Category: December 2021

On navigating digitalisation and creating alternative narratives

By Forus international

Despite restrictions, lockdowns and curfews, millions of people around the world mobilised with intense discussions, agitations and processions, to demand more just, equal and sustainable societies in 2021. All this while witnessing clamp downs on civic freedoms and rights restrictions – both online and offline. 

But how did civil society react?

This year, from Uganda to Colombia, passing through South East Asia and Eastern Europe, we have heard from several voices within and beyond the Forus network on how democratic space, polarising politics and divided societies are affecting civic space globally. Two areas of focus linked to civic space have particularly demanded efforts and actions in 2021: digitalisation and the construction of alternative narratives to promote and protect the work of civil society worldwide.

The Digital “Joker”

It all started with the tagline: “no civic space without digital space.” The # Let’s Talk Digital campaign developed by Forus was born after researching and publishing a joint report with TechSoup on a digital enabling environment. The aim of the campaign and our recent advocacy efforts is to (a) spark debates on digitalisation and (b) collect recommendations from civil society organisations to shape the agendas of governments, institutions and “Tech Giants”. 

Via micro-surveys, interviews, research and collaborations, the campaign aims at inspiring civil society organisations to hold governments responsible and challenge and suggest policies that secure the digital wellbeing of communities. Though representation in international forums is indespensable, it is participation that transforms civil society into an agent capable of suggesting alternatives and defending the rights of communities. 

From Taiwan Aid, Global Focus in Denmark, SLOGA in Slovenia or CONGCOOP in Guatemala, the # Let’s Talk Digital campaign thus collects concrete recommendations, data and examples “from the field”.  Digitalisation doesn’t come in one form or shape, and it’s important to enlarge spaces of discussion and advocacy around this issue. 

In 2022, we invite allies and partners to participate in the # Let’s Talk Digital campaign – let’s join hands to shape “our digital futures”. The goal is clear: how can we advocate for an inclusive, human-rights-based and democratic form of digitalisation that will empower and enable rather than restrict and repress? 

Changing narratives about civil society

Narratives represent another necessary instrument for promoting an enabling environment for civil society. Civil society organisations are increasingly targeted with narratives undermining their work. Those at the frontline of social change are often depicted as “corrupt”, “money-oriented” or “enemies of the State”, especially in populist rhetoric. This can have very concrete impacts on the work of civil society ranging from popular distrust and hostility to cuts of public fundings.  

Civil society organisations increasingly need to counter negative narratives with alternative ones. What are the negative stereotypes being used to describe civil society organisations? What actions and reactions do they trigger? How do we “reclaim” narratives about the activities and experiences of civil society? How do we develop compelling narratives with a bottom-up approach? And finally, how can we create alternative narratives that promote and protect the work of civil society organisations?  

These are some of the questions being explored by the participants of the Forus Working Group on an Enabling Environment, which kicked off earlier this year and will continue throughout 2022. The Working Group led and animated by Forus members and allies, such as PLATONG, from Cape Verde and DENIVA, from Uganda, aims at countering negative narratives about civil society organisations and formulating alternative ones. The focus is on identifying narratives, unpacking them, unveiling where they originate from, “who is the messenger and what is the message”, seeing how they affect public perception of civil society, and exploring how different target groups react to them.  With this knowledge and brainstorming process, the aim is to then start developing new narratives according to local, national, regional or global contexts.

Collecting experiences and examples from Forus members such as Abong countering polarisation in Brazil, or Ccong in Colombia discussing feminism in Latin America, the working group will result in a practical “How to Guide” and campaign for civil society networks and organisations that can be replicated in and applied to national and local contexts.  

Interested in building an enabling environment for civil society? Find some extra resources below:

  • Be the narrative: Brought to you by JustLabs and the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR), Be the narrative lays out bold steps for building new narratives about human rights. “Viewing the increasingly antagonistic tide against human rights as part of a broader transformation process, we worked with 12 human rights organisations to produce new narratives that not only respond to those of populists, but that provide an alternate vision of what human rights are, where they take place, and who they are for.”
  • Forus A Space for Us podcast: A Space for Us podcast – a participative storytelling project with Forus members, allies and activists from around the globe. From Nepal to Central Africa, Bolivia, Taiwan and Portugal, we share stories from over 15 countries with 30+ individuals at the forefront of social change.

Article written in collaboration with Bibbi Abruzzini, Laura Manzi, Yohan Cambet and Adelaide Marre. 

