How a small Asian charity came to advise the United Nations 

Organisations several times the size of ACTAsia are not asked for their advice. Here’s how two decades of rigorous, value driven work earned us a voice at the United Nations. 

In 2021, ACTAsia was granted Special Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): a formal recognition of the organisation’s expertise and an invitation to contribute to international policy discussions. This gives ACTAsia a non-symbolic, working seat at the table where decisions about the future of people, animals and the environment get made.

Why ACTAsia?

The status was not earned by being the loudest voice in the room; ACTAsia is a small organisation.

What it brings to the international stage is twenty years of patient, evidence-led work and something that had been missing from the global conversation: an Asian-founded, Asian-led perspective on compassionate education in a field that has historically been dominated by Western organisations. ACTAsia provides important perspective that is grounded in the region where much of the work needs to happen. 

Three UN Recognitions, One Consistent Approach

The ECOSOC status didn’t arrive alone. In the same year, ACTAsia’s Caring for Life (CfL) Children’s Education Programme was awarded ‘Good Practice’ status as a UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and was recognised again at the UN’s Transforming Education Summit in 2022. The UN also recognised ACTAsia’s CfL Education for Consumers Fur Free Project, leading to an invitation to join the UN Fashion and Lifestyle Network. This brought the case for ethical fashion into one of the most influential conversations in global consumer culture.

Three distinct areas of work. Three separate UN recognitions. This is not a coincidence, but a recognition of twenty years of consistency.

What UN ECOSOC Recognition Does 

What UN status provides, practically speaking, is access. ACTAsia’s evidence now reaches rooms where it influences thinking on a global scale. The Asian voices of the educators, communities and young people that ACTAsia works with – their progress, their challenges, their insights – can inform international frameworks, not just regional ones. This matters enormously; The region’s story is being heard where it counts. 

This is also what happens when education is treated as urgent instead of optional. When patient, evidence-led work is built over time and taken seriously. Recognition like this is the long game paying off.

20 Years 20 Wins 

This is the first of twenty wins ACTAsia is sharing as part of its twentieth anniversary. Each one is a chapter in a longer story, a story that is still in the process of being written.

Get Involved 

As ACTAsia reflects on 20 years of progress, this anniversary stands as both a celebration of achievements and a call to action for the future. By supporting ACTAsia’s work, you can help expand compassionate education, empower communities, and create a kinder, more sustainable future for generations to come.

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