Interviews

Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

SWEDEN: ‘Swedish civil society needs to defend democracy at the grassroots level on a daily basis’

Interviews
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.
Featured

CIVIL SOCIETY ACCOUNTABILITY: ‘As civic space is under attack, building trust in civil society is more urgent than ever’

Interviews
Español 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.
Featured

THE MALDIVES: ‘Civic space is practically nonexistent now’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Shahindha Ismail, Executive Director of the Maldivian Democracy Network, about the ongoing crackdown on dissent and the upcoming presidential elections in the Maldives.
Featured

BINDING TREATY: ‘It's not a silver bullet, but it will be a step forward in regulating excessive transnational corporate power’

Interviews
Spanish  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.
Featured

Tanzania: ‘People can’t say what they want to say’

Interviews
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.
Featured

SLOVENIA: ‘A fragmented political reality’

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

South Sudan: ‘Our current regime is democratic only on paper, not in practice’

Interviews
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.
Featured

West Papua, Indonesia: Failure to implement human rights protections in law contributes to violations

Interviews
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.
Featured

‘People are eager to use any opportunities at hand to influence decision-making’

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

EGYPT: ‘The security-first approach is not working’

Interviews
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.
Featured

‘Democracy dies when no one works at keeping it alive’

Interviews
As part of our 2018 report on the theme of reimagining democracy, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders and their allies about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score.
Featured

IRAN: Political humour as a tool against authoritarian regimes

Interviews
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.
Featured

‘Democracy is a struggle that never ends’

Interviews
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.
Featured

‘Most of what you hear is noise and government propaganda’

Interviews
  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.
Featured

‘What is underway is the promotion of an unequal society’

Interviews
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.
Featured

‘We are increasingly seeing the dark side of civil society’

Interviews
  Ahead of the publication of the 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 in doing so.
Featured

‘Civil society needs a compelling counter-narrative’

Interviews
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.
Featured

Des citoyen(ne)s responsables peuvent devenir des sentinelles de la démocratie

Interviews
English En vue de la publication du Rapport sur l'état de la société civile 2018 sur le thème de « Réinventer la démocratie », nous parlons et échangeons avec des activistes et des leaders de la société civile à propos de leur travail pour promouvoir les principes et des pratiques démocratiques, sur les défis qu'ils rencontrent et les victoires qu'ils obtiennent.
Featured

‘We are an activist group that seeks to restore faith in democracy’

Interviews
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 governance, the challenges they encounter in doing so, and the victories they score.
Featured

‘People have power, even if they don’t usually feel like they do’

Interviews
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.
Featured

‘Cuando los migrantes son ciudadanos de segunda, se degrada la democracia’

Interviews
English En vistas de la publicación del Informe 2018 sobre el Estado de la Sociedad Civil, que girará en torno del tema “Reimaginar la Democracia”, estamos dialogando con líderes, activistas y especialistas de la sociedad civil para comprender su labor en la promoción de prácticas y principios democráticos, los desafíos que enfrentan y los logros alcanzados.
Featured

‘#MeToo is a feminist movement and feminism perfects democracy’

Interviews
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 governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

‘Democracy is not failing the American people - politicians are’

Interviews
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 governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

Fed up with corruption, civil society organises Malawians to take to the streets

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Timothy Pagonachi Mtambo, a human rights defender and the ex-ecutive director of Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) in Malawi.
Featured

The Irish referendum, an exercise in deliberative democracy

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘Reimagining Democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and others about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score in doing so.
Featured

‘People invested in wanting a change’ – civil society and the Malaysia elections

Interviews
Malaysia’s May election saw the ruling party defeated for the first time in 61 years, amid widespread public anger about corruption.
Featured

Silence by the international community gives Israel the green light to continue its human rights violations

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Amjad Al Shawi about the disproportionate use of force and extreme violence against peaceful protesters in Gaza and the reasons why the world cannot remain silent about these monstrous acts.
Featured

Burundi referendum a blatant violation of its Constitution

Interviews
Ahead of the controversial referendum scheduled to take place in Burundi on 17 May 2018, CIVICUS speaks to human rights lawyer and civil society activist Janvier Bigirimana about the referendum’s implications for democracy.
Featured

Case of Zambia’s 42-for-42 tests freedom of expression and assembly

Interviews
On May 17, six Zambia activists, civil society leader’s and a musician will appear before the magistrates in Court 3 in the capital Lusaka.
Featured

Syria’s CSO sector and population buckle under humanitarian crisis

Interviews
Following the chemical attack in Syria and the subsequent airstrikes on Syria by the United States, United Kingdom and France, CIVICUS interviews a representative of The Arguendo Initiative about the humanitarian crisis and human rights violations taking place in Ghouta, Syria.
Featured