For more information: Deirdre De Burca, Forus Advocacy Coordinator – deirdre@forus-international.org Yohan Cambet, Assistant Communication Coordinator – communication.support@forus-international.org 

Building Back Better: Towards achieving SDG 8

By Caritas Europa

All across Europe, work still fails to be ‘decent’. Minimum wages that are insufficient to meet basic needs trap many people in in-work poverty. We see increasing forms of non-standard employment that have little to no social protection coverage and a significant informal economy that exposes workers to exploitation. To raise awareness of this and other labour market inclusion challenges, one of SDG Watch Europe’s members, Caritas Europa, organised a webinar on 22 November to assess how the EU and its Member States can advance towards achieving SDG 8 (decent work) in the context of the COVID-19 recovery. 

The COVID-19 crisis has further worsened the labour market situation across Europe and has impacted the progress Member States had been making on achieving this Sustainable Development Goal. It is now more important than ever for the EU and its Member States to refocus on guaranteeing decent work for all.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions and an SDG Advocate under Secretary-General António Guterres, pointed out during his intervention that due to the transitions in digitalisation and automation, many people need training and retraining. This capacity-building would enable people to maintain formal employment to meet their and their families needs. Mirzha de Manuel, member of Executive Vice President Dombrovskis’ cabinet, emphasised that COVID-19 has also offered us an opportunity to address the challenges in our current economic model, highlighting many of the recent and upcoming Commission initiatives to tackle the existing challenges. As Professor Sachs rightly stated, strengthening and enforcing Europe’s social model and the European Social Charter will be an important foundation to build on.  

But the starting point, as Cardinal Turkson noted in his intervention, is that policymakers, employers, and each of us need to recognise the importance of human dignity and to centre our economy on the value and worth of all human beings. Jobs should promote the dignity of the human person, not their exploitation. All future initiatives and policies at the EU and national levels should be centred on this understanding, contribute to implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights, and aim to fulfil all SDGs holistically and coherently. 

The Forus Barefoot Guide: How do we practice collaboration in these times?

By Forus International

Collaboration is vital for transformative social change. But how do we practice collaboration in these times? That is the question driving Future Convergence: the Forus Barefoot Guide. The Guide and the campaign value our human history as a complex and intricate story of committed social change actors. We believe that civil society organisations have a unique and historic role in re-orienting people to work together, reducing polarisation and nurturing our shared humanity. But we also need to challenge ourselves, turning towards each other to mobilise and multiply our collective power. 

In the Forus Barefoot Guide, we explore real experiences, innovative practices, ways of collaborating and leadership forms that offer hope for a way forward. This practical resource is intended for individuals and organisations who want to improve their learning processes and social change practices. Written by thirty-one civil society leaders and practitioners from twenty countries worldwide, it reunites practices and experiences that bring diverse people and organisations together towards a vision of a more equitable, inclusive, humane, and sustainable planet. 

Each chapter focuses on a different topic, ranging from our understanding of “power”, our engagement with governments and the private sector, and civil society’s capacity to adapting in the face of the globalisation of social issues to collective leadership, relationships with donors, synergies with social movements, and the process of continual, horizontal learning.

Around the Guide, we have developed a multimedia and multilingual campaign with surveys to collected positive practices of collaboration from around the globe, podcast episodes and Conversation Starters – a series of videos focusing on topics from each chapter of the Guide that allows for interaction. 

Want to share your experience? Read the Forus Barefoot Guide here and join the campaign! The Guide is available in English, French and Spanish.

A big thank you to all the writers and Forus members, Doug Reeler, Nomvula Dlamini and Rubert Van Blerk from the Barefoot Guide Connection and Tamarind Tree Associates, South Africa, and Marcela Terán from Liberation Works for developing the Guide and campaign with us.

Europe Sustainable Development Report 2021 launch – 14th December 2021

By SDG Watch Europe

The Europe Sustainable Development Report will be published on the 14th of December 2021.

On such occasion, SDSN and the Institute for European Environmental Policy have organized a webinar for the long-awaited Europe Sustainable Development Report.

The event will be held on Zoom at 14:00 CET. Registration is required to participate.

For detailed information and registration, please visit the following link: LINK

As SDG Watch Europe, we are very much looking forward to knowing how the EU is performing on the SDGs. The event will have experts & practitioners talking about priorities and transformations to achieve the SDGs.