Reimagining Democracy

• Internal democracy within transnationally operating non-governmental organisations: are we as democratic as we think?

  Guest article by Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken, Director, Transnational NGO Initiative, Syracuse University, USA

• International Youth Day Symposium: Vote for your favourite work

  International Youth Day 2018 Creative Symposium:Re-Imagining Democracy: in search of silenced voices

  We are delighted to announce the finalists of the 2018 International Youth Day Creative Symposium! After a very difficult selection process, thirteen amazing young artists were selected as finalists to get the chance to be featured in the 2018 State of Civil Society Report and receive a cash prize of $300 USD can be donated to the organisation or cause of their choice.

  To help them win, please vote for your favorite artist before August 11 noon (SAST).  The online general public vote will represent a 40% of the final evaluation score to select the top 2 in each category. The remaining 60% will be decided by our judging panel.

  To vote go to our Facebook and Twitter pages.

  And the finalists are:

  Written Category

  Cláudia Cassoma: “Chave Mestra”

  

  Democracy is a system for the people by the people. Today, in my encounters, one thing I hear a lot are complaints by youth about the million things that are wrong with the world while they themselves are doing nothing. Usually, that's the case because they feel they can't do anything. The piece I wrote title "Chave Mestra" [Master Key] tells them just the opposite. It's a message for youth to reimagine democracy by seeing themselves as the master key, the key to solve any if not all issues we face. By considering the fact that if we aren't the solution we're the problem we reimagine democracy by offering ourselves as solutions to the many problems.

  Dorothy Tiu: “Huli”

  

  A controversy ripples through campus over a gang rape incident that left one student dead, one victim charged for murder, and one offender left off the hook with a mere warning. As the school struggles to bury the story under wraps, two boys sculpt their vision of modern-day Justicia for a gallery at the opening of their school's new fine arts building. They call their statue "Huli"- a soldier for the silenced, a guardian of free-thought, and a symbol of courage. The story portrays students in their plight for justice and freedom to think, speak, and act against the school's wrongdoings, even at the cost of defying the school's contract demanding silence. 

  Gabriel Karsan: “Freedom of Not”

  

  In a conflicted era of influence, it's a piece about revaluing voices of youth, Doing more to find a way to revive hope, Accountable and ethical democratic process.

  Pablo Gómez: “Democracia latent”

  

  Es una conjugación de vivencias e imágenes que observo desde que tengo consciencia. Siendo indígena tseltal y estar conociendo otros mundo me invita a soñar que se puede lograr cambios con mucho esfuerzo y trabajo. Reinventar la democracia, implica incluir a los indígenas y jóvenes como yo. Respetando las diferencias y respetando el ambiente, que es para nosotros sagrado. Mi Pueblo, Oxchuc,Chiapas,Mex. ha luchado mucho para mantener su autodeterminación y me ha tocado ver morir a gente por ello, todo porque no reconocen que como indígenas tenemos otras formas de organizarnos.

  Refilwe Charmaine Mametja: “Hear my voice”

  

  The poem speaks about silenced voice which is not listened to due to the colour of the skin.

  Visual Arts Category

  Maxim Liho: “We Are One”

  

  Equality for all national groups is an integral part of democracy. A free society is characterized by a tolerant attitude of people to each other. Therefore, reimagining democracy is directly related to the establishment of equal rights for each of the nationalities and ethnic groups, as well as for persons of different ages and genders. I think that my picture reflects this value and conveys the importance of eliminating the problem of inequality throughout the world.

  Natalia Mykhaylova: “Common Language”

  

  The inspiration behind the work is the impact we have on society and the society has on us form my perspective as a young person. The work makes use of photography, digital editing and mixed media to convey the message directly and tangibly based on my travel experiences. "Common language" was inspired by a trip to University of Ariel in West Bank in Israel. There, Israeli and Palestinian students live and work together and achieve high level of success in building startup companies where founders are from Israel and Palestine, despite the conflict between regions. The people there pride themselves in how their collaboration leads to success despite all the cultural and religious barriers. The work was also inspired by the story about the tower of Babel and the importance of finding the common language to build something successful.

  Shalom Fildelis: “One voice”

  

  I dream of a democracy where the interest of the youth would be represented, where misunderstanding and miscommunication which courses barriers in language, religion and ethnicity would be broken and people can come together under one voice and one culture.

  Vandita Sariya: “One”

  

  "Democracy is a way of life.
  Where differences complement,
  similarities align,
  and together, for better, they strive. "

  Ngunan Ioron Aloho: “One Vote Naija”

  

  "Youths involved in addressing issues of getting people to get their voters card in order to vote for the right person. People to know their rights and understand that we are the ones who chose our leaders. "

  Multimedia Category

  Nermesh Singh: “Colours of Unity”

  

  When speaking of unity, in Malaysian context, almost instantly the first thing that comes to mind is all races living together hand-in-hand in harmony. As picture perfect as that may be, it is only a portion of what unity is truly all about. The spirit of brethren amongst the many races is merely one speck of the larger spectrum of unity. Unity comes in many other forms the likes of unity in education, cultural appreciation, socio-economy, political, regional, etc.In the video, 4 friends of different life background were tensed on the attitude of 21st generation; however the love in between embrows them to continue their long-lasting friendship.

  Henry Amazin Toe: “Know Who to Vote for”

  

  "I feel democracy should be everybody business. The song, ""Know Who To Vote For"" is a sensitive song for citizens to vote right, not to vote based on Ethnicity or Religion. In this song, we mobilize our citizens to vote right. "

  Razafimamonjy Andrianandrasana Jean Francis: “L'égalité de droit et le respect envers les femmes”

  

  C'est un Slampoésie qui parle du droit de la femme et de l'engagement de l'homme envers elle. à savoir l'égalité de droit et du respect!

• International Youth Day Symposium: Winners

  International Youth Day 2018 Creative Symposium:Winners

   

  Written Category Winner

  Name: Cláudia Cassoma, Angola

  Title: “Chave Mestra”

  

  Democracy is a system for the people by the people. Today, in my encounters, one thing I hear a lot are complaints by youth about the million things that are wrong with the world while they themselves are doing nothing. Usually, that's the case because they feel they can't do anything. The piece I wrote title "Chave Mestra" [Master Key] tells them just the opposite. It's a message for youth to reimagine democracy by seeing themselves as the master key, the key to solve any if not all issues we face. By considering the fact that if we aren't the solution we're the problem we reimagine democracy by offering ourselves as solutions to the many problems.

