Many academic and popular writers have warned that the internet could be another form of cultural imperialism used by corporate-led western powers to force feed western values and worldviews to the rest of the world, similar to how Western education was imposed on Africa after colonisation. These ongoing arguments about one-way flows of information that shape African minds in Western moulds reinforce desires for dominance and promote an attitude of victimization. Others perceive internet as a pa more...

This is an interview with Benoît Fontaine (Advisor with the King Baudouin Foundation) who is working on developing GuideStar in Belgium. He talks about:

* The civil society sector in Belgium
* The reason for GuideStar interest in Belgium
* The main partners for the initiative
* Where the data for GuideStar Belgium will come from

The latest GuideStar International Newsletter is now available (April 2009). In it you can find an update on GuideStar International, news from our partners and relevant articles about what is happening in the CSO sector.

'The gulf between the ideal type of a learning organization and the state of affairs in typical bilateral and multilateral development agencies remains huge. Defining roadblocks, however numerous they may be, is half the battle to removing them—it might make them part of the solution instead of part of the problem.'

Pertinent questions and sound methodologies are essential for quality research, as are quality partnerships. By what criteria do we select partners and how do we build meaningful partnerships that add value to our research efforts? And that contribute to improving the overall landscape for the development and use of research? We would like to propose several areas of concern for partnership development and management that many of us deal with on a daily basis and that might seem obvious but none more...

The World Bank has issued a revision of its most recent Global Economic Prospects report in preparation for the G20 London Summit. I quote:

'What began six months ago with a massive de-leveraging in financial markets has turned into one of the sharpest global economic contractions in modern history. As investors repatriated overseas assets and credit conditions were tightened, firms around the world had to scale-back production and postpone capital spending plans. Faced with unprecedented los more...

The 1st Quarterly GuideStar International Newsletter is now available. This gives an update on what has been happening with GuideStar in Europe, Korea, India, Japan, the UK and US and features an interview with the CEO of GuideStar Data services (the newly established Community Interest Company) which is owned by GSI. It also features a report of the GuideStar International Assembly in 2008 and a variety of related articles about the civil society sector.

GuideStar UK has produced a video which features views from a variety of stakeholders, such as local and international charitable organisations and grantmakers regarding the importance of information in the development of the sector. We would like to thank Dragonfly Productions, (previously Firefly Productions) for their generous support in the making of this film Have a look at the video.

The 3rd GuideStar Assembly entitled ‘From local to global: The importance of CSO information for citizen engagement’ was held at 2 Temple Place in London on the 2nd- 3rd December 2008. The Assembly gathered 90 people from 19 countries to discuss the ways in which information can empower civil society and decision-makers at all levels, to engage and surmount barriers that limit the civil society sector today. A report and presentations, are now available on the GSI website

This paper argues that NGOs powerfully shape global politics. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, NGOs have increased in activity because governments inadequately deal with global problems like human rights violations and climate change. As entities distinct from governments, NGOs can mobilize and expand support for causes across borders. The author cites the Coalition for an International Criminal Court as a powerful example of how a global NGO network has reshaped international law. Source: In more...