Active Citizens

BUENOS AIRES

Videla Dies in Prison – a Victory Against Impunity

Thirty-seven years after leading the coup d’etat that ushered in the most brutal dictatorship in the history of Argentina, former army commander Jorge Rafael Videla died in a common prison Friday.

U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arsenals Cling to Bygone Era

By George Gao

In the late 19^th century, Russian playwright Anton Chekhov famously touted one golden rule for dramatic productions: if you show your audience a loaded gun in the first act, that gun must go off by the last.

Official Bullying Lurks Behind Prep for Olympics in Brazil

By Fabiola Ortiz

As Brazil prepares to host several sporting mega-events, human rights abuses and authoritarian interventions by the authorities are going on behind the scenes, favouring major urbanisation projects and stadium remodelling, a study says.

Pioneering Italian Town Leads Europe in Waste Recycling

By Silvia Giannelli

Capannori, a rural town in the Italian province of Lucca, in Tuscany, boasts a proud history. Six years ago, it became a trendsetter and leader, not just in Italy but throughout all of Europe, as the continent's first Zero Waste town.

Civil Society Under Attack Around the World

By Mandeep S.Tiwana

In December 2011, 159 governments and major international organisations recognised the central role of civil society in development and promised to create an “enabling” operating environment for the non-profit sector.

Pressure Mounting on U.S. over Congo Violence

By Joe Hitchon

With casualties in the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now surpassing every conflict since World War II, U.S. policymakers and advocates are stepping up campaigns to raise awareness and push legislation aimed at encouraging new negotiations, assisting in government reforms, and pressuring the neighbouring countries that have propped up the DRC’s government.

Arab Magazine Challenges Attitudes About Arab Women

By Pierre Klochendler

With a subtle blend of colour and shadow, 20-year-old Sumoud Farraj prepares for a photo shoot. Next month, along with three other young Arab women, she'll appear in a designer miniskirt on the cover of Lilac, an Arabic-language women's magazine.

Theatre with a Political Edge in Kazakhstan

By Joanna Lillis

A group of villagers is held in thrall by omnipotent rulers, who warn that misfortune will befall the inhabitants if they defy authorities. And then, one day, the emperor is revealed to have no clothes.

Mexican Communities Sue Pemex for Environmental Justice

By Emilio Godoy

Fed up with oil spills from facilities belonging to Mexico’s state oil company Pemex, residents of two communities in the southeastern state of Tabasco are taking the country’s largest company to court in a bid for compensation for damage to the environment and agriculture.

Climate Change Is Happening… So What?

By Silvia Romanelli

Seven in 10 U.S. citizens believe climate change is real and happening now. Yet most have never even contacted a government official about the issue, let alone volunteered with an environmental organisation or taken other action.

Unravelling the Civil War Propaganda

By Lal Aqa Sherin

Western fears of a civil war in Afghanistan are growing ahead of the scheduled pullout of international troops in 2014. However, experts here say the situation on the ground is not comparable to either 1988, when the Soviets withdrew from the country, or the mujahideen’s rise to power in 1992, which plunged the country into civil war.

Resource Management Central to Equitable Development

By Carey L. Biron

Trillions of dollars a year are being produced through extractive industries, but just a tiny percentage of this money is impacting on the lives of poor communities in developing countries, according to a first-of-its-kind study released Wednesday.

U.S. Retailers Holding Out on Bangladesh Safety Agreement

By Katelyn Fossett

Labour groups here are stepping up pressure on U.S. firms to sign a binding building safety agreement for Bangladeshi factories after 10 major European garment companies signed onto the landmark agreement.

Q&A: “To Propel Change, You Have to Be in Their Faces”

By Sudeshna Chowdhury

Eighteen days ago, Diane Wilson, a 65-year-old fisherwoman from Texas, decided to go on a hunger strike.

Dengue Outbreak Highlights Poor Waste Management

By Catherine Wilson

City and health authorities in the Solomon Islands, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, are calling for effective and consistent urban waste management as they battle to control a serious outbreak of dengue fever, the world’s fastest spreading vector-borne viral disease, which was identified in the country in February.

Active citizens are committed to social change because they know that it is achievable. Yet, for most Africans, a shift towards elected government in recent decades has yet to translate into an effective voice in decision-making. Now, the Strengthening Citizen Demand for Good Governance using evidence based approaches - funded by DFID's Governance and Transparency Fund - seeks to raise their voices. Through its partnership with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and CIVICUS,, IPS reporters across the continent will seek to define the extent and limits of state capability, government accountability and the responsiveness of leaders to the needs of citizens.