2026-03-26

Great Lakes When art transforms environmental challenges into opportunities 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.

Influence

2026-03-25

Universities Under Pressure: Shifting Political Influence and Its Impact on Enabling Environment for Civil Society – Eu SEE Universities have long been regarded as spaces for independent knowledge production, critical thinking and democratic debates. There are institutions where students, academic and civil society actors test ideas, generate evidence and engage in discussions that shape public policy and social change. Yet across different regions, universities have become contested political spaces. Political narratives, ideological pressures, funding decisions and regulatory changes are reshaping the role universities play in civic life.

2026-03-25

The Anti-Rights Movement and the War on Gender Policy with Florence Bateson and Ilse Wermink In this special episode for gender justice month, we talk to Ilse Wermink, MenEngage Europe Director and Florence Bateson, Gender, Peace and Security Expert, to discuss the $1bn globally coordinated war on gender policy, the growing anti-rights movement and its impact in international fora, and the challenges of working on gender policy in hostile, often dangerous, contexts. This is a confronting episode that captures the interlinkages between the war on gender policy and attempts to choke democracy and shrink the enabling environment for civil society. It’s a must hear for anyone, especially men, working in this space.

2026-03-22

Civil society from over 80 countries unite to shape solutions across borders 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.

Influence

2026-03-18

The Bell and the Silence: Inside Nepal’s 2026 Political Reordering 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.

Influence

2026-03-17

PRESS RELEASE - INFID Strongly Condemns the Violent Attack on the Deputy Coordinator of KontraS: Stop the Silencing of Human Rights Defenders! The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) expresses its deepest solidarity and strongly condemns the brutal act of violence involving the dousing with acid that befell the Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Missing and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus. This attack cannot be viewed merely as a common criminal act, but rather as a real threat to democracy and an attempt to silence the critical voices of human rights defenders in Indonesia.

2026-03-17

Leading Change: How Women, Youth and Civil Society Are Accelerating the SDGs from the Ground Up 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.”

Influence

2026-03-13

From menstrual dignity to digital safety: How grassroots feminists are redefining gender justice 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.

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2026-03-13

Democracy needs women: Feminist leadership in times of shrinking enabling environments for civil society 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.

Influence

2026-03-13

From menstrual dignity to digital safety: How grassroots feminists are redefining gender justice 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.

2026-03-13

Democracy needs women: Feminist leadership in times of shrinking enabling environments for civil society When feminist leadership expands, democracy deepens. It becomes more accountable, inclusive, and participatory. Women’s civic participation is not about political correctness but about democratic survival.

2026-03-12

Rethinking Statutes of Limitations in Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Taiwan 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.

Influence

2026-03-08

Statement on the International Women’s Day 2026 By the Women and Feminists Constituency Group of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) 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.

2026-03-08

The New Development Bank (NDB) at 10: Time to Build Meaningful Partnerships 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.

Influence

2026-03-08

Background readings All you need to prepare ahead of the Forus General Assembly

2026-03-08

When women organise, democracy survives: Why gender justice cannot be a casualty of global crises 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.

Influence

2026-03-08

When women organise, democracy survives: Why gender justice cannot be a casualty of global crises 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. Yet, even as they drive change and hold societies together, they are confronting an increasingly hostile environment. Across regions, feminist movements and women-led civil society organisations face a convergence of crises that threatens decades of hard-won progress: a shrinking enabling environment, rising authoritarianism, digital repression, and a global funding landscape retreating precisely when it is most needed.

2026-03-05

Upholding International Law, Protecting Civilians and Preventing Further Regional Escalation in the Middle East 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.

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2026-03-04

From Reporting to Reality: A Pacific Call for Justice and Locally Led Development 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.

Influence

2026-03-04

Tomorrow is Feminist: organisations that are reshaping Brazil 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.

Influence