The Global Journal Ranks the Top 100 Best NGOs for 2012

The Global Journal, a print and online publication covering the global issues and players shaping governance today, just released a list of the world’s best non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The first international ranking of its kind, the Journal’s list recognizes NGOs as significant agents of social change and seeks to “move beyond outdated clichés and narrow conceptions about what an NGO is and does.”

The Global Journal succeeds by identifying some very innovative citizen sector organizations working on an arraya of issues such as protecting the environment, land rights, access to education, and even information freedom. Topping the list is the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization famous for creating Wikipedia (Wikipedia is, of course, the world’s most popular and comprehensive general reference work on the Web, currently accessed by more than 477 million visitors each month).

Wikipedia is a “quintessential example of the power of a great idea well executed,” transforming the way the world creates and obtains information: collaboratively and free of charge. It was co-founded and promoted by a social entrepreneur, Jimmy Wales, who was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in 2008.

Joining Wikimedia Foundation on The Global Journal‘s list of the top 100 NGOs are a handful of other entrepreneurial ventures in the Ashoka family:

• Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs
• Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, whose founder, Fazle Abed, is a member of the Ashoka Global Academy
• Transparency International, founded by fellow Ashoka Global Academy member Peter Eigen
• Escuela Nueva, founded by Ashoka Fellow Vicky Colbert
• Free the Children, co-founded by Canadian Ashoka Fellow Marc Kielburger
• Medic Mobile, founded by Ashoka Fellow Josh Nesbitt
• Common Ground, founded by Ashoka Fellow Rosanne Haggerty
• International Bridges to Justice, founded by Ashoka Fellow Karen Tse
• APOPO, the nonprofit which trains rats to save lives, founded by Ashoka Fellow Bart Weetjens
• CeaseFire, founded by Ashoka Fellow Gary Slutkin
• Search for Common Ground, founded by Ashoka Fellow John Marks
• Frontline SMS, founded by Ashoka Fellow and Changemakers competition finalist Ken Banks
• Root Capital, founded by Ashoka Fellow and Changemakers competition winner Willie Foote
• Saúde Criança, founded by Ashoka Fellow and Changemakers competition winner Vera Cordeiro
• Aravind Eye Care System, a Changemakers competition finalist

These are just a few of the citizen sector organizations that are improving the lives of millions around the world. Be sure to check out the full list, along with selected profiles, on theglobaljournal.net.