  Visual Arts Category Winner

  Name: Vandita Sariya, India

  Title: “One”

  

  "Democracy is a way of life.
  Where differences complement,
  similarities align,
  and together, for better, they strive. "

  Multimedia Category Winner

  Name: Henry Amazin Toe, Liberia

  Title: “Know Who to Vote for”

  

  "I feel democracy should be everybody business. The song, ""Know Who To Vote For"" is a sensitive song for citizens to vote right, not to vote based on Ethnicity or Religion. In this song, we mobilize our citizens to vote right."

• IRAN: Political humour as a tool against authoritarian regimes

  Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘Reimagining Democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score in doing so. CIVICUS speaks to the Iranian-born political cartoonist Nik Kowsar, who was jailed for his humorous criticism before eventually emigrating to Canada, where he became a citizen. A former recipient of the international Award for Courage for Editorial Cartooning, he currently resides in the United States.

  1. Would you tell us the story of that crocodile you drew, and how it changed your life?

  I was born in Iran, and I had always lived in Iran until I had to get out of the country in 2003. I was a geologist by training and a cartoonist by trade. In 2000 I drew a cartoon and went to prison for it. My drawing apparently caused a national security issue: thousands of clergy students gathered and shouted for my death and they sat there for four nights, until I was arrested.

  All I had done was draw a crocodile that was shedding crocodile tears and strangling a journalist, while claiming that the journalist was killing him. The name that I gave the crocodile rhymed with the name of an ayatollah. Of course, I denied any resemblance between the two, but still, you know, there was a political message there. From that day on, I became a sponsor for Lacoste – they didn’t sponsor me, but I started buying the shirts with the crocodile logo for myself, and I always wear them as a symbol and a reminder.

  Long story short, I went to prison and underwent interrogation, and eventually I walked free. But I didn’t quit my job as a cartoonist and I started receiving death threats that eventually got serious, and in 2003 I had to escape. I had to leave my wife and daughter behind – they were only able to join me in Canada four years later, in 2007.

  2. Did you see cartoons as a safer means of expression, a way of saying some things without saying them, when speech is heavily censored?

  In Iran we used to say: ‘We have freedom of speech, what we don’t have is freedom afterspeech’. When you produce content that powerful people or organisations dislike, no matter how that content is packaged, they will try to shut you down by all means, including allegations and criminal charges like undermining national security, working with the enemy, indecency or attacking Islam. Anything can be used against you in Iran – and in other Islamic countries as well. I’ve been working with Tunisian and Palestinian cartoonists, and they all have problems with their governments.

  What is said with a cartoon is more difficult to erase than anything else: a good cartoon is even more valuable than a thousand words, because it stays in your mind for ages. A ‘joke’ is a serious matter: it goes directly to the point, it exposes the absurd. In a way, cartoonists can be the conscience, the moral compass of a society – it is not a matter of right and left, but a matter of right or wrong. So, cartoonists are very important, and it is not wonder that many governments – from Iran to Equatorial Guinea to Turkey – are trying to pressure them into silence.

  3. What have you done since leaving Iran?

  While in Canada, I studied journalism and worked with a news agency for three years. I joined IFEX in 2008, and starting in 2009 I ran a news website specifically for and about Iran. This became one of the top news websites on Iranian issues, although it was filtered and firewalled in Iran. At some point, however, we stopped getting funding; we understood that the Obama administration’s policies towards Iran, their efforts to connect with the regime, were a major reason why other organisations stopped funding us. We had to let it go.

  As a cartoonist with fibromyalgia, who has had to stop drawing as a professional, I now work with Cartoonist Rights Network International. I was once a client, now I am a board member. We are a human rights organisation, focused on the freedom of expression, and we support cartoonists in distress: cartoonists who are oppressed by the regimes in their countries, threatened, arrested or sent to prison.

  Cartoonists are vulnerable, and even more so after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. There is increasing solidarity among them, and they are better connected now, through our organisation and others – but still, they are in danger. What needs to be done is provide a means of sustenance for cartoonists who are in trouble. That’s very difficult, because non-profits are not rich, and also because a cartoonist cannot live off assistance funds forever – they need to be paid to do what they do best.

  Finally, as a geologist and an expert on Iran’s water problems, I am back to working on water issues. Iran has a big water problem, which is possibly going to create big chaos in the near future. There was an uprising in December 2017 and January 2018, and only in cities hit by water crisis and drought, where people were too desperate and felt they had nothing left to lose, were the protests not easily contained and people were killed. We will see more and more clashes in areas that are hit by drought.

  4. Do you think environmental issues, including water, should be treated as political issues?

  Most definitely. That is exactly what I am working on. Water may easily become a major political issue, in Iran and in the whole Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, an already unstable one. Iran has always been a dry country, with rainfall about a third of the median around the world. But for 3,500 years Iranians were able to manage their water resources through various technologies. Over the past 50 years, however, mega-dams and deep wells have ruined our environment and most aquifers have been depleted; as a result, 85 percent of our groundwater is now gone. Climate change has only made it worse: last year, we had 78 percent less snow storage in our mountains compared to the previous year.

  Now, Iranians may be oppressed because of their beliefs and ideas, but when there’s not enough water to drink and produce food, they have reached a tipping point. In Syria the drought worsened from 2006 to 2009, as a result of which a million people from the north-eastern provinces had to leave their lands and migrate to the margins of bigger cities. When the Arab Spring started, it sparked protests in Syria as well – but in this case, they led to civil war. We are talking about farmers and herdsmen, people who had lost their livelihoods, many of whom had joined militant groups. Factor in an intolerant, authoritarian government that could not manage the protests, and there you go. Something similar could happen in Iran.

  5. Are you saying civil war is a likely outcome for Iran? Isn’t there any way pro-democracy forces could turn the discontent in their favour?

