– By Rokhui Son
As a master’s student who is studying international social policy, I have been interested in NGOs, highly distinctive organisations which are positioned in between public and private sectors. That was why I took the specialised course covering NGOs in social policy and development. I initially thought that this course would provide me with a broad understanding of how these organisations ‘contribute’ to local societies. Maybe I expected NGOs to be inherently good. Little did I know that, from day one, the class would hit me with such challenging questions – can we even pin down what NGOs are? Do they always do good? or are they sometimes causing more harm than good? and so on and so forth.
A striking revelation during this exploration was the staggering inequality between NGOs from the Global North and Global South. Despite many NGOs originating as counterforces against inequality, it was disheartening to witness them, as a whole structure, often perpetuating global inequality. I recall an article about a development NGO holding their regular meetings exclusively in English, making it impossible for local residents to attend and speak out. I also recall the ‘voluntourism’ experience shared by one of my classmates. She, who was back then only about fifteen years old, literally paid a significant amount of money to visit ‘exotic’, ‘innocent’, but ‘suffering’ communities and participated in projects that looked good on paper but lacked substance. In this case, on one side, ‘helping’ is just a sort of commodity to buy; on the other side, people are objectified as mere recipients of aid.
Inequality permeates literally every sector, underscoring the gravity and deep-seated nature of the issue. The paradox becomes evident when even NGOs, professing to combat injustice, find themselves entangled in it. Reflect on the paradox of voluntourism, where ‘white saviours’ pay for ‘feel-good’ experiences while maintaining the status quo if not inadvertently. Without confronting this fundamental inequality, any hope of changing power structures and empowering the underprivileged remains wishful thinking.
This shared alertness to the worldwide problem of inequality resonates with the #ShiftThePower campaign which was initiated seven years ago at the Global Summit on Community Philanthropy in Johannesburg. This movement strives to accomplish the goal of putting communities in charge of their own development, reshaping the current international funding system to be more locally-led, and developing new ways of deciding and doing.
There are some #ShiftThePower manifestos aligned with the discussion above to give you a more concrete understanding:
“Change the language we use so that it enables new ways of working and thinking, rather than constrains them. And challenge the dominance of English”
“Creatively find ways to unlock the inherent power of communities in determining their own development course – however they define it – and let the language of ‘beneficiaries’ and ‘recipients’ be a thing of the past”
“Move away from a system preoccupied with quick ‘solutions’, and that is premised on and organised around the transfer of funds. Change how we approach, and seek to measure, the notion of success”
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. Depending on the conditions – societies, communities, cultures, languages, and values – solutions should be adapted if not completely transformed. Discussions should be different, and the community should have its own power to decide its fate, finally becoming the owner of its problems and the actor who makes change. In the current development sector where big funders require you to show them immediate, quantitative results, we might need the biggest courage to adhere to our standards, our approaches, and our solutions. The #ShiftThePower Summit and campaigns provide a platform for like-minded individuals to convene and collaborate, supporting this challenging yet crucial endeavour.
In December 2023, the #ShiftThePower Summit was held in Bogota, Colombia, bringing together a diverse network of 700 people from more than 80 countries. Participants shared their experiences and insights about decolonisation, agreeing on the need to challenge the status quo. The Summit clearly offered an indispensable place for cross-border solidarity where people from different backgrounds could be friends with each other. Another interesting discussion was about the role technology can play in shifting asymmetric power – for instance, how we can utilise new technology to facilitate an inclusive, engaging, and proactive network of information. Furthermore, how to act for substantial change was the core of the Summit to prevent it from merely being a table discussion.
While it may seem initially futile, #ShiftThePower solidarity has yielded small yet impactful incremental changes. A growing number of individuals are becoming cognizant of global inequality, sharing their experiences, and contributing to a collective awareness; an increasing number of companies are striving for responsibility in their actions, integrating social values into their operations; numerous NGOs are innovating their approaches, aiming to transform individuals from mere recipients into active participants, and ultimately empowering them to become owners of their destinies. With all of these efforts together, we will slowly but definitely be able to #ShiftThePower.
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