June 2022 marks the end of Board service for some long serving CIVICUS’s Board members. The election process to bring on board new Board members is now officially open. This presents an important opportunity for CIVICUS members and partners to be involved in the governance of the Alliance and in steering the implementation of the revised CIVICUS strategic plan.

We are searching for up to eight committed, diverse and passionate civil society leaders who will join the remaining Board members to govern the CIVICUS Alliance from July 2022 to June 2025. 

You can nominate yourself or another Voting Member here by midnight GMT+2, Wednesday, 16 March 2022. We particularly encourage nominations of representatives from youth and traditionally excluded communities.

Time commitment required for Board work: 

Much of CIVICUS Board’s work revolves around key meetings and Committee responsibilities. 

1. Board meetings: During “normal times”, the CIVICUS Board holds 2 in-person Board meetings each year. Each meeting lasts 2 full days (excluding travel time). This well-established pattern was disrupted in 2020 and 2021 due to international travel restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board opted to hold 3 online meetings spread through the year. The meetings were spread over a 3 day period for at least 3 hours each day. 
2.  Committee responsibilities: In addition to attending Board meetings, all members of the Board are expected to serve in at least 1 committee. The Board has a total of 3 Committees. If you are nominated by Board colleagues as a Board official, you will by default be part of the Executive Committee, which means 1 extra committee. Committees hold online meetings about 4 – 5 times a year, each lasting anywhere from 1 – 2 hours. 
3.  Other responsibilities: There may be instances where Board members are requested to attend national, regional and international convenings on behalf of CIVICUS, especially where these convenings also happen to be of immediate interest or relevance to the selected member.   

The Nominations Committee of the Board to oversee the 2022 Board elections consists of four current Board members and one external member representing a CIVICUS network. They are:

The Nominations Committee will vet and present up to at least 16 qualifying candidates to the Membership for elections. In selecting the candidates, the Committee will be guided by a wide variety of factors. These may in addition to a more standardised criteria outlined below, include regional or sector representation, youth candidates, and traditionally excluded groups among others.

In order to stand for Board election or vote for a preferred candidate, you must be an individual CIVICUS Voting member or a nominated representative of an organisation with CIVICUS Voting member status.

We welcome all civil society actors who demonstrate that they are committed to strengthening civil society and citizen action, adhere to the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and use peaceful means to pursue their objectives.

Further criteria considered by the Nominations Committee will include:

• An active commitment to and support for CIVICUS’ Mission, Vision and Goals, Commitment to the principles of accountability, diversity and inclusion that we value and represent as an alliance
• Ability to devote the time and energy to responsibilities of the Board, including regular attendance at meetings, serving on sub-committees of the Board and representing CIVICUS externally where needed
• Contribution to our strategic vision by providing direction and inputs to the development of a strategic plan that is backed by measurable goals and financial resources
• Willingness to understand, accept and comply with Board responsibilities and policies
• Support to shared outcomes needed through teamwork, enthusiasm, innovation and candidness
• Support to advancing the learning and achievements of the alliance through critical insights and judgements

In order to be eligible to stand for election, you will need to be a verified CIVICUS voting member by 18 March 2022.

Details on the legal duties of CIVICUS Board members can be found here. Please contact John Mang’ana at for further information on the CIVICUS Board or the elections process.

Please see the following section on how to become a Voting member.