What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

Call on Civil Society to Disseminate the CoE Recommendation on Strengthening Protection and Promotion of Civil Society Space in Europe

On 28 November, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted a recommendation to member States to take effective measures to protect and promote civil society space. CSOs are invited to bring this recommendation to the attention of national authorities, ask for its translation into the national language and monitor its implementation

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New Report: 6 out of 10 Countries Now Seriously Repressing Civic Space

CIVICUS released the People Power Under Attack 2018, a new report showing that nearly six in ten countries are seriously restricting people’s fundamental freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression. This reflects a continuing crisis facing civil society organisations and activists across the world, with the space for civic activism most commonly undermined through censorship,

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Democracy Under Attack! – A Call For Action

Our democracies are under attack. The rise of hate, divisive, and socially and environmentally destructive political forces– including in many EU countries – are putting our democracies at risk. They are undermining democratic institutions and the rule of law by fomenting inequality and discrimination and by seeking to muzzle independent media, non-governmental organisations, trade unions,

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Civica Mobilitas: Citizens for Change Final Event in Skopje

On the 30 November and 1 December, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation organized the final event for the Civica Mobilitas programme for support to civil society in Macedonia, including the fourth networking event for Civica Mobilitas grantees and the central national forum titled “Us, The Drivers of Change”. 132 CSO representatives took place in

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#GivingCircle Bringing About Social Change in the Communities in Albania

Partners Albania is implementing the #GivingCircle initiative to support non-profit organizations (NPOs) who have a concrete idea or initiative to bring about social change in the community but lack the financial means or technical expertise to implement them. The “Giving Circle” event brings together individuals from different fields, offering their expertise, time and financial resources

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George Soros’s Open Society Foundations to Pull Out of Turkey

George Soros’s Open Society Foundations group has said it will cease operations in Turkey, days after the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accused the billionaire philanthropist of trying to divide and destroy nations. The organisation said it had been the target of baseless claims in the Turkish media that made it impossible for it to

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We Are Celebrating the Global Accountability Week from 12-16 November!

BCSDN as part of AGNA and the Global Standard for CSO Accountability is celebrating the Global Accountability Week from 12-16 November, to promote civil society accountability by showcasing CSO accountability initiatives from the region and around the world and to advance the understanding of the dynamic accountability. Building trust, gaining legitimacy, and ensuring accountability and

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Democracy for All: Beyond a Crisis of Imagination

A new CIVICUS report sets out the conclusions of a year-long research project led by the global civil society alliance, including the voices of people from around 80 countries. Civil society leaders, activists and stakeholders shared 54 written contributions and provided 97 interviews, while 26 democracy dialogues – informal citizen-led discussions on challenges with and

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Development is Going Digital

Digitalisation comes with great opportunities and challenges ahead of us. A new CONCORD report explains why the key digital trends are deeply worrying and exceptionally promising at the same time for the world at large, especially for developing countries. Key aspect of the report is to outline the main aspects for civil society in the

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EFC Grantmakers East Forum 2018: Reframing Civil Society

This week, more than 100 participants met for the EFC Grantmakers East Forum 2018 in Budapest. In the midst of discussions around shrinking civic space and failures of democracy, this year’s Forum focused on ‘Reframing Civil Society: Actors, Values, Tools’ offering a perspective on the emerging actors of ‘new civil societies’, discovering how philanthropy, social

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