SISF granted Consultative Status with ECOSOC

February 19, 2011

The Social Initiatives Support Fund (SISF), headed by Gulnara Karimova, has been granted Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council. The ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, at its February 9 session, came up with a recommendation that the Fund be granted the status.

Other entities that were awarded the status along with the SISF on February 9 include Agewell Foundation, Association pour le développement durable, Instituto para la Participation y el Desarrollo INPADE – Asociation Civil, Univers de Solidarité et de développement, Women Watch Africa, Muhammadiyah Association, Rufaida Health Foundation (RHF), Terra-1530, OceanCare, and United Help for International Children.

Once granted Consultative Status, an organization gets an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the work of the UN, particularly to that of the ECOSOC, its commissions and other bodies. It may participate in the UN conferences and sessions, make statements, share experience, designate representatives to the UN offices in New York, Vienna, Geneva and UN regional commissions with a view to helping the UN reach its goals in international and humanitarian development. Special Consultative Status enables the SISF to participate in the activities of the UN and submit recommendations with regard to international cultural and humanitarian cooperation, development of dialog among nations, education, science, culture and art, advocacy of a healthy lifestyle and charity.

Since the establishment of the UNO, nongovernmental countries from across the world have participated as guests and observers in UN’s historic sessions. An NGO wishing to receive a Consultative Status must meet a series of conditions. More specifically, its activities must be consistent with the issues the ECOSOC addresses and its goals. It must have a democratic inner structure and engage in international activities. An NGO may be considered international if it has branches in at least three countries.

The SISF was founded in October 2006. It was given the goal of consolidating the efforts of active participants of civil society and developing projects to boost social infrastructure. In collaboration with its partners the SISF has launched social projects in humanitarian aid, medical seminars, microcredits for women farmers.

The SISF’s major areas of activity include education (introduction of inclusive education, creation of equal education opportunities for children and teenagers, organization of seminars and training sessions); ecology (creating access to potable water in remote areas of the country, development of ecological culture), social support (provision of opportunities for citizens in need of social support, improvement of the quality of life); social infrastructure (improvement of communities’ social infrastructure, provision of better living conditions); and healthcare (advocacy of a healthy lifestyle, medical training, etc.)

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