  That’s what some of us are worrying about. Pressure for water could, maybe, lead to a democratic opening as well. We are educating the public about the water situation. Unfortunately, many political groups have no clue about environmental issues – they have never cared about them, don’t understand them and don’t see how they could connect to their political struggles. In trying to change this, I am currently working on a documentary about water, connecting the struggles with water shortages that we are seeing in places as diverse as Cape Town in South Africa, Seville in Spain and even the Vatican City and some parts of the US. Our contacts in Iran are collecting material for us and documenting the situation as well, and we are doing a collaborative bilingual project, in English and Persian, to educate the public, including academics and politicians. Because if we don’t do anything about it, rather than democracy what we will get is more uprisings, repression, and hundreds or thousands of people killed in places hit by drought.

  Civic space in Iran is rated as ‘closed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor,indicating overwhelming restrictions in the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

  Get in touch with Nik Kowsar through hisFacebook page, or follow@nikahang on Twitter.

• Ireland: the A, B, C and X of civil society activism

  Open submission by Avila Kilmurray

• Is there hope for a human rights-respecting culture in Bahrain?

  Guest article by Nedal Al-Salman and Kristina Stockwood

• La démocratie de façade en République Démocratique du Congo

  Réponse à l’appel ouvert par l’Action Contre les Violations des Droits des Personnes Vulnérables (ACVDP)

• La nécessité de la revalorisation de la liberté d’expression dans la République Démocratique du Congo

  Réponse à l’appel ouvert par Diamena-Lema Matundu, activiste pour un Congo Libre

• LATVIA: ‘Faced with hatred, we focus on delivering a human rights message’

  As part of our 2018 report on the theme of reimagining democracy, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score. CIVICUS speaks to Kaspars Zālītis about the challenges faced by LGBTI people in Latvia, and the actions undertaken by civil society to broaden civic space for sexual minorities and therefore to make democracy truly inclusive. Kaspars is the director ofMozaika - Association of LGBT and their friends, currently the only LGBTI rights civil society organisation (CSO) in Latvia. Established in 2006, Mozaika promotes gender equality and anti-discrimination; raises awareness of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions of identity;promotes an understanding of diverse family models and their legal recognition; and advocates for the harmonisation ofLatvian laws with international standards.

  1. What is the current situation of LGBTI rights in Latvia?

  On the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association’s ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map, which measures each country’s respect for LGBTI rights, Latvia ranks 40^th within Europe, and last of all European Union (EU) member countries. In turn, the CIVICUS Monitor has reported several restrictions of civic space in Latvia. CSOs working on controversial topics are being targeted, and civil society has found it increasingly difficult to gain access to policy-makers. Mozaika has tried to lobby politicians and policy-makers for years, but they often prefer to meet in private rather than attract any attention that can lead to attacks from right-wing activists and politicians.

  The political climate is hostile for sexual diversity and for diversity as a whole. ‘Moral upbringing’ amendments introduced into the Education Law in 2015 - which mandate schools to promote ‘family values’ and marriage as part of education - have been implemented through the publication of guidelines that have caused fear among teachers of negative reactions if they touch on any LGBTI issues, and sexual and reproductive rights issues more generally. In 2016, a schoolteacher whose students had requested her to start a Gay-Straight Alliance was asked to refrain from doing so, and another teacher faced calls that he should close all his social media accounts so that students wouldn’t see his ‘LGBT-friendly’ attitudes - in other words, he was asked to hide his sexual orientation. Legislators bashed him on social media and insinuated that he was ‘recruiting’ children.

  In March 2018, parliament was quick to dismiss a Cohabitation Bill that would have granted basic rights to non-married couples, including same-sex ones. It did so on the grounds that couples could access these rights by getting married, even though the Latvian Constitution prohibits same-sex marriage. The initiative had started three years earlier through an online petition that gathered 10,000 signatures, which was why parliament had to consider it.

  2. What is the role of religious groups in this?

  Indeed. The Catholic Church has a lot of influence, and it is taking the lead in fighting the LGBTI community and pushing back against women’s rights. For instance, there has been a lot of disagreement over the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, and parliamentary debate on the issue has been postponed until after parliamentary elections are held in October 2018.

  Church leaders and many public officials oppose ratification of the Istanbul Convention because one of its non-discrimination clauses concerns sexual orientation and gender identity. The Catholic Archbishop is rallying against it and has gathered considerable support among political parties and parliamentarians. He has managed to convince them that ratification is part of the secret agenda of so-called ‘genderists’ – an expression that originated in Russia, a country with a very strong cultural influence in Latvia. Church officials, right-wing activists and politicians and anti-LGBTI and anti-abortion groups depict the Convention as contrary to Latvian traditional values and as being aimed at over-sexualising and ‘converting’ children. These arguments are gaining ground among the public.

  This rhetoric is not the exclusive preserve of the Catholic church: the Lutheran church, which is the largest Protestant church in Latvia, is also taking a lead in fighting us and the Istanbul Convention. This is quite strange, because Lutherans, prevalent in Nordic countries, tend to be more liberal. But in Latvia they even voted against having female priests, following the lead of the Catholic church. Additionally, new religious organisations with direct links with US evangelical groups are emerging. Some of their leaders have been trained in the USA and are quite good at influencing people.

  Although religious leaders and organisations don’t have a direct and institutionalised role in policy-making, given that the Latvian Constitution establishes a separation between church and state, in practice they have a lot of influence. Church-state separation notwithstanding, the state has a religious advisory council, as does the City Council. It is not uncommon for the Catholic Archbishop to meet with the ruling coalition’s leading party, and for the party’s leader to then say that he has ‘consulted’ with the Catholic church and has decided to vote in one way or another. You can see a direct link because all this happens in public.

  We, on the contrary, don’t have access to leading politicians because they are not willing to risk their reputations by meeting us in public. At the most, we can expect to have a private meeting here and there. This has a lot of impact on us, especially as we see the religious right rise all over Europe. Religious organisations and right-wing parties are increasingly organised and coordinated to fight against gender equality and LGBTI rights at the European level, and they are getting a major influx of resources from the USA. They have way more resources than we do, and their message also resonates better with the latent homophobia in Latvian society, which is becoming increasingly vocal. And after the Brexit vote and the Trump victory, they are emboldened. The latest developments in Hungary and Poland are also proof to them that they may be closer to winning.

  3. Has this discourse penetrated the media?

  Most definitely. Our media landscape is quite pluralistic, and the state channel and public broadcaster at least try to provide balanced coverage. But some media outlets are outright hostile towards LGBTI groups, and one of them, a Russian outlet with a major agenda against the rights of women, migrants, refugees and LGBTI people, is clearly leading a crusade against us.

