My Reflections on working with the NGO Committee on Social Development

Monica

During my internship at the Bahá'í International Community's United Nations Office I have had the chance to be involved with several social development projects, including working with the NGO Committee on Social Development (CSocD).  One of the bounties of this opportunity is that it has allowed me to gain an insight into the work of the Bahá'í International Community and other NGOs particularly in collaboration with the UN Commission on Social Development. Much of the work of the NGO Committee on Social Development (http://ngosocdev.wordpress.com) involves staying informed with worldwide social development issues and activities, delivering group statements to the UN, and voicing ideas and positions on key social development issues.

More recently the NGO Committee for Social Development with the support of the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) undertook a research project in search for examples of Social Integration in Action. The purpose of this survey was to present the UN with a grassroots perspective on social integration and to learn more about building stable and integrated societies worldwide with the following statement from the Committee

Work in progress

The survey findings were collected through qualitative research via an online link

( http://www.un-ngls.org/socialintegration/  ). The results provided examples of Social Integration in Action from 190 countries.  The survey involved questions that presented examples of good practices in terms of each organization's overall mission and goals.

Some very touching examples were given. In communities within regions of South America, South Africa, India and Vietnam, religious groups have instinctively taken the initiative of building more stable conditions for the less fortunate when education and jobs have been scarce. Building local libraries and providing reading and writing classes have helped provide basic yet crucial education that others take for granted in more developed regions of the world.

The Bahá'í International Community along with the other NGOs that are a part of CSocD Committee meets once a month in the Baha'i Offices. During the time I participated in the meeting the Committee chair presented the survey conclusions. It was my responsibility along with my fellow intern, Fei Wang to compile and organize the information into a final document for the Committee to distribute as a complete report. This consisted of organizing survey responses from 190 nations from Asia, Africa, South America, United States, and Middle East, each with their own unique stories obstacles and achievements.

Outcomes of CSocD meeting

During the meeting I attended, some very interesting points concluded the laudable effort of the Committee's year long research. The topics discussed consisted of the barriers to social integration such as unemployment, migrant workers , lack of education, macroeconomic policies and discrimination of gender and race. I found that overall the approach the Committee had taken was consistent with those of Bahá'í  principles. It concluded that the Committee believed that social integration from a grassroots level should effectively engage the communities themselves, placing importance on education, equality of genders, and the elimination of prejudice. I found that many of the viewpoints shared by the Committee reflected those of the Bahá'í  principles which are evident in the Bahá'í Writings: "Among other teachings and principles Baha'u'llah counsels the education of all members of society. No individual should be denied or deprived of intellectual training, although each should receive according to capacity. None must be left in the grades of ignorance, for ignorance is a defect in the human world. All mankind must be given knowledge of science and philosophy...." (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 108).

Survey Findings

The findings indicated that in order to start building integrated communities one needs to consider close relationships within smaller communities. Therefore the solutions and recommendations derived from the conclusion of the findings were considered to be as the following:

• commitment of education for all should be enlisted from a community level,
• a greater emphasis should be placed on the responsibilities of the governments to take active steps to ensure equal rights,
• Policies should be created to link programs of social integration and human development to create jobs and income,
• Governments need policies and legislation to promote gender equality and must have zero tolerance,
• Governments need to implement just and humane immigration laws,
• Governments need to establish "a global economy" to provide for the well being of all just for the profit of few.

The survey also outlined a number of social integration barriers at the grassroots level. These included: unemployment, being a migrant, gender inequality, lack of education, macroeconomic policies, lack of participatory process, poor governance and weak government and discrimination of gender and race.

A great emphasis was placed on creating one unified global economy that provides for the well being of all. To me this raises a valid point that no longer should our world be seen as segregated countries but rather as a nation as a whole with the need for communities to come together. As Bahá'ís we are encouraged to be involved in building united communities with current systematic activities implemented to provide moral education through children's classes, placing an importance on education and eliminating the differences between genders. These grassroots initiatives seek to create a social environment conducive to building a community at every level of society. 

Personal encounter

The insight I gained through working with the Committee is that it is first up to the individual to commit to making a change.   Every small effort makes a difference, and it is only when each person strives to work from the ground level up that we are then able to shift these gradual cultural changes and work towards a higher degree of integration in our communities.