IU Kokomo faculty to speak in Jamaica
July 13, 2006
KOKOMO, Ind.—Three Indiana University Kokomo faculty members have been invited to present papers at an international conference, “Transforming Business and Management for Growth and Development,” to be held October 19–22 at the University of Technology, Jamaica.
Assistant Dean of the IU Kokomo School of Public and Environmental Affairs Robert Dibie, Ph.D., will present his study, “NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), Public Governance, and Development in Jamaica and Nigeria.”
Assistant Professor of Public Affairs Karl Besel, Ph.D., will address the topic “Catholic NGOs as Service Providers.”
Assistant Professor of Political Science M. Todd Bradley, Ph.D., will offer his insights on “Globalization and Political Elite Institutional Choices: The Impact on Democratization in Africa and the Middle East.” Another manuscript by Bradley, titled “Nigerian NGOs: Democratic Advocacy or Antithetical to Democracy?” was recently published in the summer 2006 edition of the Journal of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences.
NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, are what U.S. residents might call voluntary or nonprofit organizations, Robert Dibie explained. The difference is that NGOs focus on, not just helping, but also developing the lives of those they serve. The International Red Cross and Doctors without Borders are just two of the many charitable NGOs operating in Africa, he noted. They provide relief to refugees or meet the needs of the poor, by distributing food, clothing, and medicine. Others, such as Habitat for Humanity International and Save the Children, provide housing and schooling.
“Human rights and civil liberty NGOs seek to open up the political space for mass participation in several African nations,” said Dibie. “Many NGOs are geared toward building communities as the foundation for sustainable development. As Michigan State University Professor Michael Bratton has noted, these NGOs ‘promise to strengthen . . . people’s abilities to improve their own lives.’ ”
