Why Fund in Connection with a Global Summit?

A successful summit might be expected to produce these general outcomes:

• Government commitments to implement new or reinforced international standards, to which they can be held accountable
• The exchange of new perspectives, information, and learning, including how NGOs can wield more influence in the United Nations and its various forums and deliberations
• The creation of new institutions, networks, and campaigns to turn early progress into tangible gains
• The broadening and consolidation of social movements worldwide

Some of the specific ways in which funding in connection with a summit or conference helped advance grantees’ goals:

• The summit addresses issues vital to the goals of the donor and grantees. “It’s like shining a big global spotlight on the issues that you’re working on.” Provided that planning starts well in advance, summits can help grantees gain and apply skills, inform constituencies, form new networks, and influence government perspectives and actions.
• The summit may advance international standards on those issues. “Summits are unique opportunities to have universal consequences.”
• The summit may advance the policies of particular countries on those issues. The attention that a summit can attract nationally can impel individual governments to listen to new constituencies and change policy.
• The summit increases the visibility of those issues. “The boost that comes from having the U.N. hold a world conference around an issue is incredibly important in legitimizing the civil society voices that have been advocating for attention on that issue. It says, ‘OK, the governments of the world are taking notice.’ And even if the conference doesn’t come up with a solution, it creates a space for a whole host of things to happen on the national level that otherwise may not happen.”
• The summit can expand grantees’ view of their mission and opportunities. “We found a greater awareness of internationalism among people who went, which is absolutely critical and has often been missing in the United States.” Summits can provide unique opportunities for grantees to broaden their perspectives and place their agendas in an international context. They can also help advance a field itself. For example, one grant maker in reference to the Conference on Human Rights talked about an important shift in perspective: “The concept of women’s rights as human rights was a main achievement of that conference and actually shifted the global frame."
• The summit may help build or strengthen international social movements. “During the Conference Against Racism some 20,000 participants, representing oppressed peoples, were able to get together for the very first time.” Summits can provide a galvanizing force for organizing that NGOs are increasingly adept at using.