AGS Launches Graduate Certificate in NGO Management

Starting this Fall, NGO offers a new graduate certificate program on NGO Management which will be co-taught by specialist in education and development Clinton Robinson and Human Rights Watch France director Jean-Marie Fardeau. This program is designed for students and professionals looking to start or join an NGO as well as NGO staff seeking to deepen their knowledge and improve their practices, and for all those who wish to integrate in other types of careers an in-depth understanding of what have become essential components of international affairs.

Courses are held in Paris in English. The program is based on a dual focus: a thorough exploration of the nature and role of non-governmental organizations and of the international context in which they are active, and a hands-on approach of the principles and practices of developing and managing an NGO. It comprises two semester courses which can be either taken as components of the Master of International Relations and Diplomacy program at AGS, or as a standalone module yielding a graduate certificate.

An independent consultant in education and development, Clinton Robinson has served as a senior specialist on various education programs, after working for over twenty years for SIL International, a literacy and language development NGO. His experience includes ten years in Africa, as well as building professional networks with the UN system and other NGOs. His areas of expertise include education in developing countries, social and rural development, literacy and language issues, and NGO management. Robinson holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Rural Social Development and Sociolinguistics from Reading University (UK), an M.A. in Modern Languages from Oxford University (UK), and a Master in African Linguistics from La Sorbonne Nouvelle (France).

An agronomist by training, Jean-Marie Fardeau is the Director in France of Human Rights Watch, one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. Through his work, Fardeau seeks to influence France's domestic and foreign policies to ensure that they comply with human rights standards. Before joining HRW in 2007, Fardeau worked in humanitarian aid and international cooperation for over twenty years, serving notably as Executive Director of CCFD (Comite Catholique contre la Faim et pour le Developpement) and president of CIDSE (Cooperation Internationale pour le Developpement et la Solidarite, an international network of catholic development NGOs).

Fardeau says: "NGOs have become key players on the international scene. Growing out of an understanding of democratic action that is rooted in citizens' concerns, they aim to express the values, ideas and commitments of civil society. I am honored to share with AGS students my own experience in creating and managing NGOs."