The U.S. State Department will soon create a group that is expected to build on its efforts to tighten relations with civil society groups worldwide.
Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine will lead the new Global Philanthropy Working Group, whose job will be to boost cooperation between the U.S. government and top foundations, and develop partnerships supporting civil society organizations.
The working group will be formed this summer, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced May 16 at the Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society 2012 Summit in Washington, D.C. The dialogue was conceived in February 2011, with a purpose to promote democracy and good governance around the globe.
At the summit, Clinton upheld all policy recommendations made by CSOs through the dialogue, including promoting awareness of women’s rights in transition countries such as those in the Middle East and North Africa region.
She also sought input from CSOs on how the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development can better help CSOs in countries where governments are averse to grass-roots nongovernmental organizations.
“So we have to make a tough decision,” Clinton said. “Sometimes, governments make it so difficult for us to help, as you say, grassroots NGOs that it becomes impossible. So we can’t find them; we can’t interact with them; we can’t convey support to them.”
Read more on U.S. aid reform online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.
About the author
Eliza Villarino
Eliza Villarino currently manages one of today’s leading publications on humanitarian aid, global health and international development, the weekly GDB. At Devex, she has helped grow a global newsroom, with talented journalists from major development hubs such as Washington, D.C, London and Brussels. She regularly writes about innovations in global development.
