Opinions & Features

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A Free and Diverse Media is Essential to Protecting Democracy in the 21st Century

Opinions & Features
By Danny Sriskandarajah Images of protestors flooding the streets – whether in Caracas, Bucharest, Istanbul or Washington DC – send a powerful message to those in power, especially when they are plastered across newspaper front pages.
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Togetherness Against the Riptide of Restrictions

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By Ellie Stephens and Katie Mattern We’ve all heard it repeated multiple times in our lives:  we all work better together.
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Journalists on the front lines of global assault

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By Cathal Gilbert, David Kode and Teldah Mawarire With reporters under attack the world over, it is imperative that citizens rally to protect press freedom.
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How do we make sure older people aren’t left behind?

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People around the world are living longer.
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The CIVICUS Monitor – global data provides picture of a global crackdown

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By Cathal Gilbert, Dom Perera and Marianna Belalba Today we launch ratings for all UN Member States on the CIVICUS Monitor – the first ever online tool specifically designed to track and rate respect for civic space, in as close to real time as possible.
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Democracy campaigner: governments are scared of the participation revolution

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Closing space for civil society is undermining the ability of citizens to organise and mobilise.
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How to Undermine Democracy – Curtail Civil Society Rights

Opinions & Features
By Cathal Gilbert, Dom Perera, and Marianna Belalba Recent elections and referendums in a growing number of countries from Turkey to the USA and beyond are producing leaders and policies, which directly threaten some of the core principles of democracy.
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Backsliding on civic space in democracies

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By Mandeep Tiwana It’s no secret that democracy is facing a global stress test.
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Can Democracy Stand Up to the Cult of the Strongman Leader?

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By Mandeep Tiwana and Andrew Firmin Donald Trump’s presidency, recent protests in Russia and South Africa and the referendum to consolidate presidential power in Turkey have reignited debate about an emerging form of macho conservative politics called ‘Putinism’.

Gender and inclusion in civic space

Opinions & Features
Just after International Women’s Day this year, Amal Clooney, accomplished international human rights lawyer, addressed the UN.
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Global assault on our basic freedoms signposts a dangerous return to the past

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By Danny Sriskandarajah Ask yourself these four questions.

A Day Without CIVICUS Women

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About 66% of CIVICUS’ staff are women.

A Day Without Women Minorities

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After Trump took office and the world was reeling in shock, it was women* who organized a worldwide women’s march to come together in solidarity.

A Day Without a Woman in the USA

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The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day seems to match the current sentiment around much of the globe.

A Day Without a Woman in Tunisia

Opinions & Features
Before the Tunisian Revolution, International Women’s Day centered around a major state-sponsored festival in which artists and government officials celebrated the progressive Code of Personal Status (CPS) promulgated in 1957 under President Habib Bourguiba.

A Day Without a Woman in South Africa

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Wathint’ abafazi,wathint’ imbokodo – When you strike a woman, you strike a rock – was the battle cry of women who marched to the Union Buildings in South Africa in 1956, and it has echoed through the ages and continues to ring true today.
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Women’s bodies are the battleground for civil liberties

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By Teldah Mawarire and Sara Brandt Around the world, civic spaces are shrinking.
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Solidarity across frontlines: why CIVICUS is supporting the International Women’s Strike

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At a time when right wing ultra nationalism threatens to usher in a new era of regressive patriarchal politics, the International Women’s Strike reminds us of the power of civil societies to resist.
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Don't lecture the Americans about our values. Demonstrate them.

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By Danny Sriskandarajah and Julia Sanchez  There has never been a better time for Canada to show progressive leadership globally in support of inclusive and open societies that respect human rights.
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Against all odds: Civil society under fire

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By Danny Sriskandarajah Civil society is under fire—sometimes literally—in many countries and in all regions of the world.
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In a time of exclusion, making space for Faith Based Organizations

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By Amjad Mohamed Saleem For many people around the world, faith is embedded in cultures, practices and communities.
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Sustainable development for all ages

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By Danny Sriskandarajah It’s a global phenomenon, already exerting a profound social and economic impact in both rich and poor countries.

Leave no person with disabilities behind

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By Leave No One Behind Partneship and ADD International Pushpa Rani had pneumonia when she was eight years old, which left her extremely weak.

OGP must protect space for people power - before it is too late

Opinions & Features
By Cathal Gilbert  In some Open Government Partnership (OGP) member countries, the threats to peaceful dissent and activism are extremely grave.

We need a new social movement against inequality

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By Danny Sriskandarajah Oxfam’s latest estimate that just eight super-rich people – down from 62 last year and 388 just six years ago – own more wealth than the poorest half of the world population is a clarion call to change the way we think about and try to tackle inequality.
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The business case for civic space

Opinions & Features
By Danny Sriskandarajah The long-term health of all societies depends on the ability of individuals to come together to share new ideas, promote social cohesion and advance shared interests for mutual benefit.

