Mailnews_old

?

Shortcut

PrevPrev Article

NextNext Article

Larger Font Smaller Font Up Down Go comment Print
?

Shortcut

PrevPrev Article

NextNext Article

Larger Font Smaller Font Up Down Go comment Print
austraLasia 1276

Real food for thought: NGOs making a huge, but often unreflected difference to Asian national accounts

BANGKOK: 8th October 2005 --  It would be difficult to put an exact figure on the direct funding, contribution of personnel and economic impact of Salesian NGO and not-for-profit activity in the East Asia Oceania Region, but in the light of information coming from a Bangkok Conference this week, the figure, contribution and impact are likely to be rather more significant than governments acknowledge - if they acknowledge, and that may be the problem!
    The Bangkok Conference looked at the role of non-profits and how to get more governments to include them in their national staistics or 'national accounts'.  The Conference was organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP).  And the statistics they have turn on their head the assumption that non-profit work - and Salesian activity falls under this category - is welcome and nice but not essential, and thus could be done away with.
    In the Philippines, non-profit and volunteer organisations are a 1.2 billion dollar (USD) industry, with expenditures reaching 1.5 percent GDP.  They employ five more times people than huge utility companies and have many more employees than in the country's biggest companies, including San Miguel Corp (beer and other beverages and foodstuffs). "We didn't know the contributions were this big until we looked into the figures" pointed out Prof. Ledivina Carino of the Uni of Philippines College of Public Administration and Governance.
    In many countries, governments give funds to non-profit organisations to reach groups of people they find hard to reach otherwise.  This is certainly true of Italy and Germany, where the Salesians have either large Mission and Development Offices or NGO organisations (like VIS and JDW).  Many of these funds end up in the EAO region (though not only).
    To date, 18 countries - including Belgium, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Argentina, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan - have committed to changing their statistical systems or adding what are called 'satellite accounts' to track profits.  It is interesting to note that in both South Korea and Japan, recent years have seen a huge growth in voluntary groups (5,000 of them listed in the South Korean NGO directory alone, and 30% of these reporting annual budgets of 10,000-100,000 USD).
    And while it might be difficult to put an exact figure on the Salesian part in this activity, it would be interesting to give some thought to a global picture of  'Salesians NGO', as well as the usual Salesians SDB.

VOCABULARY
NGO:  abbreviation for Non-Government Organisation
__________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific.  It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome.  For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml.  If you subscribe, email this information and your name will come off the regular email list.  RSS eliminates problems such as multiple mailings, viruses, email bloat.  Think about it!


List of Articles
No. Category Subject Views
1290 THA 1290_Thailand uses mid-term 3 week vacation for youth action 526
1289 World 1289_Inside the Vatican - inside the Synod (3rd report): Week Two 1997
1288 CIN 1288_Hong Kong's first 'School of Hip Hop' - inside 'The Hangout'. 197
1287 AUL 1287_Melbourne Salesian College develops and opens 'Mannix' Year 9 Campus 166
1286 CIN 1286_HK outreach to 'runaways and throwaways', especially under 18 296
1285 ASC 1285_Cooperator Draft Statutes - English version; Chinese SELECT 945
1284 FIS 1284_"Bus sent by Providence", says Fr Zago, Superior of Pakistan mission 421
1283 FIS 1283_Lahore community heads out to join rescue mission on Pakistan's North West Frontier 497
1282 Cambodia 1282_Rainy season does not deter Cambodian school year opening 477
1281 World 1281_Don Bosco - a New Biography: Teresio Bosco's masterpiece in new English translation 351
1280 VIE 1280_ASC Council meets in Vietnam 259
1279 World 1279_Courageous Bishops in PNG and Oceania speak up 306
1278 World 1278_Inside the Vatican: Inside the Synod! 588
1277 FIS 1277_The two Salesian communities and schools in Pakistan's earthquake zone have survived the quake 323
» THA 1276_Real food for thought: NGOs making a huge, but often unreflected difference to Asian national accounts 454
1275 India 1275_Sisters of Mary Immaculate SMI have new Superior General 268
1274 VIE 1274_Vietnam: the youth ministry situation 583
1273 World 1273_Inside the Vatican: Synod on the Eucharist 534
1272 VIE 1272_Year of the Eucharist in Ho Chi Minh City: public officials are grateful! 350
1271 India 1271_Tura under curfew: one past pupil died, the other in critical condition 265
Board Pagination Prev 1 ... 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 ... 177 Next
/ 177