CoNGO president

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.