Active Citizens

‘Despite Deep-rooted Prejudice Against Dalits, Encouraging Shifts Are Emerging among Young Urban People’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses the challenges facing Nepal’s Dalit community with Rup Sunar, chairperson of the Dignity Initiative, a Kathmandu-based research and advocacy organisation working to dismantle caste-based discrimination.

Climate Justice Starts with a Bus Ride: A Lifeline for Delhi’s Waste Pickers

By Aishwarya Bajpai
Every day, Delhi’s waste pickers walk three to four kilometers under the blazing sun, collecting and sorting the garbage that keeps India’s capital functioning. Their work is essential—yet largely invisible.

‘We Are Witnessing Ecocide in West Papua, One of the World’s Richest Biodiversity Centres’

By CIVICUS
CIVICUS discusses the devastating impact of palm oil extraction in West Papua with Tigor Hutapea, legal representative of Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, an organisation campaigning for Indigenous Papuan people’s rights to manage their customary lands and forests.

Climate Justice Movement in Nigeria to Tackle Oil Polluters Launched

By Promise Eze
Greenpeace Africa earlier in May brought together over 40 Nigerian civil society groups in Abuja to launch the Climate Justice Movement, the first of its kind in the country. The goal is to unite various climate efforts nationwide and address the severe impacts of climate change on Nigeria and the African continent.

Can These Prehistoric Sea Creatures Survive Climate Change?

By Manipadma Jena
In November,  tens of thousands of male olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) start congregating on just five kilometers of nearshore in Odisha in eastern India. They wait for the females of the species to arrive. The survival of these prehistoric sea species has largely depended on suitable pairing and mating. However, research findings from around the world indicate that, in the long term, there may be a limited number of males at these mating sites compared to an overwhelming number of females.

How Mangroves Save Lives, Livelihoods of Bangladesh Coastal Communities

By Rafiqul Islam Montu
Golenur Begum has faced 12 cyclones in her life. As a child, she witnessed her father’s house destroyed, and as an adult, she watched her home smashed. Saltwater brought by the tidal surges that accompanied the cyclones wrecked their farms and livelihoods.  And with climate change, these impacts are becoming more intense and frequent.

From Grief to Action: Demands for Democratic Renewal in the Balkans

By Inés M. Pousadela
Three catastrophic events in the Balkans have sparked powerful movements for systemic change. A train collision that killed 57 people in Greece, a nightclub fire that claimed 59 young lives in North Macedonia and a collapsed railway station roof that left 15 dead in Serbia have ignited sustained anti-corruption protests in all three countries. These weren’t random tragedies but the culmination of systemic failure – neglected safety regulations, illegally issued permits and compromised oversight – with corruption the common denominator.

Hungary’s LGBTQI Amendment an Affront to Human Rights, Say Activists

By Ed Holt
A controversial amendment to Hungary’s constitution has left the country’s LGBTQI community both defiant and fearful, rights groups have said.

In Zimbabwe, Farmers Are Leading Scientific Research on Conservation Agriculture

By Farai Shawn Matiashe
Migren Matanga grew up shying away from small and traditional grains in Rushinga, in northern Zimbabwe. The 58-year-old mother of four from Toruzumba village relied on maize and cotton, one of the major cash crops in the area at the time.

World Press Freedom Day 2025
Call to Protect Elections from AI ‘Information Pollution’

By Naureen Hossain
The prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the flow and access of information, which has a wider influence on how freedom of expression is affected. National and local elections can demonstrate the particular strengths and vulnerabilities that can be exploited as AI is used to influence voters and political campaigns. As people grow more critical of institutions and the information they receive, governments and tech companies must exercise their responsibility to protect freedom of expression during elections.

Lawyer-Turned-Activist Bhuwan Ribhu Honored for Leading a Campaign to End Child Marriage

By Stella Paul
Bhuwan Ribhu didn’t plan to become a child rights activist. But when he saw how many children in India were being trafficked, abused, and forced into marriage, he knew he couldn’t stay silent.

Lives at Risk After Some States Withdraw From Landmine Treaty

By Ed Holt
As a string of European states announce withdrawals from a global treaty banning antipersonnel landmines, campaigners are warning countless lives could be put at risk as decades of progress fighting the weapons come under threat.

World Press Freedom Day 2025
Global Press Freedom Index Falls to Critical Low

By Ed Holt
Global press freedom across the world is at a “critical moment,” campaigners have warned, as a major index mapping the state of global press freedom hits an unprecedented low.

Indispensable—Native Hawaiian Elder Says of Indigenous Ocean Management Systems

By Joyce Chimbi
Indigenous people play a vital role in ocean protection due to their deep-rooted connection to the marine environment and their traditional knowledge of sustainable resource management. They often possess centuries-old practices and stewardship ethics that prioritize ecological balance and community well-being.

Tanzania’s Women Miners Digging for Equality in a Male-Dominated Industry

By Kizito Makoye
Under the scorching Tanzanian sun, Neema Mushi wipes sweat from her dust-covered face and swings her pickaxe into the earth. The impact sends dust swirling into the air, coating her tattered clothes. She barely notices. For the past eight years, this has been her life—digging, sifting, sieving, and hoping to strike gold in the male-dominated pits of Geita. It is a grueling task riddled with obstacles.

‘Noboa Did Not Receive a Blank Cheque: He Will Have to Show Tangible Results’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses Ecuador’s presidential election with Jorge Tapia de los Reyes, Coordinator of the Democracy and Politics Department and the Political Funding Observatory of the Citizenship and Development Foundation (FCD). FCD is an Ecuadorian civil society organisation that promotes participation, citizen monitoring and open government.

Smallholder Farmers Are Not ‘Beneficiaries’, but the ‘Co-Creators of Change’

By Naureen Hossain
Eliud Rugut comes from generations of farmers, yet his family expected him to move out of their home and pursue another career.

Want To Fix the World, Ubuntu (Humanity to Others) Can Help

By Busani Bafana
The world needs an urgent fix and humanity could just be it.

Global Disability Summit Galvanizes Education Support for Crisis-Impacted Children with Disabilities

By Joyce Chimbi
Of the nearly 234 million children and adolescents of school age affected by crises, 85 million are already out of school. At least 20 percent of them—or 17 million—are children living with disabilities.

Bangladesh’s Ethnic People Safeguarding Forests and Wildlife

By Rafiqul Islam
Kishore Kumar Chakma, a young man from an ethnic community in Rangamati district, voluntarily guards a village common forest (VCF) so that none can hunt wild animals and fell trees from it.

Epilepsy Patients in Africa Fight Stigma and Neglect

By Promise Eze
When Angela Asemota’s son began having seizures at six years old in 1996, people gossiped that he was possessed by evil spirits, leading her to seek healing from native healers and religious clerics. He underwent several traditional rituals and drank various concoctions, but the seizures persisted. It was not until his fourth year in secondary school in 2004 that she took him to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with epilepsy and began taking medication.
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