  Vilification of women’s and LGBTI rights groups is also increasingly taking place online. We are now constantly harassed on Facebook. At some point we realised these were not the usual people who used to attack us and we did some research to find out where the attacks were coming from, and found links to evangelical churches.

  Since January 2018, Mozaika has reported over 200 posts that are openly homophobic to social media administrators, and most of them have been taken down and their authors temporarily or permanently blocked. This caused all Mozaika activists to be blocked from accessing certain groups and pages, and we have evidence that a number of secret Facebook and WhatsApp chat groups have been created to follow our activities.

  4. Can you tell us more about the significance of Pride in Latvia and the Baltic Pride that was recently held in the capital, Riga?

  Pride in Latvia is the most visible LGBTI event in the country. It draws widespread social and media attention to our cause, but it also attracts a large number of expressions of hatred and brings to the surface negative attitudes towards the LGBTI community. Pride in Latvia grew from 70 participants who faced 3,000 protesters in 2005, to 5,000 participants at EuroPride 2015, which was held in Riga, and 8,000 in the recent Baltic Pride. In between, it was banned by Riga City Council three times.

  Mozaika applied for permission to hold Baltic Pride in February 2018. Latvian laws state that applications must be submitted no earlier than four months prior to the event and that if there is more than one application for an event to be held at the same time, priority will be given to the first applicant. Mozaika’s representative arrived at Riga City Council an hour before opening to make sure that Baltic Pride was the first applicant, and just seconds after he entered the building Antiglobalists, an anti-rights organisation, arrived to submit another request for an event that would take place at the exact same time and venue, but under the name “Promotion of paedophilia, zoophilia, necrophilia and other perversions.” They wanted to make the statement that if ‘homosexuals’ can promote their ‘perversions’, then they should also be allowed to promote any other perversion they could think of.

  Since it became known in late 2017 that Riga would host Baltic Pride, both Mozaika and Baltic Pride became targets. The leader of the Latvian Green Party-Riga Unit started a //medium.com/@juriskaza/latvian-science-fund-head-asks-to-ban-riga-pride-event-87173b6e2cbe">personal campaign against so-called ‘genderists’. He insisted that Baltic Pride should be banned and set up a Facebook page to ‘inspire’ activists for ‘traditional values’. Starting in January, Baltic Pride organisers received over a hundred personal attacks, warnings or threats. We were insulted, called sick and branded perverts on our Facebook pages on a daily basis. Hate campaigns were launched to convey the idea that Pride is a ‘sex festival’. Countless posts were made showing rainbows and guns, to create fear among potential participants and the LGBTI community and dissuade them from attending. Antiglobalists, Tautas tiesību kustība (National Rights Movement) and activists inspired by right-wing politicians also constantly posted statements to encourage others to stand against Baltic Pride. Sometimes they provided details about our activities, forcing us to restrict them to registered participants to ensure safety. We also had to take unprecedented security measures for Pride events.

  Fortunately, we could find common ground and work closely with the police. Counter-protesters attack and humiliate the police, but we treat them with respect. No public official or security officer supporting us would ever say so publicly, but we have been able to work together behind closed doors. In the end, Baltic Pride was a great success. We would have considered it a success if 2,000 people had attended, but over 8,000 did. There were no major incidents, although at some point eggs and smoke bombs were thrown at participants.

  5. How do you counter the anti-rights message?

  We focus on delivering a human rights message. We never blame the church or call anyone by name - we don’t talk about them. We counter argument with argument, and fiction with facts. If they say that perverts will march, we state the fact that 70 per cent of those ‘perverts’ are straight people with children. Against arguments that ‘naked people’ will march, we simply say we don’t know what Pride they are referring to because we have never had people marching naked in Latvia. When we are called perverts, we thank them for their opinion but insist that we want to have a conversation within a human rights framework. That is, we don’t want to limit anyone’s rights and we want to be able to exercise ours. Compromising and always staying within the confines of a positive message may be personally difficult for many activists, but that is what we are going for, no matter what we hear. We might explode afterwards, but while we meet we listen and stay calm.

  I always meet the Catholic Archbishop at state visits or embassy receptions and we have polite exchanges. I’ve told him I’m non-believer but I know that the message of Jesus is all about love and respect and I don’t see that coming from him – that’s when he leaves the conversation. Within Mozaika there are also religious people, and we have invited churches to have an open and public dialogue, but so far, they have always refused.

  6. What is civil society in Latvia doing to overcome these challenges?

  Civil society uses all the available mechanisms to highlight rights violations in the international arena, including at the EU level, and to try and influence decision-makers and politicians. However, our Minister of Justice, who is openly homophobic and transphobic, ‘does not see’ any restrictions. While we were organising our Pride event, the government was putting a lot of effort into organising celebrations for the centennial of the Latvian state, and often blamed critical CSOs for shaming the country abroad as such an important date approached.

  In this context, Mozaika planned several actions, including a social media campaign (‘I support freedom’) in which public personalities publicly expressed their support for LGBTI rights, and human rights more generally, and demanded that our government ensure that Baltic Pride could take place safely. We aimed to bring in people who are not typically seen as supporters of human rights and LGBTI rights, and then amplify their voices as allies of the LGBTI community. Ultimately, what we wanted to show is that the LGBTI community and its supporters were a lot more numerous and diverse than the handful of activists and the few hundred people who normally show up to our events. We also undertook efforts targeted at international organisations and foreign governments and activists. We asked them to encourage people to participate in Baltic Pride and demand that the authorities guarantee their safety.

  Of course, we continue to monitor, document and report online and offline abuses against LGBTI people, activists and organisations. We take down hate comments and instruct the community to report any attacks that they experience on social media to us so we can work to take down the posts. If prominent hate expressions get out there, we try to respond to them with a counter-message. But we have limited resources, so sometimes we leave them for liberal commentators to deal with, and we focus on using social media to counter the most blatant expressions of hatred, particularly if someone is attacked physically.

  Finally, we are trying to place LGBTI issues and broader diversity issues on the agenda of the campaign for the upcoming October 2018 parliamentary election. We are promoting public debate on these issues, presenting political parties with examples of the rights restrictions that LGBTI people face on a daily basis and asking them to provide policy solutions to create a safe environment for LGBTI people and other minorities. We will consider it a success if three or four political parties include LGBTI issues or other diversity issues on their agenda.

