The Union of International Associations is a non-profit non-governmental organization researching, under UN mandate, the global civil society and publishing information on international organizations, international meetings, world problems, etc. Headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1907 by Henri La Fontaine, the 1913 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Paul Otlet, a founding father of what is now called information science.
Its stated goals (taken from its website) include:
- Contribution to a universal order based on principles of human dignity, solidarity of peoples and freedom of communication;
- Facilitation of the development and efficiency of non-governmental networks in every field of human activity, especially non-profit and voluntary associations, considered to be essential components of contemporary society;
- Collection, research and dissemination of information on international bodies, both governmental and non-governmental, their interrelationships, their meetings, and problems and strategies they are dealing with;
- Experimentation with more meaningful and action-oriented ways of presenting such information to enable these initiatives to develop and counterbalance each other creatively, and as a catalyst for the emergence of new forms of associative activity and transnational co-operation;
- Promotion of research on the legal, administrative and other problems common to these international associations, especially in their contacts with governmental bodies.
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