Institutional Learning and Change Initiative

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Abstract:

The United Nations is currently undergoing the most significant transformation since its founding in San Francisco in 1945. Under the leadership of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the United Nations has embarked on a road towards becoming a more effective and accountable institution. The end of the Cold War and the ongoing process of globalization have fundamentally transformed the environment within which the world body operates. One vital component of this process has been the progressive opening of the Organization to non-governmental actors, including civil society and business. Originally conceived of as a purely intergovernmental organization, the United Nations has begun reaching out to civil society and business in search of new partners for shaping a new world. Partnerships with business and civil society have been one of the Organization's major innovations. The gradual and ongoing process of opening and engaging business and civil society is a result of the increasing realization that the world organization by itself will not be able to confront the manifold challenges of a globalizing world. In a world of complex and fast-changing transnational challenges, effective international cooperation among Governments is unquestionably more important than ever before. Yet, in order to effect change and improve the living conditions of billions of people in a sustainable manner, partnering with civil society and business is more than just an option. In many ways, it has turned into a necessity for the United Nations in order to 'get the job done'.

Notes:

http://www.gppi.net/businessunusual/down/files/Report_in_full.pdf