Reasons to be hopeful: Five moments that inspired us in 2016

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The year 2016 was a difficult year in so many ways for those who believe in democratic values, fundamental human rights and social justice.
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Importance of protest in a Trump United States

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By Elizabeth Stephens  In a speech shortly after the November election, President Barack Obama urged anti-Trump protesters not to be silent.
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Under threat: five countries in which civic space is rapidly closing

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By Danny Sriskandarajah The closing of civic space is not just about people’s right to organize or protest in individual countries.
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Why Trump, Brexit and populism could be an opportunity

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By Danny Sriskandarajah Many of the business and political leaders gathering in Davos this week will be focused on how to protect the global economic order - and their interests - after a year of major political and social upheavals.

The death of Baek Nam-gi: tragic local story connects to troubling global trend

Opinions & Features
By Gayoon Baek On the 25th of September 2016, a 70-year old farmer died in South Korea of a brain haemorrhage after 317 days unconscious.

Monitoring, first step to halt shrinking civic space

Opinions & Features
By Bihter Moschini In 2015, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Tunisian civil society.
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Natural resource activists are paying a heavy price

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By Danny Sriskandarajah and Elisa Peter  Today, natural resource campaigners are facing increasingly virulent push-back from political leaders and powerful corporations intent on defending vested interests.

Sioux protests and the protection of human rights in the United States

Opinions & Features
Español By Tor Hodenfield Tribal leaders’ protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota have been showing how both environmental and human rights are so difficult to defend in the US.

As much as it is a time of struggle and shrinking space, it is also a time for hope and revolution

Opinions & Features
30 members of the Affinity Group of National Associations (AGNA) gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa for a peer learning exchange.

We need to safeguard civic space

Opinions & Features
By Danny Sriskandarajah For those of us interested in social justice, democracy and human rights around the world, this Human Rights Day comes at the end of an annus horribilis.

Global gender goals: achieving local impact

Opinions & Features
By Davis Adieno  Demand is growing for gender data and targeted solutions for challenges unique to women, men, girls or boys.

About grantmaking and effective interventions

Opinions & Features
By Ine Van Severen Imagine the following scenario: as a donor you come across an informal community group with a great idea that would substantially benefit the community.
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Five trends in civil society

Opinions & Features
By Danny Sriskandarajah Around the world, the freedom of citizens to protest, to mobilise and to speak out is being contested and restricted.
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Civil society resourcing: “Revolutions do not occur because of good project proposals”

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By  Ine Van Severen It’s undeniable: the space for civil society organisations (CSOs) and philanthropy is shrinking.
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Fiji’s role in leaving no-one behind in sustainable development

Opinions & Features
By Danny Sriskandarajah It is now confirmed that Fiji will be chairing the next United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 23) in Bonn, Germany.
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Movement builds to stop Congo’s president from postponing election

Opinions & Features
By David Kode  The Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, is grappling with a political crisis, following a move by the Constitutional Court affirming the electoral commission’s decision to postpone the date for the next presidential elections by 16 months.

Extractive Resources – An Alternative Source of Funding?

Opinions & Features
By Aimi Zhou The open session during the second day of the Global Summit on Community Philanthropy centred on a rarely discussed, but frequently controversial topic: communities receiving funding from extractive companies.
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“Dead Men Don’t Vote” in Gambia

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By David Kode  “Dead men don’t vote,” said a Gambian political activist known as Mama Africa.
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Why Global Efforts To Tackle Climate Change And Sustainable Development Must ‘Leave No One Behind’

Opinions & Features
By Danny Sriskandarajah Two weeks after the Paris Climate Change Agreement officially came into force - marking the first time that governments have agreed legally binding limits to global temperature rises - the leaders of 195 countries are meeting in Marrakech for a critical climate change conference.
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Political crisis in the DRC: the AU must be proactive and learn from the past

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By David Kode  On Saturday 5th October, police in Democratic Republic of Congo reportedly used tear gas and armoured vehicles to break up a demonstration organised by members of the opposition, who were gathering in spite of an official ban on protest in place since 22 September.

The Mythology of Freedom and Democracy

Opinions & Features
Many US citizens may instinctively believe they still live in the land of the free, but a new global rights rating system shows the country is far less tolerant than they may think.

The CIVICUS monitor – Informing the fightback against closing civic space

Opinions & Features
After two years of deep thinking and hard work, the global civil society alliance CIVICUS has launched the beta version of the CIVICUS Monitor – the first ever online tool specifically designed to track and rate respect for civic space, in as close to real-time as possible.
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Stand up for the girl child! - Nyaradzo Mashayamombe (TaLi)

Opinions & Features
World over, girls are faced with enormous challenges, and each continent has its specific issues which perpetuate these vulnerabilities.

Norway must stand firm on its commitment to sustainable development

Opinions & Features
Prime Minister Solberg is becoming an international development superstar.

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