Blogs

Climate change as a matter of peace
By Flávia Bellaguarda, Co-Founder and COO,Youth Climate Leaders

The Youth Climate Leaders (YCL) was honored to be selected to attend the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum, from 11th to 13th November, and to showcase our startup in the environmental village among other 119 projects from all over the world. Youth Climate Leaders would like to give a special "thank you" to CIVICUS for supporting us to attend the Paris Peace Forum. It was a well-organized and bustling event.

The opening ceremony was full of Heads of State, Heads of Government, and leaders of international organizations. It was a life-time experience to share the same room with President Trudeau, President Macron, President Putin, Chancellor Angela Merkel, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Nobel Peace Nadia Murad, just to name a few. A crucial part of YCL mission is to enable young people worldwide to increasingly occupy those spaces.

President Macron opened the ceremony stating that the world is in a different path because in the centenary of the 1918 Armistice we had in the same room 84 heads of states peacefully reunited in Paris under the Arc de Triomphe. The Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that peace must be pursed, and the first step is to recognize that the world is facing severe crises. She emphasized the refugee crisis we are facing saying that countries must be united in order to solve the situation providing real support for those in need.

Additionally, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted that climate change is the biggest challenge of 21st century and that multilateral efforts are crucial for us to take actions as we are gearing up for COP24. He complemented Merkel saying that in the context of climate change, demography and migration issues are the second most important challenge of our century. It reminded me of the amazing lecture that Dr. Caroline Zickgraf gave to us in Paris about the intersection of climate change and the refugee crisis during the #YCL2018Immersion.

The main purpose of the Paris Peace Forum was thus to produce two primary outputs: testifying and mobilizing in favor of collective action and multilateralism, and advancing concrete projects of global governance. Altogether, the Forum featured three spaces: (1) a Space for Solutions showcasing governance projects in five “Villages” (peace and security, environment, development, new technologies and inclusive economy); (2) a Space for debates where initiatives from the Villages as well as cross-cutting themes were discussed; and (3) a Space for Innovation which invited developers and programmers to devise digital solutions for the identified challenges.

It was a difficult task to decide which discussion I should participate in, as there were so many interesting topics! Fortunately, the YCL stand was always full of people keen to learn more about our startup and we had the chance to network with amazing people from all over the world. For that reason, I did not have time to participate in a lot of panels, so I chose the panels “Finance for Climate: a Way to go Forward, a Way to go Faster” and “Fleshing out 2250: A Role for Youth in Global Stability”.

We had three intense days at the Paris Peace Forum, where we could foster important connections to strengthen our ability to solve the challenges mentioned by President Macron. I was happy to hear in the closing ceremony that the next edition of the Paris Peace Forum they will have more open spaces for youth. We were not well represented in many panels, both as speakers and participants, nor as project leaders showcasing projects in the Villages. On the other hand, I was proud to see organizers recognizing this issue and that in order to pursue peace and have a multilateral effort to solve the world problems the youth must be included.

So, I hope to see many of you on the next edition of the Forum!
Collaboration as currency, key to stop FGM in 5 communities in Nigeria
FRENCH

This article is part of the #StoriesOfResilience series, coordinated by CIVICUS to feature groups and activists on their journey to promote better resourcing practices for civil society and to mobilise meaningful resources to sustain their work.

Today, Dolapo Olaniyan, Director of The UnCUT Initiative, shares why collaboration could be the new currency for civil society organisations that are facing funding constraints.

Last February, five communities in Asa village, located in the Osun state, South West Nigeria, unanimously and publicly agreed to stop Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) – a harmful, cruel and extremely discriminatory practice recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women, but that is still common in some countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This is a big victory in a country where FGM affects 25% women (aged 15-49). It was also a victory for us at The UnCUT Initiative, an organisation focused on ending female genital mutilation across high risk communities in Nigeria by 2030, as the public “abandonment ceremony” was the culmination of work started in October 2018.
Construyendo juntos un mejor entorno habilitante para todas las organizaciones sociales en el mundo
English | French

Con motivo de los25 años de CIVICUS,RACI:la Red Argentina de Cooperación Internacional queremos,explica de qué manera el ser parte de CIVICUS - Alianza Mundial para la participación ciudadana – permitecconstruir juntos un mejor entorno habilitante para todas las organizaciones sociales en el mundo.

“RACI se une, con mucha alegría, a la celebración del vigésimo quinto aniversario de CIVICUS. Desde la Red Argentina de Cooperación Internacional queremos desearle un feliz cumpleaños a CIVICUS y esperamos que vengan otros veinticinco años más.
Construyendo un equipo global diverso de activistas para la transformación social: Dando la bienvenida al Equipo de Acción Juvenil CIVICUS 2021-22
Nosotros, en CIVICUS Youth, estamos muy agradecidos con el Equipo de Acción Juvenil (YAT) 2019-2020, un grupo de jóvenes líderes consumados e inspiradores de todo el mundo que trabajaron juntos durante un año y medio para inculcar una visión más amigable con los jóvenes dentro de CIVICUS y actuar como una inspiración para otras organizaciones en todo el mundo para tener a los jóvenes en el centro y tomar decisiones que no dejen atrás el poder de 1.800 millones, la generación de jóvenes más grande que el mundo ha visto.

El YAT participó activamente en el proceso de diseño, selección e identificación de la próxima generación de este equipo. Cada uno de ellos se convirtió en embajador en su propia región para difundir la convocatoria con los activistas locales, ayudándonos así a tener una presencia en las comunidades que de otro modo habríamos pasado por alto. Luego, aportaron ideas útiles para evaluar mejor una solicitud, como tener menos preguntas pero más provocativas que llegaran al núcleo del activismo de los solicitantes. Por último, ayudaron a evaluar el perfil de la próxima generación del YAT y a elegir los perfiles más prometedores para crear un equipo que se complemente y pueda aprovechar la diversidad como un activo clave para fomentar la innovación y una comunidad global preparada para afrontar los retos locales.

Los criterios clave para poder identificarlos fueron: su experiencia como activistas que forman parte de una organización más amplia liderada por jóvenes, mostrando pasión, compromiso e ingenio; tener un buen conocimiento del área juvenil de CIVICUS y habilidades y recursos que puedan nutrir y ser nutridos por una comunidad global de activistas y; tener un respaldo de una organización/movimiento/colectivo que pueda evaluar con confianza sus habilidades de liderazgo, proactividad y capacidad de movilización para causas sociales. A través de estos tres elementos, fue más fácil identificar perfiles holísticos que se beneficiarían enormemente de formar parte de una red más amplia con alcance e influencia global.

