The Conference of NGOs (CoNGO; full "Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations") "is an independent, international, non-profit membership association of non-governmental organizations (

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s). It facilitates the participation of NGOs in

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

debates and decision-making."About CoNGO
retrieved 30 December 2007 The two classes of membership, ''Full'', for those NGOs with consultative status with the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

, and ''Associate'', for those with affiliation with a UN programme or agency, total more than 500 members. Founded in 1948, CoNGO has committees based in Geneva, New York and Vienna. Its objectives: "to ensure that NGOs be present when governments discuss issues of global concern at the United Nations and to facilitate NGO discussions on such issues."

Funding

The CoNGO 2005 report lists funding, coming mainly from the

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is an office-level agency in the federal administration of Switzerland, and a part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Together with other federal offices, SDC is responsible for ...

, the

Canadian Government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

, the

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

and membership dues, in total nearly US$490,000.CoNGO Annual Report 2005
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723182215/http://www.ngocongo.org/files/congo_2005_report_final_web.pdf , date=2008-07-23 retrieved 30 December 2007

References

External links

List of Full CoNGO members

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

International organizations based in the United States United Nations relations