  7. What are your needs and what can donors do to help?

  The one thing we have wanted to do for a long time is a long-term communications campaign – not the kind that individual CSOs put together on their own, but a broader one coordinated by various CSO leaders and activists who provide the substance and set the tone, and that is executed and managed by a professional communications team. The problem is that all CSOs live from project to project and are barely sustainable. Mozaika is able to function thanks to the work of volunteers. So what we need most is resources to ensure sustainability. This includes building capacity, but this has to be done on the basis of the expertise that we already have. We have attended countless training events and seminars, and are tired of going to international meetings just to be told ‘this is the right way to do it’. We need customised approaches to find practical solutions to our specific problems. There is a lot for us to learn from France, Germany, or the USA, but lessons must be customised and they should come alongside the resources to ensure sustainability.

  Civic space in Latvia is rated as ‘narrowed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.

  Get in touch with Mozaika through their Facebook page or follow @lgbt_mozaika and @KasparZ on Twitter and Instagram.

• Le respect des mandats présidentiels dans la démocratie burundaise

  Réponse à l’appel ouvert par Me MBONGO Ali

• Learning how to live and to act in free conditions

  Guest article by Artur Sakunts, Chair, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor, Armenia

• Les tensions du multiculturalisme au Canada et les limites du modèle interculturel du Québec

  Par Victor Armony, professeur de sociologie et codirecteur de l’Observatoire des diasporas du Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie, Université du Québec à Montréal

• Let’s imagine global citizen participation at the UN

  Guest article by Andreas Bummel, Executive Director, Democracy Without Borders

• Liberian musician, Indian student and Angolan author named as global creative arts contest winners!

  What do a Liberian rapper, an Indian journalism graduate and a young Angolan author have in common? 

  They are all winners of a global contest that encourages young creatives to imagine the kind of democracy they would like to live in.

  Hosted by global civil society alliance, CIVICUS, under the theme, “Re-imagining Democracy: In Search of Silenced Voices”, the Through Arts and Imagination creative arts competition was organised to celebrate International Youth Day on August 12. The aim was to encourage young creative artists to share their vision of what democracy should be and to raise the silenced voices of youth globally.

  Contestants submitted entries in three creative arts categories: written arts, which included poems, short stories and essays of 500 words or less; visual arts, which included drawings, paintings, cartoons and photography; and multimedia arts, which included short films of no longer than 2 minutes and songs. Creators had to be under 30 years old to enter.

  Prizes for the winners, whose submissions included a song, a poem and a cartoon, include a USD300 cash prize to be donated to a social change organisation of their choice.

  Music artist, Amaze, wowed judges with his song promoting voter awareness in his native Liberia, entitled “Know Who To Vote For”.

  “I feel democracy should be everybody business,” said Amaze.

  “My inspiration was to educate voters to vote right and not base on ethnicity, scholarships, or religious background,” said Amaze.

  He was one of 15 finalists and was selected for the best multimedia arts entry from among dozens of entries from across the globe by a panel of judges and almost 1,500 online voters worldwide.

  Amaze, whose name is Henry Amazin Toe, started his music career at age 14 in Guinea and is currently a hipco Accountability Ambassador who mentors other underground artists to create music for social change. Hipco is a genre of dance music that blends hip-hop, R&B and traditional Liberian music with lyrics in colloquial dialects spoken in Liberia. 

  The contest’s the visual arts category winner, Vandita Sariya from India, came out tops for a cartoon, entitled “One” that she says was inspired by a surge in intolerance in society where she lives.

  “A wave of pseudo-nationalism is going on in my country, India and people are judging and even killing others for who they are, what they look like, what they eat and what their beliefs are,” said Sariya.

  Sariya, who says she plans to donate her prize money to towards children’s education and nourishment, is an emerging creative artist who has been practicing her craft for just six months.

  A poem by Angolan author, Cláudia Cassoma – encouraging youth to see themselves as the “master key” to all the solutions they seek – was chosen as the winner of the written arts category.

  Cassoma, who has had four books published, says the poem, entitled Chave Mestra" (Portuguese for master key), was inspired by a common attitude she encounters among young people in her country, Angola and globally.

  “Today, one thing I hear a lot are complaints by youth about the million things that are wrong with the world while they themselves are doing nothing. Usually, that's the case because they feel they can't do anything,” Cassoma said.

  “The piece is a message for youth to reimagine democracy by seeing themselves as the master key, the key to solve any if not all issues we face,” she said.  

  Said Elisa Novoa, CIVICUS Youth Working Group coordinator: “The aim of this contest was to give a space for young people to express a vision for the kind of democracy they desire. It was also an opportunity to mobilise young creative minds from every corner of the globe, offering a platform to amplify their messages related to the respect of democratic values and social justice.”

  “In a world where information is shared with so much hate, discrimination and stigmatisation, we want to enable arts to be a tool to share messages of hope, justice and equality,” said Novoa.

  The winning entries will also be featured in CIVICUS’ State of Civil Society Report 2018, to be released in September 2018.

  ENDS.

  For more information, contact:

  Grant Clark

  CIVICUS Communications team

   

   

   

• MÉXICO: ‘Buscamos incidir en las políticas públicas del próximo gobierno para contribuir a solucionar los problemas del país’

  English

  En el marco de nuestro informe temático 2018 sobre “Reimaginar la Democracia”, estamos dialogando con líderes, activistas y especialistas de la sociedad civil sobre su labor de promoción de las prácticas y principios democráticos, los desafíos que enfrentan y los logros alcanzados. En esta oportunidad, CIVICUS conversa con Emanuel Johansen Campos, Coordinador de Fondos a la Vista de Alternativas y Capacidades, A.C. una organización de la sociedad civil (OSC) mexicana dedicada a fortalecer las capacidades de incidencia de la sociedad civil organizada, promover la inversión social estratégica y fortalecer la participación ciudadana en los asuntos públicos.

