Alive MARIANIST CULTURE, FAITH AND ... - The Marianists

A Wide-Angle View
IT’S IRONIC THAT MARIANIST
Brother Steve O’Neil lacks a window
in his fifth-floor New York City office
two blocks from the United Nations
building. Although he works in relative
obscurity, his job running the Marianist
non-governmental organization (NGO)
at the U.N. places
him in a unique
“Few of us can have an impact position of seeing
on a large scale, but if we the big picture — a
global understand-
develop a global understanding,
ing of issues — and
there is a greater chance we using that informa-
will be effective in local tion to influence
policymaking at
efforts. Even if it’s one step at
the United Nations.
a time, that’s what moves us From this vantage
forward to a more just world.” point, he works as
a pipeline of infor-
— Marianist Brother Steve OʼNeil
mation: Keeping
Marianists in the
field informed on international issues,
and informing decision-makers at the
U.N. of the realities facing the poor and
marginalized. Yet Brother Steve’s involvement
didn’t happen overnight. It has taken
time, persistence and a lot of patience.
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Marianist Brother Steve O’Neil’s work at the
United Nations provides a global outlook.
THE INNER WORKINGS OF AN NGO
Begun in 2006 after three intensive years
of groundwork and an exhaustive application
process, the Marianist NGO is one
of thousands of NGOs with official status
at the United Nations. Nonprofit groups
can have NGO standing through one of
two offices at the U.N.: The Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Depart -
ment of Public Information (DPI). It’s
B Y J OE S CHUSTER
through the latter office that the Marianist
NGO has its standing.
The principle difference between the
two classifications of NGO is that those
with standing through ECOSOC can
make direct recommendations to U.N.
officials about U.N. policy, while those
with standing through the DPI cannot.
They do, however, have considerable
access to information about U.N. programs
connected with their own missions and
serve as a liaison between the United
Nations and their organizations. NGOs
with standing through the DPI also can
influence U.N. policy.
“When NGO committees meet, there
is no distinction in the room between those
who have status with ECOSOC and those
who have status with the DPI,” Brother
Steve says. “We all have an opportunity
to express what we’ve learned from our
grass-roots efforts around the world. But
when it comes to signing off on a document
that a committee produces, only
NGOs with official consultative status
will have their names on it.”
Last year, for example, not long after
the Marianist NGO attained its status and
Brother Steve joined committees on education,
youth, and poverty, the NGO
contributed to a document on the eradication
of poverty drafted for the 2006
Commission on Social Development.
Although the Marianist name was not on
the recommendation, Brother Steve says
it was satisfying to have participated in it.
“While we could not sign the document,
it recognizes that the Marianist voice
is present. When [the NGO community]