Active Citizens

Unprecedented Threats Against “Right to Protest” on the Rise World-wide

By Thalif Deen
The French writer and philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778), once famously remarked: "I disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend unto death, your right to utter them.” But that political axiom hardly applies to multiple governments in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America—including Greece, UK, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Myanmar, Chile, France, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cyprus – where the right to protest, along with freedom of speech, are increasingly in jeopardy.

U.S.-Latin America Immigration Agreement Raises more Questions than Answers

By Edgardo Ayala
The immigration agreement reached in Los Angeles, California at the end of the Summit of the Americas, hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, raises more questions than answers and the likelihood that once again there will be more noise than actual benefits for migrants, especially Central Americans.

Drones To Help Fishers Avoid Border Conflicts on Lake Victoria

By Wilson Odhiambo
It is exactly two years since George Omuodo’s brutal confrontation with fishers from Uganda, an encounter that left him hospitalized with a broken arm and bruised ribs. After listening to his ordeal, one wonders where he gets the courage to go back to the lake every day.

Migrant Workers from Mexico, Caught Up in Trafficking, Forced Labor and Exploitation

By Emilio Godoy
Eduardo Reyes, originally from Puebla in central Mexico, was offered a 40-hour workweek contract by his recruiter and his employer in the United States, but ended up performing hundreds of hours of unpaid work that was not authorized because his visa had expired, unbeknownst to him.

Mobilizing Against Hunger in Brazil, Where It Affects 33.1 Million People

By Mario Osava
A campaign against hunger, a problem that affects 15.5 percent of the Brazilian population, seeks to mobilize society once again in search of urgent solutions, inspired by a mass movement that took off in the country in 1993.

Why We Need a Digital Safe Space for LGBTQ Youth – Thoughts from Asian Teens

By Chaeeun Shin, Junwoo Na and Minchae Kang
Recently, I watched a documentary titled Why We Can’t See Disabled People [in Korea].

Smelter Finally Closes Due to Extreme Pollution in Chilean Bay

By Orlando Milesi
A health crisis that in 20 days left 500 children poisoned in the adjacent municipalities of Quintero and Puchuncaví triggered the decision to close the Ventanas Smelter, in a first concrete step towards putting an end to a so-called "sacrifice zone" in Chile.

Sharing Minds Can Change the World

By Elena Seungeun Lee and Julie Hyunsung Lee
Parasite, a Korean black comedy film directed by Bong Joon-ho, shows the story of a poor family who infiltrated the household of an affluent family by getting employment by pretending to be highly qualified persons.

Five Takeaways from the 2022 State of Civil Society Report

By Mandeep Tiwana
2022 is halfway through. It’s clear this is a year of immense disruption, mayhem and contestation. Horrendous war crimes are taking place in Ukraine. The conflict is spurring soaring living costs, impacting the most vulnerable people, already faced with the adverse impacts of the pandemic and extreme weather caused by climate change.

Transgender People Gain Their Place in Argentine Society

By Daniel Gutman
"At the age of 35, with a document that says who I really am, I went back to school and finished my studies, which I had left at 14 because I could no longer bear the bullying and mistreatment," said Florencia Guimaraes, a transgender woman whose life was changed by Argentina's Gender Identity Law.

Missing Women in Peru – Pain that Never Ends

By Mariela Jara
"They mustn’t stop looking for her," said Patricia Acosta, mother of Estéfhanny Díaz, who went missing on Apr. 24, 2016, along with her five-year-old and eight-month-old daughters, after attending a children's birthday party in Mi Perú, a town in the coastal province of Callao, next to the Peruvian capital.

How to Stop the ‘Hunger Pandemic’ During COVID-19

By Sungjoon Ham, Souta Oshiro and Alex Yoon
Johnny, living in the United States (US), goes to his school and gets free breakfast and lunch there. There may not be enough food for dinner at home. But he knows that he can get fed at school. Sadly, however, after the pandemic, schools were closed, which meant no breakfast and no lunch for him.

Youth must be Equal Partners in Digital Decision Making – ITU Youth Summit

By Juliet Morrison
"50 percent of the present, but 100 percent of the future," was the refrain at the first-ever Generation Connect Global Youth Summit.

Meaningful Dialogue Amplifies Youth Issues, Leads to Change

By Cecilia Russell
Young people are often the first to rebuild their communities. However, youths' diverse challenges cannot be addressed without meaningful dialogue, says Klaus Beck, Regional Director of UNFPA APRO ai.

Poor Families Clash over Water with Real Estate Consortium in El Salvador

By Edgardo Ayala
Alex Leiva woke up at 4:00 a.m. to perform a key task for his family’s survival in the Salvadoran village where he lives: filling several barrels with the water that falls from the tap only at that early hour every other day.

Over Two Decades of Impunity for Environmental and Health Disaster in Peruvian Village

By Mariela Jara
"We are not asking for money, but for our health, for a dignified life," is the cry of the people of Choropampa, which lawyer Milagros Pérez continually hears 22 years after the environmental disaster that occurred in this town in the department of Cajamarca, in Peru´s northern Andes highlands, on the afternoon of Jun. 2, 2000.

Rivers Have no Borders: The Motto of Their Defenders in Peru

By Mariela Jara
"Water is part of our culture, it is intrinsic to the Amazon," said José Manuyama, a member of a river defense committee in his native Requena, a town located in the department of Loreto, the largest in Peru, covering 28 percent of the national territory.

Employee-run Companies, Part of the Landscape of an Argentina in Crisis

By Daniel Gutman
"All we ever wanted was to keep working. And although we have not gotten to where we would like to be, we know that we can," says Edith Pereira, a short energetic woman, as she walks through the corridors of Farmacoop, in the south of the Argentine capital. She proudly says it is "the first pharmaceutical laboratory in the world recovered by its workers."

Former Child Labourer, now Lawyer, Passes Light of Freedom to Others

By Fawzia Moodley
Amar Lai’s first memories are working alongside his parents and siblings in a quarry, breaking rocks. He was aged four. Now chatting to Lai, a confident 25-year-old human rights lawyer, it is hard to believe he was once a child labourer.

How Collective Action Can Move the Needle on Gender Equality

By Kathleen Sherwin, Divya Mathew, Julia Fan, Gretchen Gasteier and Rachel Elliott of Women Deliver
During this year’s sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66), we are eager to see the global community pivot towards more inclusive approaches to advocacy. It's imperative to put the spotlight on women’s rights and youth-led organizations in communities that are often left out of key discussions. By handing the mic over to advocates across all backgrounds and ages, we can shift to a model that enables all advocates to take a lead role in policy-making and ultimately translate promises and rhetoric into real impact and accountability.

Youths Trailblazing Paths in Sexual and Reproductive Health Ahead of ICFP Family Planning Conference

By Joyce Chimbi
Travelling in northern Nigeria, Peace Umanah noticed teenage girls with multiple children – they would be walking with one strapped to their back, holding another by hand and with a protruding belly.
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