• México: En una democracia, no es posible que desaparezcan 43 estudiantes y todo siga igual

  English

  CIVICUS conversa con Ana Cristina Ruelas, Directora de la oficina de ARTICLE 19 para México y Centroamérica. ARTICLE 19 es una organización de la sociedad civil independiente y apartidista que defiende los derechos a la libertad de expresión y al acceso a la información de acuerdo con los más elevados estándares internacionales. Para ello, promueveel derecho a la difusión de información y opiniones en todos los medios, investiga tendencias y amenazas a la libertad de expresión, proporciona acompañamiento a las personas cuyos derechos han sido violados, y busca contribuir al diseño de políticas públicas. 

  1. Según informes recientes, México es el país con mayor cantidad de asesinatos de periodistas en América Latina, y uno de los peor clasificados del mundo. ¿Cuáles son las causas de este fenómeno?

  Desde Artículo 19 consideramos que los tres niveles de gobierno y las instituciones del Estado tienen una política muy bien articulada para reducir los flujos de información efectiva para la ciudadanía, principalmente la relacionada con hechos de inseguridad y de corrupción. La violencia contra la prensa abarca una serie de mecanismos orientados a ese objetivo, el más sutil de los cuales es la asignación de la pauta oficial para dictar las líneas informativas de los medios de comunicación. En México, particularmente a nivel estadual, los gobiernos cubren hasta el 60 o 70% de los ingresos de los medios de comunicación, y es muy difícil hablar de pluralismo y objetividad de la información si los medios dependen a tal punto del dinero público. Al mismo tiempo, el hecho de que la asignación de la pauta es discrecional y opaca genera una altísima precariedad laboral para los periodistas. Los periodistas no cuentan con seguros de gastos médicos, si les roban una cámara mientras hacen cobertura su medio no se las paga… realmente falta una corresponsabilidad real por parte de las casas de medios para con sus periodistas.

  Respecto de esta forma de violencia económica, no se identifican grandes diferencias a lo largo del territorio; es una forma de control político de los medios que utilizan todos los gobiernos, incluidos los municipales. A fin de cuentas, lo que nosotros hemos observado es que normalmente las agresiones físicas son precedidas por el chantaje económico, que tiene que ver en gran medida con la publicidad oficial.

  2. ¿Los asesinatos de periodistas vendrían a ser tan solo la punta del iceberg?

  Exactamente. Es el fenómeno más grave, pero por detrás hay una serie de políticas y violencias mucho más ampliamente difundidas y muy bien articuladas, que empiezan desde lo económico y continúan por la criminalización. En más de la mitad de los estados de la República todavía están tipificados los delitos contra el honor: calumnias, difamación, injurias. Todavía existen los delitos de ultraje e incluso, por absurdo que parezca, hay seis estados que criminalizan el uso de memes. En esos casos, el uso de memes es clasificado como la manipulación de la imagen para perjudicar a funcionarios públicos e instituciones del Estado. Por otra parte, en varios estados donde se ha logrado la eliminación de los delitos contra el honor, hemos observado un aumento de la violencia institucional, bajo la forma de demandas civiles contra periodistas por daño moral. Estos procesos terminan impactando de manera directa sobre el patrimonio de los periodistas.

  3. ¿Hasta dónde tendríamos que remontarnos para rastrear la genealogía de la situación actual? ¿Ha habido algún cambio, para mejor o para peor, en los últimos tiempos?

  El tema de la publicidad oficial viene de los años 60 y 70; hay una frase muy famosa de un presidente de esa época, José López Portillo (1976-82), que ante los cuestionamientos de un medio le dijo al periodista: “no te pago para que me pegues”. Esta situación es histórica; lo que en los últimos tiempos ha empeorado es la violencia directa, que se ha vuelto más cínica y más desinhibida. Desde el inicio de la guerra contra el narco se han incrementado de manera constante las agresiones contra periodistas, incluidos los asesinatos. Artículo 19 documentó 397 agresiones en 2015, 426 en 2016, y 276 tan solo en el primer semestre de 2017 –un aumento de 23% en relación con el primer semestre del año anterior. Asimismo, en 2015 hubo siete asesinatos, en 2016 once, y este año han sido once hasta el mes de octubre. Cada 15,7 horas un periodista es atacado en el país. La situación se ha vuelto más tensa que nunca, porque ahora tú sabes que cualquier amenaza en tu contra puede significarte la muerte o la desaparición. Actualmente hay 23 periodistas desaparecidos.

  Si bien los casos de extrema violencia se concentran desproporcionadamente en ciertas zonas, en particular en los estados de Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero y Chihuahua, ello no significa que en el resto del país haya más libertad. De hecho, en muchos estados donde se registran menos agresiones físicas también hay más censura indirecta, ejecutada mediante el uso de la publicidad oficial. Nosotros tenemos un mapa de restricciones a la libertad de expresión donde se observa claramente el entramado de estos fenómenos, desde leyes restrictivas y nivel de conectividad a internet, pasando por calificaciones en materia de transparencia, hasta agresiones físicas y asesinatos.

  4. ¿Quiénes son los perpetradores de estas agresiones? ¿Qué responsabilidad le cabe al Estado, que por lo general las adjudica a acciones de actores no estatales?

  Nosotros tenemos cifras que desmienten esas afirmaciones de los funcionarios del Estado: en el 53% de los casos de agresiones documentadas en 2016 el actor perpetrador fue un agente del Estado, en primer lugar en el nivel estadual, seguidamente en el nivel municipal, y finalmente agentes federales. Desde 2007, por lo menos, cada año más de la mitad de las agresiones documentadas proceden del Estado.

  Una forma fundamental de violencia del Estado es precisamente la falta de reconocimiento de que son agentes del Estado quienes están cometiendo buena parte de estas agresiones, lo cual conlleva una impunidad casi absoluta. El Estado insiste en que la responsabilidad es del crimen organizado, aunque las estadísticas de la Fiscalía Especial para la Atención de Delitos Cometidos contra la Libertad de Expresión y del Mecanismo de Protección para Defensores de Derechos Humanos y Periodistas, que son públicas, dicen que el principal perpetrador es el Estado. Con todo, en una sola ocasión escuchamos a un funcionario del Mecanismo de Protección reconocer públicamente y en esas palabras que el Estado es el principal perpetrador de agresiones contra la prensa.

  Esto incide directamente sobre la impunidad. Si bien es cierto que en México hay un nivel de impunidad general de aproximadamente 98,5%, en el caso de las agresiones contra periodistas la impunidad se incrementa hasta el 99,7%. Y ello se debe a que el Estado se niega a investigarse a sí mismo. El hecho de que la Procuración de Justicia depende directamente del Ejecutivo no ayuda en lo más mínimo.

