2026-04-14

In Conversation with Forus new chair Justina Kaluinaite At the Forus General Assembly which just concluded in Cambodia, members of the global network elected Justina Kaluinaite as new Chair. Kaluinaite brings experience focusing on socio-education community development in post-conflict phrases, trauma-aware development processes, effective development cooperation and humanitarian action management. She has over a decade of experience in various CSOs and community development entities, academic placements in Lithuania and globally. Bringing perspectives from her work in Rwanda, Cambodia and Colombia (among others) and working for a decade with the Lithuanian Development Cooperation Platform (Lithuanian NGDO Platform), she brings a global, empathic and strategic perspective to her new role. We sat down with her for a conversation about what her new role means, the challenges facing civil society today, and her vision for Forus.

Influence

2026-04-13

Introducing the Forus Post-2030 Vision The future after 2030 is being shaped now. Forus is launching a collective civil society vision for what must be defended, demanded and declined.

Influence

2026-04-13

Civil Society and International Organisations: A Lifeline for People Living with HIV in Venezuela The response to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Venezuela has undergone a structural transformation over the last two decades, shifting from a state-led model to one that relies almost exclusively on international cooperation and civil society activism. Organisations such as the Venezuelan Network of Positive People (RVG+), the Manos Amigas por la Vida Foundation (Mavid) and Acción Solidaria, amongst others, currently stand out as the main coordinators ensuring that treatment reaches vulnerable populations.

Influence

2026-04-09

Adapting, connecting, resisting: Civil Society Navigates a World in Flux A recap of the 2026 Forus Generally Assembly – Siem Reap, Cambodia – March 2026

Influence

2026-04-09

LESOTHO HIGHLANDS WATER PROJECT: A visit that changes the narrative Earlier this year, Forus supported a field visit which brought together civil society partners of its network — Ameerah from African Monitor, Riska from Afrodad, and Mapule from the Economic Justice Network — alongside local journalists, to communities affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) — a bi-national scheme between Lesotho and South Africa.

Influence

2026-04-09

Spotlighting the harms and accountability gaps in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II | African Forum and Network On Debt and Development | African Forum and Network On Debt and Development MEDIA STATEMENTSpotlighting the harms and accountability gaps in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II. Maseru, Lesotho | 2 March 2026

2026-04-09

Civil Groups Raise Alarm Over Lesotho Highlands Project Costs Civil society groups say the project’s cost escalation has become a major public-interest issue.

2026-04-01

Women and Environmental Leadership, 3 Voices Moving Africa In the face of environmental challenges in Africa, women are emerging as agents of change. They are redefining ecological leadership through innovative initiatives.

Influence

2026-04-01

Women Defending Gender Rights in Deteriorating Enabling Environments As gender rights come under increasing pressure worldwide, women’s rights defenders and feminist activists are adapting, resisting and building new forms of collective power. At the side event “Women Defending Gender Rights in Deteriorating Enabling Environments,” organized by the European Union System for an Enabling Environment for civil society (EU SEE) Consortium and Forus as part of the March With Us campaign for gender justice, speakers from across regions shared a clear message: the space for gender justice is shrinking—but it is far from silent.

Influence

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.

Support

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.