Chapter 5 Exercises

IGC: Thoreau Center for Sustainability

Visit the Thoreau Center for Sustainability (TCS) online, making sure to read the "introduction," "design," and "history" pages of the site.

Questions

• Why do you think IGC decided to locate its operations in the Thoreau Center?
• What does this decision say, more broadly, about IGC's approach to its work?
• Would IGC be any more or less effectual if its offices were located in a "conventional" office building? Explain your answer.

IGC: Association for Progressive Communications

The mission of IGC and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), which IGC co-founded in 1990, is to promote the "strategic use of online technologies" by NGOs. Browse the NGO capacity building resources provided by APC on its website.

Questions

• Based on your review of these (training and management) materials, how effectively is APC meeting its goal to help NGOs use the Internet strategically? Provide a specific example or two to support your position.
• If you were director of an NGO, would you find these resources helpful? Why or why not?

IGC: AntiRacismNet

The Levi Strauss Foundation - established by the well-known apparel maker, Levi Strauss & Co. - "provides grants to community-based organizations working to create meaningful social change." One Foundation-funded endeavor, Project Change, partnered with IGC to help create AntiRacismNet. Browse AntiRacismNet to familiarize yourself with its membership and activities, then review Levi's stated commitment to social responsibility.

Questions

• What corporate values and principles motivated Levi's to support AntiRacismNet?
• Can corporations or corporate-sponsored foundations effect political change as well as NGOs can? Why or why not?

Oneworld: Themed Portals

Browse OneWorld's Digital Opportunity Channel or AIDS Channel,. Via your chosen portal, briefly explore a specific topic or idea.

Questions

• How easy is it to find information about a given topic or idea using this "themed portal"? How useful is the information? Provide examples to support your answers.
• What does OneWorld hope to accomplish with this site that it can't accomplish through its main site (OneWorld.net)?
• What are some specific ways in which this site might contribute to the development of global civil society?

OneWorld: Editions

Browse a non-Western, English-language edition of OneWorld (e.g., Africa or South Asia) or a non-English language edition (e.g., Albanian, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, or Spanish). For a complete list of editions, visit OneWorld's Our Network page.

Questions

• Compare and contrast your selected edition to the OneWorld U.S. gateway site. How are the content and approach of your selection similar to or different from OneWorld's U.S. site?
• What barriers to a (truly) global civil society does your selected edition seek to address? Via this edition, how effectively does OneWorld accomplish its objectives in this regard? Explain your answer.

OneWorld: Partners

Visit the OneWorld Global Partner Database to find out what NGOs are affiliated with OneWorld and what issues they address.

Questions

• As listed in the drop-down "area of work" menu, OneWorld partners address a multitude of issues. Which of these do you think merit relatively greater attention than the others? Why?
• From the "country/region" menu, select some relatively less developed countries (e.g., those in Africa or South Asia). What impact might "Southern input" from these "partners" have on (a) the site content of OneWorld.net and (b) OneWorld's approach to providing informational resources to the (Internet-using) public?