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

2026-04-01

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

2026-03-22

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

2026-03-13

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

2026-03-12

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

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

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

2026-03-05

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.

Support

2026-03-02

NFN Calls for Peace Amid Escalating Conflict in the Middle East

2024-05-27

Democracy, civic space and fundamental freedoms are under attack, but civil society is here to stay

According to research, elections in many jurisdictions have been affected by violence and arbitrary arrests, targeting opposition candidates and political leaders, as well as civil society, human rights defenders, journalists, media workers and election observers. At the same time political misrepresentation and manipulation online is a known concern.

2022-10-19

Public Development Banks can’t drag their feet when it comes to building a sustainable future

A coalition of civil society organisations is demanding public development banks (PDBs) to take radical and innovative steps to tackle human rights violations and environmental destruction. No project funded by PDBs should come at the expenses of vulnerable groups, the environment and collective liberties, but should instead embody the voices of communities, democratic values and environmental justice.

2021-10-18

“Transparency, Inclusiveness and Sustainability”: 3 things Public Development Banks must not forget about at this year’s Finance in Common Summit.

Over 500 public development banks will convene on the occasion of the second edition of the Finance in Common Summit on October 19-20 in Italy, ahead of the Italian Presidency of the G20 and the COP26 conference on climate change. Ahead of the summit, a coalition of civil society organisations is demanding from public development banks that they transform the way they work for it to be based on human rights, community-led development as well as climate and social justice principles.

Influence

2020-11-12

Can the Finance in Common Summit be a key step towards a different model of development? We hope so.

Far from the finishing line, but one step further towards building a sustainable future for all.

2020-11-12

Failing to deliver strong commitments, civil society groups call the Finance in Common summit a wasted opportunity

Public Development Banks now have a great collective responsibility to deliver concrete roadmaps and actions to make sure the announcements do not remain an empty shell.

2020-11-09

A Future in Common: Public development banks must put people and planet first

On the occasion of the Finance in Common Summit 320+ civil society organisations signed a joint statement urging public development banks to transform their financing models.