By Natalia Gomez Peña, Advocacy & Network Engagement Officer, Vuka! Secretariat For the family of indigenous Guatemalan activist Jorge Juc, the announcement last week by US President Donald Trump of an agreement declaring Guatemala a “safe third country” could not be more bitterly ironic.

By Paul Mulindwa, an advocacy and campaigns officer with CIVICUS.

By Andrew Firmin & Sylvia Mbataru Human rights have always been contested, and groups that attack human rights are nothing new.

By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Programmes Officer at CIVICUS Recent raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the homes and offices of human rights lawyers Anand Grover and Indira Jaising are deeply worrying.

Por Marianna Belalba Barreto y Belén Giaquinta Todxs aquellos interesados en la interfaz entre derechos humanos y la tecnología sabrán que el mes pasado se celebró RightsCon 2019 en Túnez.

This article is part of the #StoriesOfResilience series, coordinated by CIVICUS to feature groups and activists on their journey to promote better resourcing practices for civil society and to mobilise meaningful resources to sustain their work.

By Paul Mulindwa, an advocacy and campaigns officer with CIVICUS.

Spanish | French Diversity and Inclusion has become a hot topic within civil society in recent years which has prompted the sector to take a step back and evaluate its own programmes and operations.

By Jimm Chick Fomunjong, Head, Knowledge Management Unit, WACSI Civil society organisations (CSOs) across the globe thrive on the implementation of best practices.

By Helene Wolf, Chair, FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders Half of the delegates at CIVICUS’ International Civil Society Week (April, Belgrade) were women.

By Gioel Gioacchino, research consultant with CIVICUS As a keynote speaker at a global gathering of a thousand activists and NGO workers in Belgrade in April, the host of a popular Serbian television spoof news show, Zoran Kesic performed 24 minutes of brilliant (and cathartic) satire.

Dear members & friends of CIVICUS, The past weeks have been a busy but exciting time for a number of our networks and initiatives! We were proud to have hosted over 80 activists representing work on civic freedoms from across the world in Johannesburg in May for a dialogue with Clement Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association (FoAA).

By Dinah Sandoval & Alexis Banks, Root Change This article is part of the #StoriesOfResilience series, coordinated by CIVICUS to feature groups and activists on their journey to promote better resourcing practices for civil society and to mobilise meaningful resources to sustain their work.

By Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS.

Did you know that most youth-led groups and movements operate with an annual budget of less than 10,000 USD? It´s known that young people in the activism and development sector in the Global South face significant resourcing challenges: little capacity to attract funding and comply with donor requirements; ​restricted social, political and economic spaces to participate and grow; extensive gaps between the funds available to serve youth versus those managed directly by youth, and significant disparities between the resourcing opportunities that target young individual leaders within groups and movements rather than to the group itself, just to mention a few.

By Mohammed Eid This story was facilitated by CIVICUS.

By Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS.

By Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS.

  More than 80 representatives of civil society organisations, community leaders and academics met in Johannesburg on 30-31 May and on 3 June with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Assembly, Clément Voule to discuss the impact of restrictions on freedom of assembly and association on sustainable development.

  FRENCH For those of us who were in Belgrade a few weeks ago, it is hard to think of April as anything but the culmination of months of preparation towards the International Civil Society Week (ICSW).

By Augustine Macarthy, Sierra Leone Last month, I had the opportunity to attend International Civil Society Week 2019 (ICSW).

On 17 May, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), we will hosted a Youth for Diversity webinar under the theme "South-South experiences on the human rights of LGBTIQ+ youth.

By Caroline Vernaillen, Democracy International When it comes to global issues, citizens have to trust that their governments will do their bidding.

By Masana Ndinga-Kanga, Crisis Response Fund Lead with CIVICUS.

French  by Anabel Cruz, Board Chair 2016-2019 In early 1993, democracy was rather “young” in many parts of the world.

FRENCH By Yessenia Soto, Community Engagement Officer on Civil Society Resourcing, CIVICUS The Change the Game Academy provides classroom training on local fundraising to CSOs.

The world is filled with injustice, hate speech, violence and oppression.

By Uma Mishra-Newbery, Interim Executive Director of Women’s March Global, which is a founding member of the Free Saudi Women Coalition & Kristina Stockwood works with the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) This article was facilitated by CIVICUS as part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs) Amid a high-profile public relations campaign to convince the world just how much the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is modernising – highlighted in last year’s lifting of the ban on women driving – Saudi authorities continue their relentless persecution of women human rights defenders.

