Active Citizens

Women, Indigenous Communities Must Lead Climate Finance Allocations at COP29—Plan International Global Director

By Umar Manzoor Shah
Plan International, a global leader in advocating for children’s rights and gender equality, sees the need for women and Indigenous people to be at the forefront of climate negotiations.

Walking with Wisdom: Whaia’s Mission to Bring Indigenous Knowledge to COP 29

By Aishwarya Bajpai
Kaitiaki! Whaia says she is at COP29 to bring indigenous wisdom to influence policy and to provide guardianship (kaitiaki) of the climate negotiations.

Seeking COP29 Solutions as Desert Lake Disrupts Harmonious Co-Existence With Indigenous Community

By Joyce Chimbi
Climate change exacerbates the difficulties already faced by indigenous communities, multiplying their vulnerabilities from political and economic marginalization and loss of land and natural resources. The ongoing climatic carnage is displacing indigenous communities at seven times the rate of the global population.

Hustle Culture Emerges in Benin in Face of High Graduate Unemployment

By Megan Fahrney
At just 11 years old, with a heavy heart, Louis  peered up at his parents and said goodbye. He was leaving his small village in northern Benin to live with his uncle in Parakou, where the schools were better. Ever since, Louis has continued to make sacrifices to pursue a strong education and a better life. 

Arab Region Leaders, Experts Gather to Find Solutions to Water Scarcity, Sustainable Development

By Joyce Chimbi
The Arab region is among the most water-scarce areas globally, as nearly 392 million people live in countries facing water scarcity or absolute water scarcity. So dire is the situation that, of the 22 Arab countries, 19 fall below the annual threshold for water scarcity in renewable resources, defined as 1,000 cubic meters per person.

Mexican Cooperative Promotes Energy Transition on Indigenous Lands

By Emilio Godoy
What began as a search for fair prices for indigenous handicrafts in 1985 has evolved into a women's organisation in Mexico that promotes climate justice while advocating for land and environmental rights.

Defending Biodiversity in Armed Conflict: Can COP16 Meet the Expectations?

By Stella Paul
José Aruna, a forest defender from Sud Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), remembers the night in September 2019 when a group of heavily armed men barged into his house in the middle of the night. Aruna and his wife—6 months pregnant at the time—were in bed when he heard sounds of boots on the front yard and quickly knew something was about to happen.

Tanzanian Students Drive Climate Action Through Tree Planting

By Kizito Makoye
At Gabimori primary school, located at Nyamagaro ward in Tanzania’s northern Rorya district, a 15-year-old  Florence Sadiki kneels among polyethylene bags, carefully examining the seedlings she and her classmates  have nurtured from tiny sprouts “We’ve planted many trees to make our school look better and to help fight climate change,” she says.

Seeds of Resilience Despite Massive Destruction in Gaza

By Dawn Clancy
It was two weeks before October 7—when Hamas attacked Israel—that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood behind the rostrum in the United Nations General Assembly hall clutching a crude map of what he called the "new Middle East," a visual that erased the land of Palestine.

The July Revolution in Bangladesh Is Rooted in Meta-Modernist Philosophy

By Mawdudur Rahman and Habib Siddiqui
The students and the common people of Bangladesh dared to do something in 36 days of July-August that was considered simply impossible by most people just days before August 5, 2024. They said ‘enough is enough’ to an old order that outraged their humanity, robbed their dignity and the rulers imagined that their citadel of power was simply impenetrable. The revolutionists refused to bow down to the murderous regime that knew no bounds to its cruelty and plundering. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the besieged nation.

At COP16, Biodiversity Credits Raising Hopes and Protests

By Stella Paul
At the end of the first week at the 16th Conference of Parties on Biodiversity (COP16), finance emerges as the biggest issue but also shrouded in controversies. On Saturday, as the COP moved closer to its most crucial phase of negotiations, resource mobilization—listed under Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)—took centerstage, with most parties demanding faster action, greater transparency and the adoption of true solutions to halt biodiversity loss. 

Meet the Young Women Arrested for Fighting Corruption in Uganda

By Wambi Michael
Until recently, Margaret Natabi would never have dreamed of taking her anti-corruption fight on the streets of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

A Pact for the World’s Poorest

By Deodat Maharaj
Last month, world leaders gathered at the time of the UN General Assembly in New York and agreed on a pioneering Pact for the Future. This global accord has implications across a broad range of issues that affect every country. It offers much hope for the poorest and most vulnerable countries on the planet, known as Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Honduras: Environmental Defenders Still under Siege

By Inés M. Pousadela
Juan López was gunned down on 14 September. An environmental activist, community leader and member of the Municipal Committee in Defence of the Commons and Public Goods of Tocoa, he was the latest victim of extractive greed in Honduras. Communities protecting the rivers that flow through the Bajo Aguán region have seen several of their leaders assassinated.

Kenya’s Mung Bean Legislation Debate Underscores Farmers’ Vulnerability

By Robert Kibet
Kenyan farmers have faced a turbulent year, caught between legislative changes and a devastating scandal. While the country's Mung Bean Bill, aiming to regulate the lucrative mung bean industry, has moved to mediation, farmers are battling the fallout from the widespread distribution of counterfeit fertilizers that have jeopardized their crop yields and livelihoods.

‘The new law’s purpose is to increase government control over civil society’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses a recently passed law regulating civil society organisations (CSOs) in Paraguay with Marta Ferrara and Olga Caballero, executive directors of Semillas para la Democracia (Seeds for Democracy) and Alma Cívica (Civic Soul), two of the organisations leading the civil society response to the closing of civic space.

World Told Act Now or Face 136 Years of Hunger, Report Warns

By Busani Bafana
High levels of hunger will continue for another 136 years in many developing countries, according to a new report assessing global hunger.

Guterres Congratulates Nihon Hidankyo For Nobel Prize For Efforts To Rid Humanity of Nuclear Weapons

By IPS Correspondent
The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres congratulated grassroots Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo on being awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.

Afghan Girls Share Their Despair and Visions for the Future Under Taliban Rule

By Jen Ross
In line with the 2024 International Day of the Girl theme, ‘Girls’ vision for the future’, a dozen Afghan girls speak up to express their hardships and resilience. They also share their visions for the future.

The Future of Civic Freedoms: Lessons from My Time at CIVICUS

By Lysa John
When I joined CIVICUS in 2019, I came in with two decades of work on influencing and monitoring public policies through grassroots and global activism. Joining CIVICUS as Secretary-General felt familiar, like returning home after a period of separation. My first international role in 2006 – as Campaign Director of the Global Call to Action against Poverty – was initially hosted by CIVICUS. One of my most memorable campaign endeavours, The World We Want 2015, was conceptualised in the basement of CIVICUS House in 2011.

Pakistan’s Digital Censorship—The Real Cost of Internet Disruptions

By Annam Lodhi
Over the past few months, Pakistan has been grappling with a persistent and disruptive internet slowdown, leaving millions of citizens frustrated.
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