News and updates from BCSDN and the region
On 26 November in Bucharest, 15.000 people joined an anti-government protest asking the Parliament to drop several controversial changes to the justice laws and to vote against the Government’s recent fiscal changes. The protest was organised by around 40 civic groups and NGOs, as well as two of the biggest union confederations. As reported, many
Read more →Legal experts and international CSOs have noted the increased use of the counter-terrorism agenda by governments as a main argument behind the new generation of restrictions on civic space. Therefore, it is crucial for civil society to be up to date with the international policies which support and urge the implementation of counter-terrorism standards concerning
Read more →As reported in the last update for Serbia on the CIVICUS Monitor, given the concerning situation with media freedoms, Serbian media outlets and CSOs blacked out their websites or went off the air in protest on 28th September 2017 to decry the assault on media freedom. Rallying under the hashtags #StopMedijskomMraku, #ZaSloboduMedija and #StojimUzVranjske, the
Read more →Fundraising regulation is a timely subject in Europe, as the past decade has seen a number of countries revisit their regulatory framework on the subject. The legislative changes show diverse trends: many aim to reduce administrative burdens and regulatory controls on fundraising activities while others increase state oversight. Despite the actuality of the topic and
Read more →Adaptable work methods are key in ensuring civil society’s access to foreign funding in increasingly restrictive environments, according to a new report by Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF). More and more countries are adopting restrictive and stigmatising laws and practices that hinder foreign funding for civil society, especially human rights organisations and defenders. This report
Read more →Over the past decade, the European Union has gone through a multiple set of crises, including the global financial crisis, the Eurozone crisis, the refugee crisis, and Brexit. On top of this, the EU is facing a major crisis of democracy in some of its member states. Preoccupied with dealing with its internal problems, the
Read more →Over 110 social change campaigners from nearly 40 countries around the world gathered at CampaignCon 2017 in Johannesburg, 7-9 November, to learn, share experiences and build the skills to grow movements and win bigger. How to transform couch activists into actual activists was one of the first things social change campaigners agreed they needed to
Read more →Technology has the potential to massively change the way citizens interact with government and each other, serving to strengthen communities and governance. People, organizations and government have begun to leverage technology to inform and encourage civic engagement, from simplifying voter registration to hosting virtual government town halls to launching crowdfunding campaigns supporting civic assets. This
Read more →The Civil Society Exchange provides civil society organizations and initiatives a platform and framework for forming and fostering partnerships between Turkey and Europe. During the program, partners work together to create a model for tackling a mutual organizational issue and improving and building their internal capacity. Civil society actors are invited to come together, work
Read more →Applications are open for Global Sustainability Fellows (GSF) Program that represents a unique opportunity for transformative personal growth, with a dynamic curriculum focused on sustainability, systems thinking, and community development. As such, fellows are required to stay for the entirety of the program, which will take place from June 16 – July 7, 2018 in
Read more →ISHR’s Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP) equips defenders with the knowledge and skills to make strategic use of the international human rights system. It also provides an opportunity for participants to directly engage in lobbying and advocacy activities at the UN level to effect change on the ground back home. The training will take
Read more →The College of Europe, founded in 1949, is one of the oldest and most prestigious postgraduate academies of European studies. It fosters academic understanding of the political, legal, economic and international dynamics surrounding the European integration. The bilingual Master of Arts in European Interdisciplinary Studies offered by the Natolin Campus of the College of Europe
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