Tras este cuidadoso proceso de selección, el equipo está formado por un grupo equilibrado en cuanto a género, con 7 mujeres y 6 hombres, que representan a América y el Caribe, África Subsahariana, Asia, Europa y Oriente Medio y Norte de África. Cuenta con activistas de hasta 19 años y hasta 30 años, con experiencia que va desde organizaciones globales como UNICEF, One Young World y Amnistía Internacional, hasta redes regionales como el Movimiento Juvenil Afrika y grupos locales como Ayudando a Honduras o One Future Collective. Una mezcla de narradores de historias, activistas de base, defensores de derechos humanos internacionales, emprendedores sociales, organizadores, movilizadores e investigadores, el equipo tiene un amplio conjunto de habilidades para abordar los desafíos locales con una perspectiva global. El YAT 2021-22 incluye un activista promotor de los derechos LGBTI y otro comprometido con la inclusión de los jóvenes que viven con discapacidades. Aunque individualmente cada uno de ellos tiene su propio nicho de atención, colectivamente pueden infundir el cambio social. Pero no se trata sólo de los jóvenes. Kejal Slava, de la India, convocante del Blue Ribbon Movement -un grupo que pretende redefinir la estructura de liderazgo y utilizar prácticas no violentas- dice que un mundo con un compromiso juvenil significativo estaría pintado con los colores de la sabiduría intergeneracional, que crea un espacio para que todos aprendan y actúen juntos de forma creativa. Yi Kang Choo, joven de Malasia, estudiante de jurisprudencia en el área de derechos humanos, añade que se trata de un mundo en el que los líderes nacionales y los jóvenes lideran juntos, trabajando como socios con igual relevancia y valor.

Llevan poco tiempo conociéndose y sin embargo, ya han establecido la valiente visión de crear un poderoso ecosistema de transformación, en el que la juventud esté en el centro y desafíe el statu quo a través de la unión y la diversidad. Esto podría ser el comienzo de un cambio que se extienda a CIVICUS y más allá.

En CIVICUS Youth estamos muy agradecidos con el Equipo de Acción Juvenil (YAT) 2019-2020, un grupo de jóvenes líderes consumados e inspiradores de todo el mundo que trabajaron juntos durante un año y medio para inculcar una visión más amigable con los jóvenes dentro de CIVICUS y actuar como inspiración para que otras organizaciones de todo el mundo tengan a los jóvenes en el centro y tomen decisiones que no dejen atrás el poder de 1.800 millones, la mayor generación de jóvenes que el mundo haya visto jamás.

El YAT participó activamente en el proceso de diseño, selección e identificación de la próxima generación de este equipo. Cada uno de ellos se convirtió en embajador en su propia región para difundir la convocatoria con los activistas locales, ayudándonos así a tener una presencia en las comunidades que de otro modo habríamos pasado por alto. Luego, aportaron ideas útiles para evaluar mejor las solicitudes, como tener menos preguntas, pero más provocativas, que llegaran al núcleo del activismo de los solicitantes. Por último, ayudaron a evaluar los perfiles del YAT entrante y a elegir los más prometedores para crear un equipo que sea complementario y pueda aprovechar la diversidad como un activo clave para fomentar la innovación y una comunidad global preparada para afrontar los retos locales.

Los criterios clave utilizados fueron: su experiencia como activista y parte de una organización más amplia dirigida por jóvenes, su pasión, compromiso e ingenio; tener un buen conocimiento de CIVICUS Youth; habilidades y recursos que puedan nutrir y ser nutridos por una comunidad global de activistas y; tener un respaldo de una organización/movimiento/colectivo que pueda evaluar con confianza sus habilidades de liderazgo, proactividad y capacidad de movilización para causas sociales. A través de estos elementos, fue más fácil identificar perfiles holísticos que se beneficiarían enormemente de formar parte de una red más amplia con alcance e influencia global.

Tras este cuidadoso proceso de selección, el nuevo YAT está formado por un grupo equilibrado en cuanto a género, con 7 mujeres y 6 hombres, que representan a América y el Caribe, África Subsahariana, Asia, Europa y Oriente Medio y el Norte de África. Cuenta con activistas de hasta 18 años y de hasta 30 años, con experiencia que va desde organizaciones globales como UNICEF, One Young World y Amnistía Internacional, hasta redes regionales como el Movimiento Juvenil Afrika y grupos locales como Ayudando a Honduras o One Future Collective. Una mezcla de narradores, activistas de base, defensores internacionales, emprendedores sociales, organizadores, movilizadores e investigadores, el equipo tiene un amplio conjunto de habilidades para abordar los desafíos locales con una perspectiva global. El YAT 2021-22 incluye a un activista de los derechos LGBTI y a un defensor de la inclusión de los jóvenes que viven con discapacidades. Aunque individualmente, cada uno tiene su propio nicho de atención, colectivamente pueden infundir el cambio social. Sin embargo, no se trata sólo de jóvenes. Kejal Slava, de la India, coordinadora del Blue Ribbon Movement -un grupo que pretende redefinir la estructura de liderazgo y utilizar prácticas no violentas- dice que un mundo con un compromiso juvenil significativo estaría pintado con los colores de la sabiduría intergeneracional, que crea un espacio para que todos aprendan y actúen juntos de forma creativa. Yi Kang Choo, estudiante de jurisprudencia de los derechos humanos de Malasia, añade que se trata de un mundo en el que los líderes nacionales y los jóvenes lideran juntos, trabajando como socios con igual relevancia y valor.

Llevan poco tiempo conociéndose y han establecido la valiente visión de crear un poderoso ecosistema de transformación, en el que la juventud esté en el centro y desafíe el statu quo a través de la unión y la diversidad.Este podría ser el comienzo de un cambio que se extienda por toda la alianza CIVICUS y más allá.
COP25, UN Climate Change Conference, 2-15 December, Madrid, Spain
From 2 to 15 December, more than 20,000 people from almost 200 countries attended COP25, the UN climate change conference. The meeting was held in Madrid, Spain, under the Presidency of Chile, which abruptly withdrew from hosting the conference in Santiago one month before the conference took place.

In a year when millions of people have mobilised to call for international cooperation on climate change, it is symbolic that COP25 was unable to find a host in South America, after both Chile and Brazil withdrew. CIVICUS new position paper ‘We will not be silenced: Climate activism from the frontlines to the UN’ published just before COP, details the different ways that the UN is failing to adequately respond to and protect the growing climate movement.

CIVICUS participated at the official COP as well as civil society alternate COPs in both Madrid and Santiago with a focus on improving youth participation and protecting environmental defenders.

On 12 December, CIVICUS co-organised an official side event at COP25. The event was live-streamed by UNFCCC and can be viewed here. Former President of Ireland and Chair of the Elders Mary Robinson delivered a keynote speech highlighting the centrality of human rights to climate action and urging governments to ratify the agreement. Speakers at the event included representatives from UN ECLAC (UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), the governments of Costa Rica and Mexico, COICA (Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica), DAR-Peru, FARN-Argentina, and CIVICUS.

