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Great Lakes When art transforms environmental challenges into opportunities Civil society from over 80 countries unite to shape solutions across borders The Bell and the Silence: Inside Nepal’s 2026 Political Reordering Leading Change: How Women, Youth and Civil Society Are Accelerating the SDGs from the Ground Up From menstrual dignity to digital safety: How grassroots feminists are redefining gender justice Democracy needs women: Feminist leadership in times of shrinking enabling environments for civil society Rethinking Statutes of Limitations in Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Taiwan Statement on the International Women’s Day 2026 By the Women and Feminists Constituency Group of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) The New Development Bank (NDB) at 10: Time to Build Meaningful Partnerships When women organise, democracy survives: Why gender justice cannot be a casualty of global crises Upholding International Law, Protecting Civilians and Preventing Further Regional Escalation in the Middle East From Reporting to Reality: A Pacific Call for Justice and Locally Led Development Tomorrow is Feminist: organisations that are reshaping Brazil Owning the Future: African Creative IP in the Age of Artificial Intelligence The Legislative Surge and Its Limits Four Years: We stand because we stand together When Democracy Gets Deepfaked As six African nations head to the polls in 2027, AI-generated disinformation is already reshaping the electoral battlefield Who Gets to Shape the Future? AI, Africa, and the Fight for a Fair Digital World The Illusion of Governance: How Civil Society Is Filling the Gap Between AI Law and AI Reality Digital Harassment and Disinformation in West Africa: How Online Attacks Are Shrinking the enabling environment in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger In the African Great Lakes region, initiatives combining craftsmanship, art, and citizen mobilization are transforming major ecological challenges into economic and social opportunities. Faced with environmental urgency, these initiatives demonstrate a strong commitment to taking concrete action. Civil society leaders from over 80 countries are gathering in Siem Reap, Cambodia, for the 2026 Forus General Assembly, a unique platform where global civil society comes together to share knowledge, collaborate, and design actionable solutions for today’s most urgent social, environmental, and governance challenges. On the morning of March 5, 2026, the queues outside polling stations across Nepal were longer, and noticeably younger, than they had been in decades. By the time the Nepal Election Commission called a 60 percent turnout among the 19 million registered voters, it was clear that the "Gen-Z Revolution"—the months of street protests and digital organizing that had paralyzed the capital over the previous autumn—had finally moved to the ballot box. With less than five years left to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, civil society leaders from across regions gathered on 11 March 2026 for the CSW70 side event “Leading Change: Women, Youth, and Civic Action for SDG Acceleration.” Girls without access to sanitary products during their periods often resort to using tissue paper, rags, leaves, or simply staying home. Teachers would sometimes send students away if they stained their uniforms. The breakthrough came with the creation of pad banks: permanent, school-based emergency supply boxes stocked with menstrual products each term. Girls who begin menstruating during school hours can discreetly access supplies from the counselor’s office and remain in class. The erosion of women’s rights to organize, speak, and lead is not collateral damage. It is an early warning sign of democratic decline. When women are pushed out of public life, – whether through legal restrictions, economic exclusion, media stereotypes or online harassment, – democratic institutions lose legitimacy and resilience. In Taiwan, if sexual assault cases are categorized by the age of the victim, cases involving children and adolescents account for the largest proportion, representing more than half of all cases. Among these cases, the younger the victim, the more likely the perpetrator is a family member. For example, in sexual assault cases involving children under the age of six, as many as 57% of perpetrators are family members. Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, gains are uneven and at risk. Many countries have laws and promises on paper, but they’re rarely enforced and justice often fails survivors. Women human rights defenders – including women defending land, women searching for their forcibly disappeared relatives - and feminist groups face threats, harassment, criminal charges, and even murder or enforced disappearance just for pushing for fairness. As global development finance undergoes a period of rebalancing, the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB) has emerged as one of the most visible alternatives to institutions historically shaped by advanced economies. Established in 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the Bank was designed to expand financing options for infrastructure and sustainable development across emerging market and developing countries. A decade on, as its membership broadens and its lending portfolio grows, the central question is no longer whether the NDB represents a shift in global governance — but how that shift is being institutionalized in practice. This March, as the world marks International Women’s Day, women’s rights organizations are not waiting to be recognised — they are leading movements, defending rights, and redefining what democracy looks like. Forus, a global network of 74 National NGO Platforms and 7 Regional NGO Coalitions, expresses deep concern about the rapidly escalating war in the Middle East. Civilian lives are being lost, humanitarian needs are intensifying, and the risk of a further escalation is growing by the hour. Across the region, we see a worrying trend. Civic space is tightening. Consultations too often remain symbolic. Participation is invited, but influence is limited. A credible Voluntary National Review must tell the full story. Not only achievements and progress, but also structural barriers and inequalities, while also addressing major policy gaps. Development cannot be honest if it hides the difficult truths. Learn about some initiatives that are transforming the national landscape by centralising the voices of black, indigenous, LGBTQIAPN+ and young women in the construction of a more just society. African creative culture has never needed permission to be influential. It shaped the blues, gave rhythm to salsa, helped lay the foundation of hip-hop, and is now, through Afrobeats and Nollywood, commanding the attention of every major entertainment company on earth. For decades, debates over who gets to tell Africa's stories have been inseparable from questions of power: who holds the cameras, controls the budgets, manages distribution, and ultimately shapes the narrative. Today, that conversation has taken on a new dimension with the rise of artificial intelligence. As of early 2026, more than 40 countries across the continent have enacted data protection laws — representing approximately 80 percent of African Union member states. Thirty-eight have operational data protection authorities. The number of countries with dedicated legislation has grown from 36 in 2023–2024 to more than 40 in 2025, with further adoptions projected before the end of 2026. Civil society organizations that once focused on anti-corruption reforms, digital governance, or cultural heritage adjusted to the new reality overnight. Lawyers drafted emergency legislations by flashlight. Tech workers fortified servers. Journalists documented war crimes in real time. Grandmothers collected jars for homemade pickles destined for soldiers at the front. With six African nations — Nigeria, Kenya, Angola, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo — heading to the polls in 2027, the continent faces its most technologically complex electoral cycle to date. Deepfake content grew by 550 percent between 2019 and 2023, according to a January 2025 Deloitte report. AI tools that once required specialist knowledge can now produce convincing synthetic video and audio in minutes. The political battlefield is being quietly remapped. Artificial intelligence is being built at speed — but not for everyone. Without urgent, deliberate action, it will deepen the very inequalities it promises to solve. Here's what a fairer future could look like, and why Africa holds the answers the world isn't asking for. Across Africa and beyond, governments are writing ambitious AI regulations that exist largely on paper. It is civil society — not the state — that is doing the hard work of making them real. The enabling environment for civil society in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is under growing strain. Amid security crises, political transitions and expanding military influence, human rights defenders, journalists and digital activists are increasingly targeted — not only offline, but online.