Enabling and amplifying action for civic space and inclusive democracy
The rise of digital technology has provided significant opportunities to expand inclusive democracy – boosting civic participation, global solidarity, movement building and access to information beyond imagination! But these opportunities have been matched by new tactics and tools for increased surveillance, disinformation and harassment. Autocratic actors are now deploying internet shutdowns, online censorship and cyber security laws to continue attacking democracy and civic space around the world and limit the vital roles of civil society.
CIVICUS is harnessing the power of its diverse global alliance to help civil society respond to these new challenges. We joined the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) and are working closely with Global Focus to implement the project ‘Enabling and amplifying action for civic space and inclusive democracy.’ This project will drive support to ensure that civil society – particularly marginalised actors in Global South countries where civic space is obstructed or repressed – is better prepared to use digital technology for civic engagement and to expand inclusive democracy and civic space.
What is the Digital Democracy Initiative?
The Digital Democracy Initiative is an ambitious global effort funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the European Union and implemented in partnership with Access Now, CIVICUS, Digital Defenders Partnership and Global Focus. DDI’s goal is to support civil society around the world to continue strengthening civic space and promoting inclusive democracy in the digital age through two mutually reinforcing streams:
Enable local civil society in the Global South to utilise digital technology in order to amplify efforts to promote inclusive democracy. (Led by CIVICUS and Global Focus)
Defend and protect civil society and inclusive democracy by promoting stronger rights-focused policies and standards on digital technologies and improved security provision for civil society. (Led by Access Now and Digital Defenders Partnership)
What We Are Doing
CIVICUS and Global Focus are helping enable and amplify action for civic space and inclusive democracy through three areas of work designed to achieve structural, organisational and collective change. These prioritise local leadership and agendas by giving local actors grants, tools and other resources to steer and implement activities:
1
Improving the support infrastructure and ecosystem for pro-democratic local civil society and digital-driven civic action.
We are helping local actors map and assess the support ecosystems for civil society, develop and test new prototypes for financial and non-financial support, and conduct policy and advocacy efforts to improve these ecosystems and increase the support for local pro-democracy civil society.
2
Strengthening core and digital capacities of local civil society.
We are providing local actors with tools, resources, and technical accompaniment to identify their unique needs, interests, opportunities and risks in using digital technologies for civic action. Additionally, we offer resources to implement capacity-strengthening plans and pilot digital tools, frameworks and approaches to strengthen inclusive democracy offline and online.
3
Creating opportunities for larger and more diverse local civil society groups to engage in collective testing, learning, and sharing among peers.
We are creating knowledge-sharing tools and spaces for reflection and learning to monitor and document the outcomes of the pilot interventions under DDI. These aim to boost innovation transference and collective learning across geographies on approaches to expanding civic space and inclusive democracy.
Enable and Amplify Project in Action!
The ‘Enable and Amplify’ project is being carried out in seven major regions around the world – Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, the Pacific, South Asia and East Asia – with a special focus in Global South countries where civic space is obstructed or repressed (visit the CIVICUS Monitor to see a list of these countries). Check out some specific initiatives we are working on:
A group of partner organisations is conducting regional explorations with local civil society across Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, the Pacific, South Asia, and East Asia to identify context-specific needs and opportunities to use digital technology to promote inclusive democracy. The results from these explorations will inform the co-design of new potential mechanisms to channel financial and non-financial resources to advance the digital resiliency of civil society in each region .
The inclusive and needs-based financial and non-financial support mechanisms co-designed by local civil society will be tested and implemented at the regional level. In every region, the mechanisms will provide a range of support instruments, including subgrants, learning resources and opportunities, and technical accompaniment to build core organisational capacities and digital skills related to action on civic space and inclusive democracy. Regional host partners will receive financial, strategic, institutional and advocacy support to launch these mechanisms and promote their long-term sustainability.
This project will provide regional grants to promote the development of local innovations that use digital technologies to expand civic space and inclusive democracy, for example, through hack-a-thons and campaign co-designs. The grants will also help adapt and test these innovations in different contexts and share experiences across regions to show how the initiatives were adapted and applied in disparate local contexts and their outcomes.
The Digital Democracy Initiative and the CIVICUS Crisis Response Fund offer new resiliency grants for civil society actors whose civic freedoms are under attack and who could use digital technology to counter these threats and continue their work. Funding applications are accepted throughout the year!
The Digital Action Lab is a new and dynamic space to empower civil society partners in countries facing restricted civic space. It offers tailored coaching to develop core and digital skills, funding and other resources to implement projects that help expand inclusive democracy and learning and networking opportunities. Click to learn more
We are creating a comprehensive knowledge hub that will provide information, tools and other knowledge resources resulting from all DDI projects and beyond to promote collective learning and sharing across regions. These materials will include mapping studies, case studies, infographics, guides, toolkits, checklists, templates, videos and podcasts about digital technology’s challenges, opportunities, and impact on civic engagement and inclusive democratic space. They will be available in localised, diverse and accessible formats.
Engage
If you want to receive update and engagement opportunities from the Digital Democracy Initiative, please join our mailing list:
For more information about DDI, email us at:
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