During COP25, Panama and Colombia both moved closer to ratifying Escazu following pressure from civil society. as December 22 countries have signed the treaty, Colombia signing during COP, and 5 have ratified it.

Following a year of unprecedented public mobilisation for climate action, COP25 was no exception with Indigenous, youth and civil society delegates staging sit-ins and a “cacerolazo” during proceedings. Unfortunately, at least one of these civil society interventions was met with undue force from UN and private security guards, as detailed in this joint civil society statement.

Cumbre Social por la Acción Climática: December 2-12, Santiago, Chile

More than 130 CSOs from Chile organized around the Civil Society for Climate Action Platform (SCAC) to put together an alternative COP that showcased civil society voices. Despite the change of venue, the summit was held with less participation from international civil society groups but with more energy from latin american groups, especially those from Chile. In the current context of social protests around the region the summit was an important space for solidarity and to lift the voices of those more affected by the climate crisis. Civicus was invited to be part of SCAC’s international advisory group.

SCAC Declaration

SCAC worked for several weeks with various groups from Latin America to create a declaration that highlighted the needs from the region in terms of climate action. The declaration was officially launched on Monday 9 both in Santiago and Madrid. Civicus was invited to speak at the launch.

SCAC declaration PDF
https://www.porlaaccionclimatica.cl/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/manifiesto-climatico-1.pdf

Launch of the SCAC Declaration:

Note on the launch event: https://www.porlaaccionclimatica.cl/las-voces-de-latinoamerica-se-unen-sociedad-civil-lanza-manifiesto-climatico-latinoamericano/

On December 10 and commemorating Human Rights Day Civicus participated in the side event “El Acuerdo de Escazú: La deuda de Chile con los Derechos Humanos”. In this opportunity we reflected on the different civic space restrictions climate and environmental defenders are facing in the region and in Chile as reported in our position paper and why Escazu Agreement is an important tool for the protection of defenders.

Further reading, media coverage of CIVICUS engagement:

Activists Demand Urgency At UN Climate Change Conference, NPR
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/12/10/activists-un-climate-change-conference

Chile y la ‘COP ciudadana’, El Pais
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/11/15/planeta_futuro/1573817941_636672.html

Are Global South experts sidelined in climate conversations?, Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/global-south-experts-sidelined-climate-conversations-191203132302298.html

Interview Radio Universidad de la República, Santiago: On social protest movement in Latin America, the restrictions facing activists and COP
video: https://www.facebook.com/radioulare/videos/490722408468751/
Dans quelle mesure CIVICUS rend-t-elle compte de ses pratiques en matière de mise à disposition de ressources?
Chez CIVICUS, la redistribution des fonds à nos membres et partenaires est un moyen essentiel de travailler à la réalisation des objectifs stratégiques de l'alliance. Cette nouvelle mini-série Resilient Roots examine notre organisation de l'intérieur, montrant comment nous nous efforçons d'être plus transparents dans l'allocation de nos ressources et les domaines dans lesquels nous devons progresser.

La première partie plante le décor, en soulignant le difficile équilibre que nous devons maintenir dans notre rôle d'"intermédiaires" entre les donateurs institutionnels et les acteurs de la société civile. Les parties suivantes analysent le succès de notre travail de dotation en ressources, qui est basé sur l'information, l'écoute et l'engagement direct de nos membres et partenaires, ainsi que la portée de l'aide que nous leur apportons pour améliorer leurs propres pratiques de responsabilité.
De la Resistencia a la Resiliencia; el desafío de no dejar atrás a las personas defensoras ambientales dentro del marco de la Agenda 2030
English

Por Carmen Capriles, miembro de CIVICUS y participante en el Foro Político de Alto Nivel (FPAN) 2018

Durante el Foro Político de Alto Nivel (FPAN2018) que tuvo lugar en la Sede de las Naciones Unidas en Nueva York del 9 al 18 de julio, se hizo evidente la necesidad de tomar en cuenta un nuevo conjunto de partes interesadas a fin de lograr los objetivos de la Agenda 2030 sobre Desarrollo Sostenible; a los Defensores de los Derechos Humanos y del Medio Ambiente (DDHMA). Esta necesidad de inclusión se hizo evidente, no solo por el número de eventos paralelos que tuvieron lugar durante el FPAN2018 que, de una u otra forma abordaron el tema, sino también por el nuevo Acuerdo de Escazú. Dicho acuerdo está enfocado a proteger a los Defensores de los Derechos Humanos y del Medio Ambiente y el destino de este acuerdo depende de que se firme y ratifique en septiembre de este año.

El número de personas defensoras del medio ambiente y de los derechos humanos está aumentando en todo el mundo, por lo general como parte de una serie de movimientos que surgen con el objetivo de hacer frente a diversos conflictos. Estos conflictos pueden ir desde problemas muy locales, hasta detener megaproyectos como grandes presas o carreteras, así como desafiar regímenes establecidos que podrían tener impactos ambientales y sociales negativos a largo plazo. Entre estos posibles impactos se encuentra la pérdida de biodiversidad, la alteración de ecosistemas, las contribuciones al cambio climático o los desplazamientos de comunidades locales que llevan a la migración forzada que puede provocar una crisis de personas refugiadas o incluso genocidios. Estas voces se enfrentan al peligro de ser silenciadas para siempre, por lo tanto, la necesidad de abrir espacios donde puedan compartir sus luchas es crucial para lograr una implementación real y significativa del desarrollo sostenible.
Deborah Mowesley’s Internship Reflection Piece

Excited to have completed my first month as the Communications Intern at CIVICUS under the Innovation for Change Cluster. I have always been passionate about civic space as a fundamental component of democratic societies getting to be part of CIVICUS has been amazing.

These have been the best parts thus far:

1. Understanding the importance of I4C and Innovation I have come to appreciate the crucial role of innovation in driving progress and addressing societal challenges. By constantly generating new ideas and processes, innovation enables us to find creative solutions to problems, improve efficiency and effectiveness, and ultimately bring about positive change. Fostering a culture of innovation is vital for creating a more sustainable future for civil society. Initially, I perceived innovation as a daunting and technical process, reserved only for experts possessing specialized knowledge. However, joining the team at I4C, I discovered that innovation is primarily focused on human-centered solutions that rely on the contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those without traditional expertise. Innovators are typically comprised of individuals with a wide range of skills and experiences who collaborate to generate novel ideas and problem-solving strategies, while also leveraging each other's knowledge and skills.

2. Seeing a co-design session in progress. Observing a co-design session in progress was a fascinating experience. Seeing the process for the first time, I was quickly drawn in by the collaborative approach that engaged all stakeholders and addressed their needs. Through this process, I saw how the co-design approach identifies challenges and opportunities, generates new solutions, promotes knowledge exchange, and ultimately leads to more informed and impactful decision-making. I am now a firm believer in the power of co-design to bring about positive change. What I would now love to see is the adoption, scale and spread of the solutions after an innovation has been designed.

