Oct 27,1999 International symposium
Japanese NGOs’ International Cooperation Activities in the Disability Field
Ryosuke Matsui Professor, Hokusei Gakuen University Member of Executive Committee,
Japan NGO Network on Disability (JANNET)
Overview of Japanese NGOs International Cooperation Activities
International Cooperation/Exchange Activities of Japanese Disability related NGOs
International Cooperation Activities of JANNET Member Organizations
Major Issues of Japanese Disability-related NGOs’ International Cooperation Activities
Overview of Japanese NGOs International Cooperation Activities
According to Japanese NGOs Concerned with International Cooperation (JANIC), which was established in 1987 to promote the mutual cooperation among the Japanese NGOs engaging in the international cooperation activities, to improve the quality of their related activities, as well as to further ensure the social recognition of their activities in the country, there are around 370 NGOs which have been engaging in international cooperation activities in Japan as of 1998.
Among them 217 NGOs are categorized as development cooperation NGOs which deal with actual international cooperation programs in developing countries. And 44% of these 217 NGOs have annual income of less than 20 million yen in 1996/97. The breakdown of their income is as follows;
- 68.0% their own financial sources(donations, membership fees, business income etc.)
- 14.2% subsidy and commission from the government, including funding from the Postal Savings for International Voluntary Aid in Japan
- 3.8% grant from Japanese private funding organizations
- 14.0% others 120 of 217 NGOs have a total of 1,239 paid staff members, of whom 228 members are working in other countries, and 1,011 members are working in Japan.
International Cooperation/Exchange Activities of Japanese Disability related NGOs
International Cooperation/Exchange Activities of Japanese Disability related NGOs
According to the questionnaire survey of Japanese organizations of/for persons with disabilities, conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s Institute for International Cooperation in 1995/96, 185 out of 354 related organizations answered the questionnaire. 85 of these 185 organizations are engaged in some international cooperation/exchange activities. And these activities consist of
- participation in international conferences/meetings,
- inviting speakers from abroad to conferences/meetings in Japan or receiving trainees from abroad to training workshops organized in Japan,
- dispatching their staff members to other countries, and
- financial or material assistance/support to other countries.
106 out of these 185 organizations are interested in international cooperation activities to assist persons with disabilities in developing countries. And 71 out of 106 organizations are engaging in some kind of international cooperation activities.
The international cooperation activities these 106 organizations have in mind, are as follows (multiple answers);
- 67.0% participation in international conferences/meetings
- 62.3% receiving trainees etc. from abroad to Japan
- 50.0% dispatching their staff members to other countries
- 49.1% financial or material assistance/support to other countries
International Cooperation Activities of JANNET Member Organizations
Japan NGO Network on Disability (JANNET) was established in December 1993, the first year of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, with the purpose of the solidification and promotion of information network and cooperation among Japanese relevant NGOs.
Its present major activities are as follows;
- Publication of a directory of related NGOs in Japan
- Publication of a quarterly newsletter
- Bi-annual meetings for sharing information and experiences of the international cooperation activities of the member organizations
- Cooperation among the member organizations
- To exchange information with relevant overseas NGOs
As of October 1999 its member consists of 29 local NGOs (including 2 associate member organizations) and 7 associate individual members.
Many of JANNET member organizations have been organizing some kind of training programs for related personnel from developing countries especially in Asia.
Major Issues of Japanese Disability-related NGOs’ International Cooperation Activities
One of the major issues, with which Japanese Disability-related NGOs have been facing, are lack of necessary qualified manpower and financial resources to implement and sustain their international cooperation programs in the disability field. We need to promote development education programs to local citizens so as to have their wider support as well as to encourage their active participation in the international cooperation activities in the disability field. And also we, relevant Japanese NGOs, need to make more coordinated efforts to urge the government to review the present Japanese ODA framework so that NGOs could have much larger share of ODA funds available for their international cooperation activities.