Engaging in Global Grass-Roots Efforts.

Few U.S.-based associations recognize that grass-roots coalition building takes place in other countries, but it does, asserts Edward Grefe, chief political consultant for Legislative Demographic Services, Arlington, Virginia. Writing in an article that appears in two ASAE newsletters, the January 2000 issue of ASAE Global Link and the February 2000 issue of Government Relations, Grefe urges organizations with international members to pursue global grass-roots efforts. He cites current, major movements that are forcing change internationally--activist causes that "represent both a threat and an opportunity to associations and their members."

For example:

* A network among women's organizations in more than 100 countries is gaining additional rights for women.

* The Global March for Children's Rights, launched in India, has mobilized thousands of volunteers in 97 countries.

* Labor unions are linking up globally to demand worldwide protections that are similar to those afforded to U.S. workers.

"The decision-making process in many countries is now being influenced by pressure brought at the local level," writes Grefe. "The threat is that decisions will be made at a table at which the association community is not sitting. The opportunity is to recognize that associations can engage in grass-roots communication in other nations as they do in the United States, creating allegiances at the local level."