It was important to show that civil society is more of a watch dog with a big bite, bristling at dictators. It may be finding ways to maintain these organizations financially. Often the government does not allow financial contributions and is suspicious of these groups, and the private sector is not sure why they should care. Many societies are used to charity, but they are not sure why they should give to civil society organizations doing advocacy work. This means that often these organizations rely heavily on foreign funding.
Business cares about good governance.
They want a system that is transparent and less corrupt, and they want good transportation systems, communications, and fewer government protected monopolies. Civil society organizations are allies in this quest. Labor is a growing and dynamic sector, particularly in Latin America and Asia, where export-led growth is drawing in great numbers of new workers, many of them young women forced to work under appalling conditions, with few rights to organize on behalf of a better work environment. Because they care about expanding rights of association, labor activists are often attuned to more fundamental political reforms in alliance with other civil society organizations. We are placing more emphasis on building coalitions between labor and women s and human rights organizations.