3. What Kinds of Values Are NPOs Creating? Other Topics

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Posted on August 01, 2018

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II: The World Today as We See It

3. What Kinds of Values Are NPOs Creating?

The visions and methods of NPOs are as diverse as the causes they serve. Still, we believe that there are underlying common threads in the consciousness and attitudes of people involved in NPO work. These may include:

• Siding with and working with those pushed to the bottom or the margins of society;
• Paying active attention to latent needs and risks in society;
• Making social problems visible by recognizing them while they are still in a formative stage;
• Utilizing empathy and such feelings as “I can’t leave them/that alone,” “I don’t think this is right,” and “I want to do something about it” as the driving force for activism;
• Making decisions and creating movements based on participation, and making sure people’s voices are recognized within these decisions and movements;
• Respecting the voices of those directly affected, while also providing leadership when working on a problem.

The foundation of all these attitudes and actions is respect for human rights through the valuing of human dignity. These attitudes also align with our 2011 Report, which emphasized the revitalization of solidarity. We believe that these attitudes, when put together, lead to spontaneous actions large and small, and can help visualize and solve social problems or promote changes in policies and systems. This means that insights which can deconstruct the social structure shall be valued.

In the ideal “civil society with diversity and individual autonomy” that we outlined in the foundational vision, the importance of these attitudes would be widely accepted. And we believe that NPOs form an important collective space where these values are created and accumulated.

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