Civil society organisations are increasingly targeted with narratives undermining their work. Those at the frontline of social change are often depicted as “corrupt”, “money-oriented” or “enemies of the State”, especially in populist rhetoric. This can have very concrete impact on the work of civil society ranging from popular distrust and hostility to cuts of public fundings. 

Therefore, countering negative narratives about civil society organisations and formulating alternative ones has become increasingly necessary to promote and protect an enabling environment and a healthy civic space.  

In this perspective, last Thursday, October 28th, the Forus network gathered as part of a recurring working group to share ideas and experiences about civic space and alternative narratives.  

To contextualise the current scenario in terms of an enabling environment for civil society, Brian Tomlinson from AidWatch Canada presented the OECD-DAC recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance. The Recommendation can be a major tool for advocacy and accountability with providers: it pushes back against restrictive measures and practices that weaken civil society actors for democratic development and change. The Recommendation underlines existing norms and legal instruments, but it also expresses practical commitments. It identifies 28 standards and areas of action that providers should advance, organized under 3 pillars: 

1. Actions to respect, protect and promote civic space 
2. Actions to support and engage with civil society
3. Actions to incentivize civil society organisation’s own actions for their effectiveness, transparency and accountability  

Tomlinson explained how as a civil society platform or individual, one can contribute to the monitoring of the implementation of the Recommendation and promote dialogue around it.

Narratives represent another necessary instrument for the promotion of an enabling environment for civil society. After Brian Tomlinson’s presentation, the co-lead of the working group, Dirce Piloto Varela from the platform PLATONG (Cabo Verde), shared the outcomes of the last working group and insisted on the idea that countering negative narratives about CSOs should not only be done through campaigns, but also through actions that counter these narratives – for example, strengthening horizontal partnerships with grassroot activists and communities, defending minorities who are discriminated against, promoting CSOs’ right of initiative, and so on. 

In a collective exercise, participants then discussed two widespread narratives and tried to identify what makes them popular and what their consequences are - in the case of a negative narrative like “Feminist women hate men” and in the case of a positive one like the “No one is safe until everyone is safe” narrative recently promoted to defend a more accessible Covid-19 vaccine. 

Are these narratives prevalent in all national contexts? Where do they come from? How are they reinforced? Who do they exclude? Who do they favor? How can they have impacts, for example on policies, and thus affect the work of civil society? Why are they powerful? 

Analysing the two narratives through these questions helped participants to identify several characteristics of popular narratives. First, there was a general understanding that narratives have a deeply emotional nature – whether they are or negative or alternative. For example, populist narratives often take advantage of fears. Secondly, narratives can have three types of consequences, as they shape social representations, restrict or enable activists’ actions, and prevent or favour systemic change. 

Finally, Sophie Kange from DENIVA (Uganda), co-lead of the working group, insisted on the necessity to connect narratives to the particular contexts in which they are shared. If civil society is to develop global alternative narratives defending its work, this is particularly important, as it will allow to (1) create narratives relevant to local contexts and (2) link narratives to actions on the ground. There’s also a need, when developing narratives, to think about the “essence” of the narrative, and then to apply it to different contexts. For example, the fact that the “No one is safe until everyone is safe” narrative is profoundly anchored in a shared belief in the necessity of solidarity undoubtedly makes it powerful. 

As part of a storytelling initiative, discover Forus’ A Space For Us podcast and hear the stories of members and partners of Forus! 

For more information: Deirdre De Burca, Forus Advocacy Coordinator - [email protected] Yohan Cambet, Assistant Communication Coordinator - [email protected] 

Photo © Diogo Nunes