensive peacebuilding review, allowing it to assess its standing in the peacebuilding field and consider the extent to which it wants to play a leadership role in setting the direction of peacebuilding. It has long been recognized that the strength of the peacebuilding community comes from its many actors. How can the UN ensure the meaningful participation of new voices, including local and international NGOs, and be open to recommendations of new approaches? Life & Peace Institute’s Lesley Connolly and Aaron Stanley say one way would be to change how it carries out the review and “create a new working modality based on new forms of partnerships,” adding that, “if [they] embrace this opportunity, it could play a significant role in facilitating a shift toward a new vision of peacebuilding.” (Read more...)