Opinions & Features

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Lessons from our work across 2017 to 2022 and implications for our current strategic action

Opinions & Features
  A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS    Dear CIVICUS members and allies At the close of our 2017-2022 Strategic Plan period, we committed to review the most significant outcomes achieved and lessons learnt from its implementation.
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The Civic Space Crisis in Africa and How Civil Society Responds

Opinions & Features
Introduction The state of civic space globally and the environment for civil society continues to deteriorate.
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Cloud Lingers over Sierra Leone’s Election

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Guatemala Clings to Democratic Promise

Opinions & Features
by Inés M.
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MYANMAR: MILITARY JUNTA GETS A FREE PASS

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Climate Change Gets Its Day in Court

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Thailand: Time for Democracy

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Chile: New Constitution in the Hands of the Far Right

Opinions & Features
By Inés Pousadela, Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Celebrating our #1 position on the FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders Monitor

Opinions & Features
Dear members and allies,  CIVICUS has just been recognised as the top-ranking organisation in the annual FAIR SHARE for Women Leaders Monitor.
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Civil society in a world of crisis: An overview of the 2023 State of Civil Society Report

Opinions & Features
Mandeep S.
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Agenda 2030: Why civic participation is key to meeting UN sustainability targets

Opinions & Features
Mandeep S.
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Uzbekistan: A President for Life?

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin Where will you be in 2040? For Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the answer is: in the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace.

Localisation: A Paradigm Shift Towards Local Leadership in the Global South

Opinions & Features
By Deborah Mowesley, Innovation For Change InternIn recent years, words like “localisation” and “locally-led” have garnered significant attention.
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Fiji: Deeper Democracy or Continuing Danger?

Opinions & Features
 It’s been a time of significant change in Fiji following the country’s December 2022 election.
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Sudan conflict marks failure of transition plan

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report On one side is the army, headed by Sudan’s current leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
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Global solidarity needed to address Taliban’s attacks on women’s rights

Opinions & Features
By David Kode, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead at CIVICUS  Matiullah Wesa’s crime was to try to ensure young people got an education in Afghanistan.
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Cuba: elections without choices

Opinions & Features
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist The uncertainty that’s the hallmark of a democratic election was absent on 26 March, the day Cubans were summoned to appoint members of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the country’s legislative body.

Strengthening Citizen Engagement and Participation in the Civic Space: Challenges and Recommendations

Opinions & Features
By Deborah Mowesley, Innovation For Change InternAs an intern at CIVICUS for the past two months, I have had the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the workings of civic engagement and participation.
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Bahrain’s botched whitewashing attempt

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Civil Society a Vital Force for Change Against the Odds

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin and Inés M.
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Georgia: danger averted, for now

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Civic space – the bedrock of democracy – is scarce and contested

Opinions & Features
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief of Programmes, CIVICUS On 29 and 30 March, the US government, in partnership with Costa Rica, Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia, will co-host the second virtual Summit for Democracy.
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Belarus: A Prison State in Europe

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, Editor-in-Chief, CIVICUS Last October, Ales Bialiatski was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Tunisia’s nascent democracy is fast eroding

Opinions & Features
By David Kode, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead at CIVICUS In the space of less than three weeks, Tunisian President Kais Saied has rounded up and arrested at least thirteen people from different walks of life who share one thing in common: they have all publicly criticized the consolidation of power by the president.
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Building Collective Action: Lessons from our Membership Engagement Month

Opinions & Features
A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS    Dear CIVICUS members and allies,    Across 10 November to 10 December last year, we coordinated a series of events to mark our very first ‘Membership Engagement Month’.
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Russia and Ukraine: Civil Society Repression and Response

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, Editor-in-Chief at CIVICUS Over the year since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, on one side of the border civil society has shown itself to be a vital part of the effort to save lives and protect rights – but on the other, it’s been repressed more ruthlessly than ever.
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Nicaragua: An Opportunity for Democratic Solidarity

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Deborah Mowesley’s Internship Reflection Piece

Opinions & Features
Excited to have completed my first month as the Communications Intern at CIVICUS under the Innovation for Change Cluster.
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Venezuela: The End of Civil Society as We Know It?