3. Meeting my team. I have had the opportunity to work on multiple projects and collaborate with experienced colleagues. Working with them has helped me develop a better understanding of civic spaces and fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression in the world. It has been an honor to be included within such an inspiring, dynamic group of women dedicated to embracing meaningful and impactful change in civic spaces. Recognizing their effort and their success thus far has inspired me to reach even higher to accomplish my goals. I now have a better understanding of the industry and a clearer vision of my future goals. The digital work environment presents unique challenges, such as load shedding, unstable internet connectivity, and personal disruptions. Despite these obstacles, it is encouraging to observe the adaptability, empathy, and perseverance exhibited by colleagues in this context. It’s great to see that even with interruptions we are able to navigate and overcome these challenges, while still achieving their desired outcomes.

4. The organisational culture at CIVICUS. Since joining CIVICUS, I have encountered a supportive and accommodating team of colleagues who have been instrumental in easing my transition into the organization. The various team inductions I underwent were instrumental in clarifying the team roles and responsibilities and providing me with a better understanding of their functions. I also appreciate how the internship program at CIVICUS tailors its focus to meet the specific skills development needs of the interns, and links them up with relevant individuals to achieve their objectives. Finally, an aspect of the organisation that I particularly enjoy is the integration of a chatbot, which helps with deciphering acronyms and overcoming any initial confusion in the new environment. How cool is that? This serves as a positive example of how technology can enhance the onboarding experience for new employees.

I feel extremely fortunate to work with a team of talented and supportive coworkers and supervisors. Working in a fast-paced, digital and dynamic environment could sometimes be challenging however with passion, dedication and resilience it is very rewarding as it provides an opportunity to make a positive impact on society and make a difference in people's lives. I plan to continue developing my skills and expanding my knowledge in the field and I am confident that the experiences and relationships I gain during my internship will serve me well in the future. Excited for what the next two months have in store and hoping to be a true asset to my team!
Decluttering Diversity and Inclusion
French | Spanish

By Jose Maria “Lloyd” Nunag, Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights and CIVICUS member from the Philippines

‘What does Diversity and Inclusion means to you?’

This is a question I have been pondering (and decluttering) in the last few years and even until now. Growing up as a young, queer person from a poor, rural family in the Philippines, and now as a migrant worker in the United Kingdom, my vision of diversity and inclusion has been emerging. Today, I define it as a world where everyone knows and claim their rights in which human rights and justice are enjoyed without discrimination.

Global Learning Exchange

In December 2018, I was able to take part in an ambitious CIVICUS programme of work on diversity and inclusion mainstreaming and integration across the civic movement called Global Learning Exchange (GLE) held in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The program made me build on and re-energised my commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to transform our ways of working to better meet our strategic aims.

It aimed to capitalise on the potential of diversity and inclusion across the CIVICUS movement and beyond: to create space for dialogue and peer-to-peer sharing among the participants; to identify effective approaches that can contribute to social justice; AND to strengthen ways of working, including sharing good practices as well as joint strategising, within the global CIVICUS CSO (Civil Society Organisations) network.

What have I learned?

In this learning journey towards a more accountable civil society sector, I have realised that we need to successfully challenge the inequality, structural oppression and intersectional discrimination which shapes our societies and is the primary cause of human rights violations. How effective we are in meeting these challenges will depend heavily on our own ability to understand these forces; to confront them and find ways to counteract their impact within the civil society movement and our ways of working; as well as meaningfully raising the voices of people who are marginalised around the world. Continually striving for excellence on how we mainstream and integrate diversity and inclusion in our work is therefore of fundamental importance to our aim of building a truly global movement for justice and human rights.

Highlights and Recommendations

In order to help implement this work that CIVICUS is doing, they gathered more than 15 informed and dynamic individuals who, through their experience and expertise, can help improve CIVICUS and partner CSOs’ culture, ways of working and impact so that we can better challenge structural inequalities and oppression, intersectional discrimination and demonising narratives. Hence the Global Learning Exchange (GLE) happened.

As one of the participants in the GLE, I hope the steps that would be undertaken as a result of this program will be guided by the overarching goals and principles of:

-promoting social justice and human rights

-recognising and making visible that different aspects of people’s identities and lives interact to structurally affect their experiences of discrimination, marginalisation, privilege, and power.

-making CIVICUS and other CSOs a better organisation to work with for staff, volunteers, and partners who experience systemic discrimination

-transformation, not tokenism

Overall, I would like to affirm the importance of CIVICUS’ efforts to improve its practices, culture, and outcomes with respect to diversity and inclusion, prioritising improvements related to their ways of working, governance, and areas of acute and chronic issues.

I didn’t expect the event to have this kind of positive effect on my personal life; it’s pretty cool to derive personal benefits from an advocacy project.

What’s next? Be involved?

Over the next few months, CIVICUS is piloting a network alliance on diversity and inclusion. This would entail regular calls or communication, providing some time and expertise on Diversity & Inclusion for civil society and working towards a common commitment of dynamic accountability and support. If you would like to discuss this program in more detail please contact: Suhani Bhushan on . We are hoping this will be a participative process from inception.
Deepening Roots: How our partners are doing nine months on

^{Photo: Projet Jeune Leader}

By Jack Cornforth, Resilient Roots Coordinator, CIVICUS

Towards the end of 2020, we spoke to many of our national partners from the initial phase of the Resilient Roots initiative to find out how they are doing nine months after our financial and technical support for their pilot accountability projects ended (see them on ourinteractive map). Overall, the news was very encouraging, with the vast majority reporting sustained positive outcomes from this work, including ways it has enhanced their ability to cope with challenges related to Covid-19. Several key themes came through strongly:

Deepening and expanding accountability policies and practices

All partners have continued their accountability practices in one form or another, with most actually going a step further to deepen or expand their efforts. They told us this was because of multiple positive outcomes from the pilot phase, ranging from more engaged and active constituents, to a more collaborative and transparent internal working culture.

This ongoing work has included training more staff and partners on the topic, new rounds of surveying constituents to assess organisational accountability, the maturing of new constituent-driven organisational bodies like Video Volunteers Council (India), or even electing constituent representatives to the board of directors (PCCDS, Palestine). For many partners, this has enabled them to go beyond simply asking for feedback about their performance, to adopting an inclusive planning approach that directly involves constituents and wider stakeholders. Projet Jeune Leader (PJL) in Madagascar, for instance, have expanded their now annual partner school learning and planning symposium to involve a wider group of constituents. This includes school directors, whose involvement has been vital for embedding their programmes within the curriculum, aligning goals and how to measure them, and reducing pushback from skeptical parents.