Filipino activists stand firm after government adds them to list of terrorists

Interviews
The Philippines government recently listed activists and a UN Special Rapporteur as terrorists and has threatened to pull out of the International Criminal Court.
Featured

Another puzzling break-in prompts Uganda CSO to move operations to police station

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Human Rights Awareness and Protection Forum (HRAPF) executive director Adrian Jjuuko (pictured) after their offices were broken into recently.
Featured

‘La presencia de mujeres en espacios de representación política es buena no solo para las mujeres sino también para la democracia’

Interviews
English En noviembre de 2017 Argentina aprobó una ley de paridad de género con el objeto de garantizar un 50% de representación femenina en su Congreso Nacional.
Featured

‘Opaque laws, erratic application of rules and lengthy bureaucratic processes cost lives during a humanitarian response'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Jeremy Wellard, Regional Representative for Asia of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).
Featured

We believe in citizens taking action on the issues that affect their lives, without needing vast resources

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Katherine Baird, International Projects Manager at the Change.
Featured

‘A diferencia del Brexit, la demanda independentista catalana tiene un componente democratizador’

Interviews
English CIVICUS conversa sobre la situación en Cataluña con Anaïs Franquesa Griso, abogada penalista especializada en derechos humanos y movimientos sociales y Directora de Litigio de Irídia, Centro para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos.
Featured

‘The anti-corruption protests have turned the inhabitants of Romania into a whole new generation of alert citizens’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Viorel Micescu, Executive Director of CENTRAS: The Assistance for Non-Governmental Organizations, an independent non-profit organisation aimed at contributing to the development of democracy in Romania through the strengthening of civil society.
Featured

‘Democracy is much more than street protest and institutional politics, and Hong Kong people are now resisting in all possible and impossible ways’

Interviews
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 governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

‘Civil society won the debate on inequality but still needs to win the actual fight against it"

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Ben Phillips, Launch Director of the Fight Inequality Alliance, a growing movement of citizens from across the world uniting to take on the crisis of widening inequality, and build a world that works for all.
Featured

United States: ‘Even in challenging times, civil society needs to be proactive in setting the agenda"

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Nick Robinson, a legal advisor at the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) and lead of their United States Program.
Featured

Catalonia: ‘It might take years to rebuild the political, social and emotional bridges that the pro-independence process has blown up’

Interviews
Catalonia’s independence movement hit the headlines in 2017, and Catalonia’s future remains undecided.
Featured

Nigeria: ‘If passed, the NGO Bill will reduce the ability of CSOs to hold the government accountable and ensure that human rights are respected’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Oluseyi Babatunde Oyebisi, Director of the Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO) about the draconian NGO bill under consideration by Nigerian lawmakers and the implications that it would have for civil society.
Featured

‘Against hopelessness, we need to work not to lose the very small windows of freedom that we can find under this dictatorship’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to an Iranian woman human rights defender about the causes and significance of the recent protests in Iran, as well as the prospects for change in a country with a closed civic space and a theocratic government that maintains a firm grip on power.
Featured

‘There are signs of hope, but we are not waiting with our arms crossed but pushing for reforms that improve our lives’

Interviews
Angola saw a change at the top in 2017, when President José Eduardo dos Santos stepped down after a staggering 38 years in power, to be replaced by President Joao Lourenco.
Featured

‘The idea that a certain group does not belong in a country is instrumental in enabling discrimination and persecution against it’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Susannah Sirkin, director of international policy and partnerships and senior advisor with Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
Featured

‘Market discourse has captured the development agenda to a point that may be incompatible with UN mandates’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Barbara Adams, senior policy analyst at the Global Policy Forum (GPF), an independent policy watchdog that monitors the work of the United Nations and scrutinises global policy-making.
Featured

‘If citizens are not able to recognise what is going on and mobilise, Romania will very likely join the club of ‘illiberal democracies’ of the region’

Interviews
The special theme of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report will be ‘reimagining democracy’.

Sign up for our newsletters

Our Newsletters

civicus logo white

CIVICUS is a global alliance that champions the power of civil society to create positive change.

brand x FacebookLogo YoutubeLogo InstagramLogo LinkedinLogo

 

Headquarters

25  Owl Street, 6th Floor

Johannesburg
South Africa
2092

Tel: +27 (0)11 833 5959


Fax: +27 (0)11 833 7997

UN Hub: New York

CIVICUS, c/o We Work

450 Lexington Ave

New York
NY
10017

United States

UN Hub: Geneva

11 Avenue de la Paix

Geneva

Switzerland
CH-1202

Tel: +41 (0)79 910 3428