  5. La mayoría de los países que presentan estos niveles de violencia contra periodistas no son democracias, mientras que México cumple con los requisitos mínimos de una democracia electoral. ¿Es México una anomalía? ¿Qué está fallando a nivel del sistema político mexicano?

  México no es realmente una democracia. México ha construido sus cimientos institucionales de manera autoritaria. El Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) permaneció setenta años en el poder y dejó estructuras institucionales muy enraizadas, que permiten por ejemplo que todo siga en pie como si nada hubiera sucedido tras la desaparición de 43 estudiantes [Nota del editor: se trata de los llamados “43 de Ayotzinapa”, estudiantes normalistas que desaparecieron el 26 de septiembre de 2014 cuando iban en camino a una  protesta en el estado de Guerrero, y a quienes se sospecha víctimas de una red de complicidades entre autoridades locales, fuerzas de seguridad y actores no estatales. El caso, aún no resuelto, se ha convertido en emblemático del fenómeno masivo de las desapariciones forzadas en México]. Quienes dominan el Estado no quieren reconocer las restricciones de la libertad de expresión porque la reducción de los flujos de información les resulta muy redituable, ya que les permite penetrar y generar narrativas propias que impactan en la sociedad y les permite mantener el poder.

  México tiene altísimos niveles de desigualdad y pobreza. Donde los niveles de pobreza son mayores, es precisamente donde solamente llegan los medios más vinculados con el Estado. En las zonas con mayores niveles de marginalidad, que en muchos casos tienen una alta proporción de población indígena, no existe ninguna pluralidad informativa. La población recibe la información que el gobierno quiere que reciba. Junto con medios que replican la narrativa gubernamental, estas localidades reciben programas sociales que funcionan como un mecanismo de control y de abuso de poder sobre las comunidades, y que en última instancia son una fuente importante de votos. La falta de transparencia y acceso a la información tiene efectos reales sobre el funcionamiento de la democracia, ya que la población desconoce absolutamente las reglas que rigen los programas sociales y es manipulada de modo que las prestaciones sociales se transforman en contrapartidas del voto. Los efectos de esta situación son amplificados por el simple hecho de que el Programa Prospera atiende a más de 6 millones de familias que se encuentran en extrema pobreza, que han crecido con este programa, y que junto con los beneficios sociales reciben también una narrativa que les dice que las cosas no van tan mal para ellos. Con controles tan efectivos de la información no hay posibilidad de una sociedad capaz de tomar autónomamente decisiones distintas.

  6. ¿Qué está haciendo la sociedad civil para enfrentar estas restricciones?

  En México, la imposibilidad de la sociedad para comunicarse con las instituciones hace de la protesta una forma corriente de diálogo a la fuerza. Pero cada vez más, particularmente en los estados, se utiliza la fuerza para limitar las protestas. Desde Artículo 19 buscamos que no se cierre el espacio de la protesta e intentamos generar redes de observación para monitorear el uso de la fuerza en manifestaciones.

  La sociedad civil organizada también ha tratado de influir sobre las políticas públicas de manera de garantizar la libertad de expresión y el acceso a la información. En los inicios del gobierno del Presidente Peña Nieto se hicieron muchos esfuerzos para, por ejemplo, dar más poderes y otorgar autonomía constitucional al Instituto Nacional de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información y Protección de Datos Personales (INAI) y para producir una ley más robusta para eliminar las trabas al acceso a la información.

  Pero una de las cosas que aprendimos desde la sociedad civil es que si bien es importante tener en el papel instituciones más sólidas y robustas, también es importante poner atención a los procesos de designación de funcionarios, ya que si al frente de una institución como el INAI se coloca a personas que son cómplices del poder, se vuelve a retroceder en todo lo avanzado. Así, hemos denunciado que en su conformación actual, la mayoría de los comisionados del INAI se resisten a la transparencia, en particular en lo que se refiere a casos de violaciones graves de los derechos humanos. Por eso hemos estado impulsando procesos de designación transparentes y abiertos. Hemos logrado articular una coalición de sociedad civil empeñada en la promoción de instituciones más transparentes, robustas y efectivas. La gran batalla que tenemos delante es contra la corrupción y la impunidad, y creemos que solo lograremos avanzar mediante la creación de una fiscalía general de la nación realmente independiente. Hoy por hoy hay muchos obstáculos para que eso suceda, porque la pérdida del manto de impunidad es una posibilidad muy poco atractiva para la mayoría de los políticos.

  Respecto del tema más específico de la protección de periodistas, existen numerosas iniciativas de la sociedad civil, tales como los talleres de seguridad integral que dicta Artículo 19 y que cubren temas tales como identificación de riesgos, protocolos de seguridad, derechos digitales, ética y buenas prácticas, defensa legal y primeros auxilios; y diversas iniciativas impulsadas por coaliciones de sociedad civil de las cuales nosotros participamos tales como #AgendaDePeriodistas, orientada a la formación de una agenda permanente y la definición de un modelo organizacional para representar los intereses de los periodistas; y #RompeElMiedo, una red de monitoreo de la protesta y la cobertura electoral que se activó en las elecciones del 4 de junio de 2017 en varios estados del país con el objeto de minimizar las agresiones que sufre la prensa en contextos electorales.

  Pero todavía falta mucha articulación real y efectiva de la sociedad civil mexicana, de manera que las organizaciones podamos relegar nuestras propias agendas para impulsar conjuntamente agendas estructurales que produzcan cambios reales.

  7. ¿Qué acciones concretas debería adoptar de inmediato el gobierno de México para salvaguardar el espacio cívico, y más concretamente la libertad de expresión?

  Para combatir un problema de Estado se necesita una política de Estado. En lo que se refiere al marco normativo relativo a la libertad de expresión, ante todo deben eliminarse de los códigos penales todos los delitos de expresión. Adicionalmente, reclamamos que se reformen los procedimientos civiles relativos a las demandas de daño moral para que haya un análisis previo que permita determinar los méritos del caso y descartar aquellos en los cuales la demanda busque inhibir la libertad de expresión.