By Mawethu Nkosana, Crisis Response Fund Administrator at CIVICUS Romanian Adrian Coman and his American-born partner Clai Hamilton had two major reasons to celebrate when they tied the knot last June.

By Mohammad Issa, Yes Theatre, Palestine, CIVICUS Voting Organisation Member Some people say that our world is a mess right now.

Par DJOWAMON  A.

Strengthening Civil Society Membership Platform By Sin Putheary, Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, AGNA and CIVICUS voting organizational member Coming from the largest and longest established membership-based organization in Cambodia, I have a privilege to be part of International Civil Society Week (ICSW) in Belgrade, Serbia while several other colleagues of civil society are not able to physically present themselves at the conference due to visa issues.

Have you been wondering what’s up withCIVICUS’ accountability actions? Are you looking for examples and opportunities to strengthen your own organisation’s accountability or connect with others to take more concrete accountability steps? Then, this blog is for you!

FRENCH  By Lesego Moshikaro and Yessenia Soto This article is part of the #StoriesOfResilience series, coordinated by CIVICUS to feature groups and activists on their journey to promote better resourcing practices for civil society and to mobilise meaningful resources to sustain their work.

Por Gloria Gonzalez Navarro y Enrique Blanco Lozada (Asociación Kusi Warma) Los cambios o impactos sociales suelen estar acompañados de adversidades de nuestro ambiente, las cuales evidentemente deben ser enfrentadas con esfuerzo.

By Laura Brown, Movement and Network Capacity Manager at Womankind Worldwide Last week I attended the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) conference in Belgrade hosted by CIVICUS.

FRENCH This article is part of the #StoriesOfResilience series, coordinated by CIVICUS to feature groups and activists on their journey to promote better resourcing practices for civil society and to mobilise meaningful resources to sustain their work.

By Mouna Ben Garga, Innovation Officer CIVICUS This article is part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs), the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW) Sometimes a peak into the future reminds us just how stuck we are in the past and present.

By Lysa John, CIVICUS Secretary General  This article is part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which is the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW) It is an incredible privilege to welcome you all to the ‘International Civil Society Week’.

By Susan Wilding, Head of Geneva, CIVICUS  This article is part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which is the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW)   Anti-government protesters invading Serbia’s state-owned television station, demanding that their voices be heard.

By Josef Benedict Civic Space Researcher, CIVICUS This article is part of a series on the state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which is the focus of International Civil Society Week Around the globe, cyberspace has become the new battleground in the fight for the heart and soul of democracy.

  By Josef Benedict Civic Space Researcher, CIVICUS This article is part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which will be the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW).

  By Alina Tiphagne, Human Rights Defenders Alert (HRDA) In just under a week, the world’s largest democracy, India, will vote to elect and constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.

  By Soulayma Mardam Bey and Jack Cornforth, CIVICUS In recent years, “Resilience” has made its way into international development’s buzzword bingo board.

By Natalia Gomez Peña, CIVICUS Advocacy & Engagement Officer This article is has been produced in partnership with CIVICUS in the context of the International Civil Society Week conference 2019, held this year in Belgrade, Serbia.

By Micahel Frost, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, and a speaker at the International Civil Society Week, 8-12 April 2019, in Belgrade, Serbia This article is part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which will be the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW)  They are ordinary people – mothers, fathers, sisters, sons, daughters, brothers, friends.

By Lysa John, CIVICUS Secretary General This article is part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which will be the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW), scheduled to take place in Belgrade, April 8-12.

By  Patricia Deniz, Senior Research and Development Officer CIVICUS  Civil society, more than ever, is in dire need to reinvent itself, at least figure out how to be flexible, adaptable and resurgent in an ever-changing, uncertain and increasingly restrictive environment.

By David Kode, CIVICUS Advocacy and Campaigns Lead  The timing could not have been more perfect for Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi.

FRANÇAIS It has been a little over 60 days since I took on my new role with CIVICUS and the question I get asked most frequently is: How does it feel to be SG? Fortunately, this query has an easy answer! It involves being reminded on a daily basis of the need to celebrate and reinforce efforts taken to defend and strengthen rights-based values and freedoms by individuals and organisations worldwide.