From the Streets to the Inner Sanctum

[Rose Siding]

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Once relegated to the streets and hallways, social and environmental activists like Waghorne are finding these days that businesses and trade officials are receptive to their concerns. Activists are prompting changes in corporate practices or trade policy, in some cases partnering with their former targets. Representatives of Amnesty International and other groups were even invited into the proceedings of the World Economic Forum last month in Davos, Switzerland.
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What's behind the change? Public opinion, for one thing.
Nongovernmental organizations, as citizen activist groups are often called, rank as the most trusted institutions in the United States, Europe, Latin America and much of Asia, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of 1,500 global opinion leaders by public relations firm Edelman.

The biggest jump was in the U.S., where the "trust ratings" of NGOs soared to 55% in 2005 from 36% in 2001.

At the same time, public regard for corporate executives and government officials has fallen, according to the survey, which was released at this year's World Economic Forum. Tarred by corporate scandals, chief executives and financial officers are viewed as credible sources by only 3 of 10 opinion leaders in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-advocacy20feb20,0,5262390.story?coll=la-home-business