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Eswatini: Democracy a Matter of Life and Death

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, Editor-in-Chief at CIVICUS Thulani Maseko knew speaking out in Eswatini was a risky business.
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Peru’s Democracy at a Crossroads

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Collective Activism Paying Dividends In Tanzania And Zambia

Opinions & Features
By David Kobe, Advocacy and campaigns Lead for CIVICUS When President Samia Suluhu Hassan took over as President of Tanzania on 19 March 2021, following the death of President John Magufuli, civil society in Tanzania was under siege.
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Year in review – Protesters take to the streets across Africa in 2022 despite restrictions

Opinions & Features
By Ine Van Severen, Civic Space Researcher at CIVICUS Over the past year, protests have been recorded in more than 30 countries across the continent, finds a new global report by the Civicus Monitor.
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Looking ahead: Expanding our efforts to protect civic space

Opinions & Features
A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS Dear CIVICUS members and allies, We were excited to host the CIVICUS Board and representatives from our key networks – Affinity Group of National Associations (AGNA) and the Youth Action Team (YAT) – in Johannesburg this November! It is the first time we have met together in South Africa since the start of the pandemic.
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Women activists are standing up against the assault of the Taliban on rights and freedoms

Opinions & Features
Horia Mosadiq, is an Afghan women human rights defender (HRD) and founder of Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization (SRMO) and a CIVICUS member.
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What can we learn from Brazil’s election?

Opinions & Features
By Ana Addobbati, CIVICUS Board Member and Feminist Activist Photo credit: Andressa Anholete / Getty Images   Brazil has one of the largest democratic populations in the world.
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Supporting grassroots groups better through shifts in resourcing and practices

Opinions & Features
By Nosibabalwe Socikwa, Membership and Network Intern.
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Safety & Cyber Security: 8 Tips for Civil Society Digital Defense

Opinions & Features
The month of October is officially declared as CyberSecurityAwarenessMonth, and the digital age has ushered in a new era of human rights activism, journalism, and social justice.
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CIVICUS At UNGA77: Key Highlights & Takeaways

Opinions & Features
A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS  Dear CIVICUS members and allies,  For the first time in three years, this September, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session and associated meetings were organised in person.
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Uyghur Violations a Litmus Test for Global Governance and Rules-Based International Order

Opinions & Features
By Mandeep Tiwana, Head of Programs and United Nations Representative at CIVICUS This week is a momentous one for the world’s premier human rights body.
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9/11’s anti-human rights legacy in Eswatini

Opinions & Features
By Kgalalelo Gaebee, Communications Officer and David Kode, Lead of Advocacy and Campaigns at CIVICUS Twenty-one years on, the legacy of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 still reverberate.
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CIVICUS' New Strategic Period: A Time to Actively Engage Members and Allies

Opinions & Features
A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS Dear CIVICUS members and allies, On July 1st, we marked the beginning of a new strategy period for the CIVICUS alliance.

Dialogue to Protect Young People in Civic Space

Opinions & Features
The UN High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace-Processes
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Stronger Together: Strengthening the Dynamic Accountability Community of Practice

Opinions & Features
Summary of our consultation and the way forward Full consultation report The Dynamic Accountability Community of Practice (DACoP) is a joint initiative by Restless Development, CIVICUS, and Accountable Now as the Secretariat of the Global Standard Partnership.
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Chad’s transition to nowhere

Opinions & Features
By Ine Van Severan, Civic Space Researcher & David Kode, Lead of Advocacy and Campaigns cluster Chad’s return to civilian rule is under threat.
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This Mandela Day lets redouble efforts to free imprisoned human rights defenders

Opinions & Features
By Benjamin Tonga and Mandeep Tiwana On 18 July, people in South Africa and around the world will mark Nelson Mandela Day to commemorate the courage and sacrifice of one of the greatest political leaders and human rights defenders of our times.
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Food crisis promises a global wave of unrest

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, Editor-In-Chief at CIVICUS For the past couple of weeks, mass protests have brought the South American nation of Ecuador to a standstill.
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Tunisia on the brink: swift action needed to halt democratic erosion

Opinions & Features
By David Kode, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead at CIVICUS Tunisia will slide further into authoritarianism if nothing is done by the international community – and especially Tunisia’s main allies, the US and the EU before a crucial referendum is held in a month’s time.
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Are you a good grassroots ally? Think twice about it

Opinions & Features
By Yessenia Soto, Community Engagement Officer on Civil Society Resourcing We are witnessing a widespread recognition of the importance to shift power to local communities, localise resources and agendas, decolonise aid, make philanthropy more participatory and trust based.
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Five takeaways from the 2022 State of Civil Society Report

Opinions & Features
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Programmes Officer at CIVICUS 2022 is halfway through.

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