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...)

Gang violence and protests have significantly escalated in Haiti since the beginning of 2024. In March, the situation reached a critical point after armed gangs attacked government buildings and forced the prime minister to resign. National supply lines of food, water, and gas have been disrupted as the violence has spread, exacerbating the hunger crisis, with over 4 million people facing extreme hunger. WANGO endorses the effort of Christian Disaster Response (CDR) in providing emergency aid to their partners near Cap Haïtien, having worked with them on previous disasters. To make a donation towards relief materials, visit www.cdresponse.org/donate. Medical volunteers are also needed. To volunteer, contact their office at usrelief@cs.com or 1-863-967-HELP (4357).(Read more...)

It is vital that humanitarian aid provided meets the needs and priorities of people impacted by crisis. Launched on March 21, the strengthened Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), reflecting input from more than 4,000 voices from crisis-affected communities and response organizations across 90 countries, renews the commitments that aid actors are making to people in crisis. It is now more inclusive and accessible, with a simplified language and a streamlined structure to engage a broader spectrum of actors who support those facing crisis. The CHS Alliance invites organizations to show their commitment to accountability by signing the Statement of Commitment at www.chsalliance.org/renew-your-chs-commitment.(Read more...)

kanthari, an institute located in Kerala, India, invites applications to its 12-month scholarship-based impact leadership program created to equip change makers age 22+ (no upper age limit) who have overcome adversity with the tools and skills required to start and sustain a social impact organization. Applicants must speak and understand basic English and have basic computer skills. The next program starts in April 2024. To learn more, please click on the headline above. (Read more...)

The Global Forum on Human Settlements held its 18th annual session from December 2 to 3, 2023 at COP28, the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, in Dubai, UAE in collaboration with WANGO, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the European Union, and more than 15 other international organizations. Over 40 leaders and experts, including from the UN, government, business, and academia, contributed to the conference, which urged the development of innovative governance structures for cities and leveraging the digital revolution to make communities and cities greener, smarter, and more resilient. (Read more...)

The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), a recipient of the WANGO Environment Award, was presented with the Equator Prize 2023, organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP)’s Equator Initiative, at a ceremony held on November 7 during the agency’s virtual Nature for Life Hub event. The ICC, an NGO that unites 180,000 Inuit Indigenous people of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia) and integrates ancestral Inuit knowledge and practices to protect the Arctic ecosystem and defend land and ocean rights, was one of ten Indigenous-led and community-based organizations that won the 2023 prize. (Read more...)