As part of Global Accountability Week (GAW) 2024, we are pleased to invite you to a regional event to discuss the growing concern how accountability is used as a premises to restrict the civic space and portray civil society as foreign agents attempting to destabilize the country. This two-part event will explore practices in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Serbia, among other, sharing lessons learned and strategies for resisting these restrictive measures. It will bring together civil society representatives and journalists from the Balkans, Europe, and beyond to discuss foreign agents’ laws, framed as promoting transparency but used to suppress civic space. The discussion will analyze how these laws are enacted, the tactics authoritarian regimes use to suppress civil society, and successful strategies, including civic activism, international advocacy, and self-regulation mechanisms to address these threats. Additionally, the role of dynamic accountability in reshaping the narrative around these laws will be explored. Please regularly follow our communications channels, as registration will be open soon, and the event agenda will be available shortly.
Source: BCSDN