In Peru, Kusi Warma has found that being more consultative when deciding what they do and how they do it - as well as transparent about how tight their budgets are - has helped the community to step up and take charge. For their new community kitchen project, for instance, the organisation provides support and advice but decisions are made by local people. Similarly, PJL is now attempting to run its programmes in twice as many locations by putting its trust in local delivery partners to roll out its activities more independently, whereas Poverty Reduction Forum Trust (PRFT, Zimbabwe) has enabled its constituents to play a more direct role in their advocacy work.

Accountability to staff

It was also wonderful to hear many organisations reinforce that being more transparent with their own staff, and taking a more inclusive approach to organisational planning and decision making is absolutely critical for both a healthy internal working culture and external accountability efforts. In Russia, OVD-Info has now created a specific action plan for increasing accountability to their staff, which includes clarifying their structure, values, and how decisions are made, while in Greece, Solidarity Now attributed its ability to more quickly close the feedback loop with its constituents to improved communication channels between different delivery partners. Others have started internal newsletters, and even developed a new scorecard system where educators can assess their supervisors and feel more energised as a result of having a greater voice.

Engaging in the context of COVID-19

All partners reported a range of new challenges associated with the pandemic, including their ability to maintain a two-way flow of information with their constituents as virtually all engagement has moved online. Some have been able to help bridge the gap, such as PCCDS’ provision of microgrants to constituents for the purchase of mobile data. However, despite these efforts, many people have remained almost impossible to reach or include in activities. As a result, PRFT said that both the quantity and quality of feedback they’ve received has dropped.

^{Photo: Palestinian Centre for Communication and Development}

Nevertheless, several partners said that they were better prepared for the shift to virtual-only engagement because of their improved understanding of who their constituents are and how they prefer to communicate, and having multiple online channels already up and running. Kusi Warma, for instance, switched to primarily engaging their communities through telephone conversations. But they have also regularly sent simple staff-shot mobile phone videos with information and advice, so people can see who they have been talking to.

Adapting to new constituent needs

Many partners told us that the upheaval from Covid-19 has required them to pause, ask what their constituents need during this time, and adapt their activities accordingly. This has ranged from providing badly needed new services, such as psychological support for families hit hard by the pandemic, or even helping ensure access to clean water - something totally new for child rights and education organisation Educo (Nicaragua). Other shifts have been more subtle, with human rights watchdog OVD-Info eventually meeting increasing demands from their constituents to provide guidance on quarantine-related restrictions, despite them initially seeing this as out of scope for them. Whereas FemPlatz in Serbia helped to address changing constituent needs more indirectly by connecting them with other organisations who could provide the services they needed.

Accountability for resilience

Several organisations explained that the ability to pivot and meet the changing needs of their constituents is itself crucial for organisational resilience. Even if their accountability practice isn’t directly helping to counter closing civic space, which has made the work of several partners during the pandemic not just harder but in some cases more dangerous, there was a clear feeling that maintaining community trust and support is key to organisational survival. Furthermore, several organisations have been able to successfully integrate their accountability work into subsequent grants - including from a new domestic donor for PCCDS - and use the positive outcomes from these efforts so far to sell themselves to donors in what has become an increasingly tough fundraising environment.

Supporting Others

Many partners have also been able to share their new-found accountability expertise with wider audiences. By regularly telling the story of their successes and lessons learned, PJL has been building a new evidence base on how to effectively build community support for sex education programmes in socially consertaive contexts. In this regard, their regular magazine isn’t just important for closing the feedback loop with the communities they work with, it’s also a key advocacy tool. Similarly, PCCDS has produced what it believes to be the first guide to good accountability practice for organisations in the Palestinian context. And in Serbia, FemPlatz used their growing network and enhanced consultation skills to bring many of their partners together to discuss how the pandemic has affected their constituents, and how their organisations can adapt to help meet these changing needs. What’s more, they have also provided recommendations to both partners and donors about how to support women with disabilities, as a group hit particularly hard by the impacts of Covid-19. Overall, there was also much interest from the partners in engaging more with CIVICUS and its wider members on accountability work.

Beyond the progress made by each partner, reconnecting with these colleagues has been an important way for CIVICUS to sense-check our approach and validate our ongoing organisational commitment to taking this work to wider audiences. But it has also provided us with further lessons and good practices that others can learn from and adapt to their own contexts. In this regard, we look forward to continuing our collaboration with these important accountability ambassadors, including via the Dynamic Accountability Community of Practice (please do join up!). You can also read this summary of the Resilient Roots phase two, which we have been implementing since July 2020, and join our mailing list to receive updates and opportunities related to the initiative.

For more info, contact

A massive thank you to Hannah Wheatley and Oriana Castillo for helping to craft our approach and conducting the interviews, as well as to our amazing partners for doing such an incredible job at taking their constituent accountability practice to new heights!
Defiant and undeterred: Looking back at a year of extraordinary civic activism
Dear CIVICUS members and allies,

We are ending the year as we began – with awe for how civil society and citizens have been unstoppable despite widespread and often brutal backlash by governments, and with a stronger resolve to do more - much more - to reinforce struggles for human rights and social justice across countries and communities.

From Khartoum to Hong Kong, across Chile, Lebanon and Malta, we have seen large-scale civic protests against governance failures. In other parts of the world, people have organised in unprecedented numbers, including through mobilisations such as the Global Climate Strike which saw over 7 million people in 150 countries, to call for fundamental changes in global governance and corporate accountability.

What the protests have in common is anger and frustration with political and economic systems that are failing to uphold rights and meet needs. As we have observed in our State of Civil Society Report, most protests started small - often addressing specific, local issues - but quickly grew to ask more profound questions of governance, democracy and human rights. Furthermore, people have unfailingly devised new methods to organise and demand change despite severe restrictions on the right to protest.

Our latest report, People Power Under Attack 2019, draws on 536 updates on fundamental rights from across the world. In a short span of one year, we recorded instances of detention of protesters, disruptions of protest, or the use of excessive force to prevent people from fully exercising their right to peaceful assembly in 96 countries across the world. The CIVICUS Monitor has documented the detention of protesters and excessive use of force to disperse and disrupt protests in countries with closed or repressed ratings such as Egypt, Honduras, Iraq and Zimbabwe, but also in countries where people typically have been able to exercise their freedoms without major hindrance, such as Belgium, Canada, France and Panama.

Our refreshed ratings for 2019 reveal that just 3% of the world’s population are now living in countries where their fundamental rights are in general protected and respected – last year it was 4%. Two significant democracies - Nigeria and India – are only one step away from the worst end of the CIVICUS Monitor rating spectrum. This has contributed to a dramatic increase in the number of people who now live in contexts, i.e. 40% of the world’s population as opposed to 19% last year. We invite you to take a closer look at the latest findings from the CIVICUS Monitor, and let us know how we can strengthen efforts to protect and expand civic freedoms in your country and region. Two other CIVICUS publications released last month are excellent resources to inform civil society related analyses and strategies. Our report, Against the Wave, assesses the impact of the rise of anti-rights groups on civil society, while our thematic paper, We Will Not Be Silenced, takes stock of the growing restrictions that climate activists face across the world.

