CoNGO president

In Memoriam: Edith Ballantyne

10 December 1922 – 25 March 2025

President of CoNGO 1976-1982

 

Many members of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) will have learned with deep sadness of the passing of our most highly esteemed and admired former President, Edith Ballantyne, at the age of 102.

Edith was a guiding light throughout her lengthy history of unwavering activism and advocacy for countless causes. Her work with CoNGO is just one of many organizations that have benefited from her enduring contributions.

At the 2021 CoNGO General Assembly, we had the immense pleasure of airing an interview with Edith, conducted that same month as she approached her 99th birthday. Anyone who watched that interview could not forget her vivacity, energy, grasp of global political, social, and humanitarian affairs, and her ability to articulate profound thoughts with such alacrity that the CoNGO interviewers were virtually left behind!

In CoNGO, Edith represented the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), first as its Secretary General and later as its President. Edith was a dedicated, lifelong, and passionate advocate for women’s rights and all human rights. She exposed and fought against racism and social injustice; indeed, she opposed all forms of injustice and inequality.

Her tenure as President of CoNGO occurred during the Cold War, a period when the international NGO community was profoundly divided. Edith’s politics were not to everyone’s taste. Nevertheless, she consistently prioritized her role as a representative of CoNGO, recognizing that the strength of NGOs lies in focusing on shared values and collectively overcoming philosophical barriers.

Throughout her post-CoNGO presidential years, Edith remained accessible to her successors, offering compassionate and relevant advice and support. Her health declined only in her final couple of years, with her four children lovingly by her side. To them, and to all those whose cooperation and support accompanied her over these decades, CoNGO expresses its deep sympathy and heartfelt gratitude.

Edith will be remembered for the profound impact she had on the lives of the people and causes she advocated for, as well as for all those who had the privilege of collaborating with her. Her lifelong commitment and unwavering dedication to illuminating the lives of those in need epitomized her kind and generous nature.

People with the patience, perseverance, and determination that Edith Ballantyne manifested in her diverse roles promoting civil society initiatives are rare. We cherish and hold dear our collective and personal memories of the passion and action that defined her life. She undoubtedly left her mark on CoNGO, and we honor her numerous contributions to a better and more just future for all humanity and the planet.

Thank you, Edith!

Liberato C. Bautista, President of CoNGO

April 2025

In new year message, CoNGO president rallies NGOs to increase hope and decrease fear

New York City, 4 January 2021 (CoNGO InfoNews) —  In a new year message, CoNGO president Liberato (Levi) Bautista called on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to decrease fear and increase hope. He lamented the surplus of fear and deficit of hope in the year just ended.

“To decrease fear, we must continually affirm human dignity and human rights as inherent, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent. To increase hope, we must build a common future for all the inhabitants of the earth and their natural ecology, refusing pillage and plunder in our economic life, and instead, promoting and safeguarding the common public goods and services indispensable to securing life and life’s flourishing” Bautista said.

President Bautista foresees more consultation and collaboration with all its members and partners, and with the numerous entities of the United Nations System. This statement comes  after meetings in late December of 2020 with Marc-André Dorel and Lydiya Grigoreva. Dorel is officer-in-charge of the NGO branch at the office of intergovernmental support and coordination for sustainable development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Grigoreva is the head of the NGO liaison unit of the Office of the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

A global briefing on UN-NGO relations and areas of consultation and collaboration is envisioned to be held sometime in February. NGO liaison officers at UN Office at Vienna will be contacted.

In issuing President Bautista’s message in English, French, Spanish and Esperanto, CoNGO aimed to reach more of its growing membership and constituency, hoping to engage them in varied arenas of collaboration and cooperation. Membership recruitment is also ongoing. Under Bautista’s leadership, eighteen NGOs have been added to CoNGO’s membership roll which stands at a little over 500.

President Bautista also announced a discount of 25 percent in membership dues for NGOs whose applications for new membership are approved and paid by the end of February.

Read the full text of President Bautista’s new year message in four languages, here.

Learn more about how to become a CoNGO member here. Get the application form here.

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