France NGO Sector
Contents
Overview
The history of French non-governmental organizations (NGOs), known as organisations non-governementales (ONGs), involves navigating various institutional definitions as well as sifting through time-ordered values attached to the State’s social, economic, and international interests (Archambault 1993, p. p.1; Paul 2000, Sorgenfrei 2004,p.4). As a relatively recent term coined in the aftermath of World War II, the acronym “NGO” first appeared in 1945 in the United Nations Charter[1] (Paul 2000, para. 20; Wikipedia 2008a, section history). Scholars remark that the United Nation’s definition, which differentiates NGOs “from those of government”, is broad enough to cover a multitude of associations, voluntary associations, institutes, non-profits and private foundations (Paul 2000, para. 2; Willets 2002, summary). French NGOs typically include an array of civic and internationally minded players such as mutual societies, development organizations, associations and foundations (Newman 2005).