In line with rise of movements for dynamic accountability across the world, we have spent a fair amount of time this year reviewing how effective our efforts at CIVICUS have in relation to the outcomes that we are committed to achieve as part of our Strategic Plan for 2017-22. Many of you will recall that the current Plan was developed with wide ranging inputs and participation from the breadth of the Alliance.

Since August this year, we have had the opportunity to bring various stakeholders, including the Board, CIVICUS staff and members of the Alliance, together to take stock of the progress we have made so far and provide recommendation for the outcomes that we need to prioritise in the final two years of our Strategic Plan period. This includes our ‘Annual Constituency Survey’ and the Annual General Meeting which have been an all-important source of feedback on the things we are doing well and what we need to be doing more of in this context.

The CIVICUS Board and staff have also combined efforts to create a strategic reporting framework aimed at optimising learning and accountability outcomes across the Alliance. Our refreshed reporting guidelines now include monthly updates to our members, quarterly trend analysis reports from our online database, and opportunities to engage with critical learning questions outlined in our Accountability Framework. More broadly, the ‘Resilient Roots’ initiative has allowed us to contribute to new metrics that prioritise outcomes related to long-term accountability and resilience in restricted civic space contexts. Work progressed in this period through AGNA, the Diversity & Inclusion Group for Networking and Action (Spanish - French) and the Innovation for Change platforms are other examples of how a collaborative approach to strengthening civil society legitimacy and impact is informing our core work.

We look forward to sharing more about the outcomes of our mid-term strategy review in January, and anticipate that the recommendations generated will enable increased opportunities for solidarity and joint action across the Alliance. We now have twice as many CIVICUS members as we did last year, a significant number of whom are young change-makers. Our increased reach of 8500+ members across 165 countries provides us with an incredible opportunity to strengthen civil society legitimacy and impact. In doing so, we must continue to challenge ourselves to integrate diversity and democratise resources in ways that directly benefit those on the front lines of the fight for human rights and social justice. We must be able to decisively demonstrate how our actions and investments are making a difference to the communities in the world’s most restrictive and marginalised contexts.

In 2020, we must look beyond institutional mandates to firmly locate ourselves in a wider trajectory for change that connects and inspires transformative action across the world.

In solidarity,
Lysa John
Secretary-General, CIVICUS
@lysajohn
Delivering emergency help for targeted activists is easier said than done
FRENCH

By Lesego Moshikaro and Yessenia Soto

This article is part of the #StoriesOfResilience series, coordinated by CIVICUS to feature groups and activists on their journey to promote better resourcing practices for civil society and to mobilise meaningful resources to sustain their work.

Imagine you lead a non-profit feminist organisation in Egypt.

Your work involves empowering women and lobbying the government to respect and protect their rights. In repressive Egypt, the authorities don’t like what you’re doing, and they want it to stop. So, they attack you – hitting you with a travel ban, freezing all your assets and charging you with receiving illegal foreign funding for your civil society organisation (CSO), which could lead to life in prison if you’re found guilty by Egypt’s notoriously biased courts. In aggressive and threatening interrogations, officials pressure you to shut down your CSO ‘voluntarily’, or things could get worse for you.

Photo: Activists, civil society organisations and emergency fund managers during the “Resource the resistance” convening at ICSW 2019.
Democratising information is key to democratise funding access for grassroots and activists
By Anna Kolotovkina, a civil society resourcing intern at CIVICUS, social volunteer and activist.

I once talked with a woman who has been helping homeless people for many years in Siberia, Russia, where I live. She and other self-organised volunteers prepare and deliver hot dinners, collect and donate clothes and medicine, help them get documents, and find housing and jobs. They really go beyond their means to do this work. When I mentioned the possibility of applying for a grant as a volunteer organisation, she laughed in disbelief and said – “Are we an organisation? We are just people with good hearts.”

Her words struck me. Last summer, volunteers were key to extinguishing the massive forest fires in Siberia, while State officials said that fighting the fires was “economically unprofitable.” The story repeats in Australia, where thousands of volunteer firefighters, individuals, NGOs and civil society organisations (CSOs) are leading emergency efforts during the biggest forest fire in Australian history.

Turns out that the “people with good hearts”, including volunteers, activists, community groups and CSOs around the world, are solving social, economic and environmental problems that states don’t address, or do it poorly. They’re also the brave challenging corruption, safeguarding human rights, and standing up for climate justice and for the most vulnerable populations.

These individuals should be considered by themselves and others as important subjects for funding and support. The problem is that, in fact, they do not have access to enough resourcing opportunities and widespread funding practices usually exclude them.

Only 15% of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by states around the world is directed to or channelled through CSOs, and less than 1% is earmarked directly for CSOs in the global south. Too often, the main sources of development and philanthropic funding don’t prioritise grassroots, small groups or civic action challenging the status quo, and tend to favour Northern and larger organisations.

Ironically, some existing resources and donors who do provide this kind of support are just hard to find. The information about them and provided by them is not quite accessible, often for those who need it the most. This became clear to me while mapping and profiling donors during my internship with CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance.

We’ve been building a directory of funders, INGOs and other entities that provide funding and non-financial resources to activists, CSOs and to small, less formal civil society groups, especially those located in the global south. CIVICUS will publish this directory in several languages to make it more accessible to the people struggling to obtain this type of information.

For 4 months, I reviewed around 200 websites of entities that support civil society. I gathered information to create their profiles, contacted them and requested approval to feature them in the directory. This exercise allowed me to experience first-hand some of the obstacles faced by the above-mentioned groups when seeking suitable support and funding.

Let’s start by the language barrier: half of the websites I consulted were available only in English, even when the organisations targeted non-English speaking countries. This clearly limits the accessibility of information and opportunities to a considerable number of activists and CSOs in some countries of Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America who do not speak English at all or well enough to navigate websites looking for specific information and to file support applications.

The next barrier I met was a bit unexpected. I was not able to open about five websites because access to users with a Russian IP was limited by those organisations or due to restrictions apparently set by my country. This made me think of the number of people in need based on countries with similar constraints… I overcame this by using a proxy server set up by our IT expert. Would they be able to do the same?

Then I realised that the information provided by the funding/supporting organisations on their websites was not always complete or helpful. On about 50% of the websites I spent 5-7 minutes gathering all the information needed to understand what they do, the type of support offered, target groups, selection criteria, application processes, etc. But on the other half, I devoted 15-20 minutes, sometimes more, and left with big doubts – Were they a fund at all? How/who/when can people actually access the support offered? Many did not even provide basic details, such as phone numbers or e-mail addresses.