  Se necesita también una ley general de archivos que permita a los periodistas hacer investigaciones reales a través de los mecanismos de acceso a la investigación. Actualmente la gestión archivística no está regulada, de manera que los gobiernos generan la información solamente cuando es solicitada, lo cual da lugar a muchos errores. Adicionalmente, y lo que es aún más grave, hay una política deliberada de ocultamiento y revisionismo histórico: los archivos históricos son censurados, de modo que los periodistas que están investigando por ejemplo violaciones graves de derechos humanos durante la llamada guerra sucia de 1960-1980 ya no tienen acceso a los archivos. [Nota del editor: la entrevistada refiere al conflicto interno que tuvo lugar durante la Guerra Fría, durante el cual el gobierno mexicano respaldado, por Estados Unidos, buscó disolver por la fuerza los movimientos políticos de estudiantes y las guerrillas de izquierda, contra los cuales las fuerzas de seguridad utilizaron tortura sistemática, ejecuciones extrajudiciales y desapariciones forzadas, estimadas estas últimas en aproximadamente 1200].

  Además, deberían imponerse controles judiciales sobre la vigilancia y el acceso a metadatos, que actualmente no existen. Debe hacerse también una reforma estructural de la Fiscalía General de la República que le confiera autonomía real. Debe garantizarse la independencia de los servicios forenses existentes, que actualmente dependen de la Procuraduría, la cual a su vez depende del Ejecutivo. Es un círculo vicioso, de modo tal que las pericias terminan diciendo lo que el poder quiere que digan.

  Respecto de la regulación de la publicidad oficial, a mediados de noviembre de 2017 la Corte Suprema de Justicia ordenó al Congreso aprobar antes de fines de abril de 2018 una ley que reglamente el párrafo octavo del Artículo 134 de la Constitución. Entretanto, seguimos demandando al Ejecutivo la publicación de las cifras desglosadas del gasto en publicidad oficial.

  En lo que se refiere al Mecanismo de Protección, desde Artículo 19 insistimos en que no es necesario que existan mecanismos de protección a nivel local, sino más bien enlaces que permitan articular y coordinar de manera efectiva las medidas de protección para periodistas en todo el territorio. Al mismo tiempo, consideramos que el Mecanismo de Protección tiene que abarcar el combate a la impunidad, es decir, que tiene que articularse efectivamente con la Fiscalía Especial para la Atención de Delitos Cometidos contra la Libertad de Expresión, ya que no se puede hablar de protección mientras no haya un combate decidido a la impunidad. Caso contrario, nos llenaremos de periodistas protegidos pero las agresiones no disminuirán, porque no se está enviando a los perpetradores el mensaje de que atacar o matar a un periodista trae consecuencias.

  Respecto del derecho de protesta, finalmente, luego de las agresiones que sufrieron muchos periodistas cuando cubrían las protestas frente a la inauguración presidencial del presidente Peña Nieto, en 2012, conformamos junto con el gobierno y la comisión de derechos humanos de la Ciudad de México un grupo de trabajo para generar protocolos contra el uso de la fuerza y protocolos de concertación en el marco de las protestas. Su implementación en la Ciudad de México redujo significativamente el número de agresiones no solamente contra la prensa sino también contra manifestantes en general, cosa que no ocurrió en otros estados de la República. De modo que exigimos que se apliquen estos protocolos en los estados. Y por supuesto, ante todo deben eliminarse todas las leyes estaduales que permiten el uso de la fuerza en protestas.

  8. ¿Cuán conectada está la sociedad civil mexicana con sus contrapartes en otras partes del mundo? ¿De qué modo podrían los actores externos apoyar a los activistas y a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en México?

  Hay muchas organizaciones que forman parte de redes internacionales, pero éstas no han sido efectivas para elevar sustancialmente el costo político internacional que las violaciones de derechos le generan al gobierno mexicano. Ha habido, sí, cambios positivos en los últimos años, en el sentido de que la sociedad civil se ha empezado a articular de manera más efectiva con otros sectores en torno de ciertos temas: por ejemplo, el colectivo que impulsa la nueva Fiscalía General incluye no solo a grupos de derechos humanos sino también a grupos de empresarios, y ha echado mano de las redes internacionales, en especial latinoamericanas, para identificar lecciones aprendidas en otros países y aplicarlas en nuestro país.

  Pero se necesitan mayores esfuerzos para generar costos de reputación al gobierno de México por su descuido de los derechos humanos. En ese sentido, es muy simbólico el caso de la Alianza para el Gobierno Abierto (AGA), de la cual México es miembro fundador. Desde la sociedad civil estamos exigiendo a la AGA que saque a México de su Comité Directivo, porque ¿cómo puede nuestro país estar liderando esta iniciativa internacional cuando tiene internamente este panorama que venimos describiendo? Es de un cinismo descarado, y está faltando presión internacional para que esto tenga algún costo.

  • El espacio cívico en México es clasificado por elCIVICUS Monitor en la categoría ‘represivo’, indicativa de la existencia de serias restricciones sobre las libertades de expresión, asociación y reunión pacífica.
  • Visite lapágina web o el perfil deFacebook de ARTICLE 19 México, o siga en Twitter a @article19mex y a @anaruelas.
• Mobilising for a people-centred United Nations

  Guest article by Fergus Watt

• Multistakeholderism: a new way for corporations and their new partners to try to govern the world

  Guest article by Harris Gleckman

• Myanmar: Under the name of democracy, the military rules

  Guest article by Thinzar Shunlei Yi, Advocacy Coordinator, Action Committee for Democracy Development

• NICARAGUA: ‘The protests expressed an articulated demand for genuine democracy, based on respect for the popular will’

  As part of our 2018 report on the theme of reimagining democracy, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and specialists about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score. CIVICUS speaks with Amaru Ruiz about recent protests in Nicaragua, which were severely repressed, with hundreds of citizens killed. Amaru Ruiz is president of Fundación del Río, an environmental organisation that works for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development in the southeast region of Nicaragua, and coordinator of the Nicaraguan Network for Democracy and Local Development (Red Local), a civil society coalition that seeks to strengthen civil society organisations (CSOs) to promote inclusive and equitable local development, influence public policy-making, manage knowledge and promote active citizenship. Both organisations are part of the Articulation of Social Movements and Civil Society, which focuses on the struggle for justice, freedom and democracy in Nicaragua.