Several entities delivering rapid response assistance, funds and other resources to human rights defenders or groups facing emergencies, threats and high-risk situations (like life-threats and wrongful imprisonment) related to their activism, did not specify crucial information like response and turnaround times, duration of the assistance offered or selection criteria.

Lastly, many supporting organisations do not accept unsolicited funding requests, but they do not state it clearly on their websites! This fact, as the selection criteria, should always be included and highlighted in websites to save time, efforts and frustrations to those who seek help and those who provide it.

These barriers may seem small to some, but think about activists and organisation who do not have time to surf the Web for hours or days to find those resources because they are facing urgent situations or are too busy doing fieldwork and don’t have staff dedicated to fundraising of any type. A good number may also lack the skills (language, computer literacy) or tools (software, good Internet access, a contacts database) needed. And many others, like the volunteer woman in my city, don’t even know or believe that they qualify for funding.

There is a long way to go to democratise the access to resources for civil society, but we can start or accelerate that journey by democratising the access to quality and practical information about existing resources and how they are granted.
Des adolescents de mon âge abandonnent l'école pour protester
Bawi Hnem Sung, Texas, les états-unis d'Amérique

Bawi Hnem Sung, lycéenne de 17 ans, est également issue de la communauté Chin de Lewisville, au Texas, et fait partie du Chin Club du lycée de Lewisville. Sa famille a fui le Myanmar lorsqu'elle avait trois ans.

Voici son histoire :

« J'ai pu visiter le Myanmar à l'hiver 2019, et cela me brise littéralement le cœur que les rues dans lesquelles je me suis promenée soient maintenant le théâtre de coups de feu jour et nuit, que les gens que j'ai rencontrés se cachent ou se battent pour leur vie, et que la perspective de retourner embrasser les membres de ma famille soit à nouveau incertaine.

J'ai le cœur brisé et je suis furieuse que les citoyens du Myanmar doivent à nouveau faire face à l'oppression des militaires. Pour être tout à fait honnête, ce coup d'État m'a vraiment ouvert les yeux sur l'oppression du peuple du Myanmar. C'est la première fois que j'assiste à une oppression militaire au Myanmar, et bien que j'aie entendu de nombreuses histoires de la part de mes proches et de mes amis, je n'ai jamais vraiment compris la colère et la situation de fracture qu’entretient le gouvernement du Myanmar dans son ensemble.

Lorsque je dis que j'ai le plus grand respect pour les manifestants du Myanmar, c'est un euphémisme. J'ai vu des vidéos et lu des articles sur la façon dont les parents envoient leurs enfants à l'école tous les matins, en pensant qu'ils ne franchiront peut-être plus jamais la porte de leur maison, sur les adolescents de mon âge qui abandonnent l'école afin de pouvoir protester pour leur avenir et leur liberté, et sur le simple fait de voir la société du Myanmar travailler ensemble. Cela me touche beaucoup et me laisse admirative de la résilience et de la force de ce peuple.

Le fait d'être dans un pays différent a certainement créé des barrières entre nous et les habitants du Myanmar, mais j'ai fait tout ce qui était en mon pouvoir pour essayer d'aider. Avec l'aide de mes professeurs et de mes amis activistes, nous avons réussi à collecter des dons pour les habitants de notre pays natal, nous avons montré notre soutien au peuple en participant à des manifestations et nous avons fait de notre mieux pour que le monde entende la voix du peuple du Myanmar.

Nous avons également organisé une journée d'appel à l'action à l'intention de nos sénateurs et représentants, et nous avons partagé ce qui se passe au Myanmar sur nos médias sociaux. Dans notre spectacle annuel du festival Chin, nous avons réalisé un volet consacré au Mouvement de désobéissance civile (MDC) dans l'espoir qu'il sensibilise davantage la communauté qui nous entoure. Le Chin Club de la Lewisville High School a également réussi à récolter plus de 1 000 dollars.

L'armée s'est présentée au monde sous un faux jour en coupant les lignes Internet, en séquestrant des personnalités célèbres qui détestent l'armée et en réduisant au silence les voix de la population du Myanmar. Il est clair qu'elle ne veut pas que ses actes malveillants soient montrés et diffusés sur Internet. C’est pourquoi la communauté internationale peut aider en montrant ce qui se passe.

Des personnes d'origine birmane ont manifesté dans de nombreux pays du monde entier, notamment en Corée du Sud, en Australie, au Canada et dans bien d'autres pays encore. Cela signifie beaucoup pour nous de voir un grand nombre de nos frères et sœurs de différentes ethnies se joindre à notre protestation contre le coup d'État militaire.

Je comprends maintenant à quel point le peuple du Myanmar a besoin de reconnaissance internationale et d'aide - il a besoin que sa voix soit entendue. Cela fait plus de 70 ans que ce peuple attend que le monde l'écoute, et je veux m'assurer que cette attente ne se prolonge pas.»

Légendes: Bawi Hnem Sung; Bawi Sung manifestant à Dallas, Texas. (Copyright : Bawi Hnem Sung)
Desde Perú a Bélgica, juntos somos más Fuertes
English

Por Jorge Vallejo, de la Red Latinoamericana de Jóvenes por la Democracia, Peru, y miembro de la delegación de CIVICUS al foro de asociación de la CE 2018.

Para mí fue una enorme satisfacción recibir la confirmación de haber sido seleccionado al Partnership Forum 2018 de la Unión Europea gracias a la convocatoria que lanzó CIVICUS. Recuerdo que la noche en que preparaba mi postulación era el día previo al inicio en Lima de la semana de la Cumbre de las Américas en la cual mi organización, la Red Latinoamericana de Jóvenes por la Democracia, tuvo participación. Ser notificado semanas después de que estaba invitado también al Partnership de la Unión Europea fue una gran alegría. Así, este año, a ambos lados del charco, tuve la oportunidad de seguir buscando alianzas estratégicas entre actores para el fortalecimiento de nuestras democracias y el respeto de las libertades, generando más ciudadanía para la vida comunitaria. Eso fue lo que me motivó a presentarme, y el foro me ha brindado una perspectiva más global en los temas y con más herramientas en dicho trabajo, escuchando valiosas experiencias de los 5 continentes.

Entre nuevos aprendizajes y nuevos retos

Ahí estábamos con Lusanda (Sudáfrica), Pek (Bután), Ekaterina (desde Kuwait) y Cathryn del equipo CIVICUS ¡los viajeros ya en Bruselas! Punto resaltante en la reunión ha sido la Agenda 2030 y el hacer que los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible lleguen a un aterrizaje local que permita efectivamente “no dejar a nadie atrás”, remarcando la relevancia de las alianzas para alcanzar objetivos (ODS 17). Hay muchos casos por mencionar, pero quisiera en este espacio hablar de la experiencia de Senegal y sus presupuestos participativos, teniendo una “certificación ciudadana” como evaluación para la acreditación de los actores locales como buenos administradores de recursos, algo rescatable y replicable en camino a la transparencia (Aliou Sow, Presidente de la Comisión del Alto Consejo de las Autoridades locales y regionales de Senegal).
Dialogue to Protect Young People in Civic Space
The UN High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace-Processes
Digitaalinen turvallisuus kuuluu kaikille
English

Auli Starck, Kepa, Suomi, CIVICUS-jäsenjärjestö

GDPR-viestit, uutiset Facebookin tietoturvaongelmista ja sähköpostin tietojenkalasteluviesteiltä. Oman yksityisyyden suojaaminen on digitalisaation myötä yhä olennaisempaa myös kansalaisjärjestöille.

Mutta miten digitaalinen turvallisuus liittyy kansalaisyhteiskunnan tilaan? Parhaimmillaan se tukee sananvapautta ja turvaa kansalaisyhteiskunnan oikeudet toimia. Pahimmillaan sen puute on turvallisuusriski. Digitaalinen turvallisuus on kuitenkin myös paljon muuta.

Osallistuin kesäkuun alussa Civicuksen ja Access Now:n koulutukseen digitaalisesta turvallisuudesta ja sen linkittymisestä kansalaislaisyhteiskunnan tilaan. Armeniassa järjestettyyn koulukseen osallistui Euroopasta ja Aasiasta kattojärjestöjen edustajia sekä ruohonjuuritason toimijoita ja aktivisteja, joiden toimintamahdollisuuksia ja jopa turvallisuutta riittämätön tietoturva uhkaa.

Itse mietin koulutuksen aikana digitaalista turvallisuutta pitkälti siltä kannalta, miten meidän suomalaisten järjestöjen kannattaisi toimia, jotta emme tahtomattamme aseta kumppaneitamme vaaraan. Kun toimitaan maissa, joissa internetin käyttöä rajoitetaan, puhelimia kuunnellaan, sähköpostia seurataan ja viestintää sensuroidaan, on tärkeää tiedostaa ja ennaltaehkäistä riskit. Näillä vinkeillä voit lähteä liikkeelle:
Disability inclusion benefits us all
by Lieke Scheewe, policy advisor & coordinator at DCDD

Today is World Disability Day – a great day to celebrate the value of human diversity! That’s why the Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development (DCDD) is making a case today for the value of a disability inclusive society, by launching a ‘social business case’.

Over 1 billion people in the world have some form of disability according to WHO, that I s 1 in 7. At least 80% of this billion are estimated by the UN to live in low- and middle-income countries. Due to the barriers they face in accessing services and jobs, persons with disabilities make up a disproportionate percentage of the poorest sections of the community. Not only people themselves – but societies at large – are paying a high price for exclusion. What can investments in a more inclusive society bring us?

More resilient people and households

Catherine from Kenya is partially deaf-blind. She received support from an NGO to learn how to use the screen reader programme JAWS, to know her rights and to feel confident about her abilities. Her vocational training institute received support on how to make their building and their teaching methods more inclusive. Thanks to the removal of these barriers, Catherine completed her certificate and is now able to invest in the future of her son: “I love my new job in customer care; talking is one of my hobbies! I am doing something I am trained in, and I am earning a good salary to support my family. My son is going to start kindergarten next year, and I will be able to pay his school fees with no struggle.”

Profitable private sectors and sustainable public sectors

Still most children with disabilities do not attend school. If education systems would become more accessible and inclusive, this would have a major impact on individual lives and communities. Research in the Philippines reveals that inclusive education raises future adult wages of a child, by more than 25%. Evidence from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal and the Philippines shows that the returns on investing in education for people with disabilities are two to three times higher than for persons without disabilities. ILO estimates that disability exclusion from the labour market comes at a national cost of 3 to 7 percent GDP. Fortunately, there is an increasing realisation among employers that promoting workplace diversity is good for business. Reasonable workplace adjustments and supportive policies are often less costly than initially thought and can also benefit workers without disabilities as they promote more inclusive work environments. “Differently-abled employees bring in a diversity of thought to the organisation, and hiring them is a business imperative for us, not a Corporate Social Responsibility activity,” said DP Singh, vice-president of Human Resources at IBM India/South Asia.

The Bangladesh garment industry opens its doors

Disability exclusion from the labour market costs the Bangladesh government $891 million a year. Hopefully this is about to change, now that the garment industry has opened its doors to workers with a disability. As a growing industry, garment factories are in continuous demand for skilled workers. This already provided opportunity for many female domestic workers to enter the formal labour market, and it has now opened such opportunities to people with a disability as well. This change was triggered by the Rana Plaza disaster in 2014, which caused permanent injuries in the lives of many garment workers. The industry, together with local disability organisations and support from the Bangladesh and German governments, has established an Inclusive Job Centre and a Helpline in order to bridge the gap between employers and (potential) employees. So far, 250 factories have taken measures to make their workspaces accessible and inclusive, and 2500 people with disabilities have been supported in gaining skills and finding a job.

Ramp-up investment in disability inclusion!

Good practices such as the one in Bangladesh are starting to pop up in many countries. Yet, we’re only at the beginning of seeing real change. If we aim to achieve the global goals by 2030, it’s high time that governments, businesses and development organisations really start to prioritize investments in accessibility, participation, support measures and disability data. As stated by the UN: “Persons with disabilities, as both beneficiaries and agents of change, can fast track the process towards inclusive and sustainable development and promote a resilient society for all”. We can no longer afford to miss out on the valuable contributions people with a disability make to society! The success of our fight against poverty and inequality depends on it.

All quotes and research references above can be found in the full article, ‘A Social Business Case on Disability Inclusion in Development’. To download this social business case and the accompanying infographic, please visithttp://www.dcdd.nl/category/news/. Follow us on twitter @dcdd_nl.
Does greater accountability mean greater resilience? Findings from our research so far
By Kingsley Orievulu and Jack Cornforth

When ActionAid Uganda faced attacks from the government for their work, including freezing the organisation’s bank account, unrelenting support from local partners and credible local leadership ensured massive popular support during the ensuing legal battle (and eventual victory) against the government.[i]
Enabling Members to Truly Drive the CIVICUS Alliance
By Belen Giaquinta and Merle Rutz

As a World Alliance, CIVICUS holds, in its essence and identity, the principles of “people power” and democratic values. There would be no CIVICUS without its members and partners – their presence, needs, voices and collective action. CIVICUS also thrives to live this principle within its Secretariat – by fully engaging staff members in co-defining and designing strategic decisions and actions that relate directly to their missions. But how do we increasingly strengthen CIVICUS’ different constituents’ leadership?