Welcome to our 2021 flyer. You can download the flyer below to find out about what we plan to do this year and how you can get involved.
New – 2021 events and programme flyer, find out what’s on and what we are doing
Category: News
Support for making Voices Heard and Count by the Robert Bosch Stiftung
We are pleased to share with you that Robert Bosch Stiftung recently agreed to support the Leave No One Behind Partnership. The support agreement will see €150.000 between July 2020–June 2021 go towards making the most marginalised voices heard and count in sustainable development goals achievement, ensuring no one is left behind.
Specifically, the money will seed fund some of our national level LNOB projects in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, or Nepal. In addition, it will advance our global level work on the development of online data tools and capacity building for our country team. This work is being co-led by our partners from IISD and Development Initiatives.
The Leave No One Behind partnership was launched in late 2017 as a partnership of 12 international civil society organisations (ICSOs). In 2018, the partnership set up national coalitions in 5 pilot countries (Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nepal and Vietnam). The partnership further brings together national NGOs and civic platforms, as well as community-based organisations with the goal of making the voices of marginalised groups heard and count in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The partnership puts marginalised communities at the forefront of its project design: they are involved in generating monitoring data at the local level. Partners in the action countries have entered into a dialogue with local and national governments, aiming for the official recognition of this data to make it a source of public planning. Marginalised communities are empowered to take part in this dialogue, enabling them to address their needs and challenges face-to-face with authorities.
Between 2020 and 2022, the partnership wants to scale up its activities, globally promoting the use of community-driven data and other unofficial data sources in the SDG context, and establishing additional communities of action at country level. To underline the universality of the promise to “leave no on behind”, collaborative action with a focus on marginalised communities will also take place in countries of the ‘global north’. By 2022, partners aim to have jointly reached 100.000 people with the project, helping to making their voices heard and count.
Clemens Spiess, Program Director Inequality, Robert Bosch Stiftung
“Generating community-driven data on marginalized groups and feeding the data into dialogues with local and national governments and the international community is a necessary step to make the implementation of the Sustainable Development goals more effective and more inclusive. As Robert Bosch Stiftung, we see the efforts made by the Leave No One Behind Partnership not only as a crucial building block for creating a knowledge base to tackle inequality more effectively, but also to increase the visibility of those most affected by inequality thus making voices heard and count in a true sense.”
The Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH is one of Europe’s largest foundations associated with a private company. In its charitable work, it addresses social issues at an early stage and develops exemplary solutions. For this purpose, it plans and implements its own projects. Additionally, it supports third-party initiatives that have similar goals. The Robert Bosch Stiftung is active in the areas of health, science and research, education, active citizenship, as well as international understanding and cooperation.
To hear more about the Leave No One Behind partnership and its Making Voices Heard and Count project in the pilot countries, contact Peter Koblowsky, Senior Partnership Manager at pkoblowsky@icscentre.org.
Outi Ruuska
Executive Assistant
International Civil Society Centre
Outi joined the Centre in January 2018. She supports the Executive Director in organisational matters and coordinates the Centre’s governance and legal processes. Her background is in Social Sciences and Environmental Policy. She holds a BA in Social Sciences awarded by the University of Lapland from her native Finland and an MA in Environmental Policy and Planning from the Technische Universität, Berlin. In her master’s thesis, Outi studied the framing of urban climate change adaptation to heat stress in Europe.
Call for Global Perspectives Speakers and Workshop Hosts
We are looking for inspiring people to contribute to Global Perspectives 2020 – A Passion for Inclusion. Global Perspectives is an annual conference bringing together leaders of civil society organisations (CSOs) with high-level representatives from governmental, inter-governmental, corporate, philanthropic and academic sectors. Every year around 150 participants engage in interactive formats, discussions and co-creation sessions to analyse the world’s most pressing challenges and devise strategies to bring civil society forward in pursuit of solutions.
Who are we looking for?
Anyone with a Passion for Inclusion and an inspiring idea or piece of work from one of the sectors mentioned above, namely: civil society, governmental, inter-governmental, corporate, philanthropic and academic.
How can you contribute?
We are looking for anyone happy to host a workshop or panel or be part of a panel. Workshops and panels last between 1 and 1.5 hours. There are three pillars to our conference on which you can focus your contribution: Including CSOs in political processes, inclusive programmes and CSOs as diverse and inclusive organisations. There are also three cross-cutting dimensions: Digitalisation, diversity and futures. To find out more detail, please read the flyer.
How can express an interest?
Fill out the form below!
Where is it and what do I have to pay?
This year’s event is fully virtual, so there are no travel costs or hotel to pay. We do have a limited number of funded participation spots open, you can find the application form and the regualr participation fees, on the registration page. This event is almost solely funded by participation fees and relies on the generosity of people to share there time and expertise, at the same time as getting access to the most interesting people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Got a question?
Email the Global Perspectives Event Manager, Nihal Helmy
Call for Applications, Innovation Report Website and Graphics Tender
The International Civil Society Centre is looking for a web designer (individual or firm) to repurpose and develop specific elements of our Innovation Report website, http://icscentre.org/innovationreport/, design a printable publication and create a report-related headline graphic (for use online and in print) to communicate our Innovation Report 2020, on ‘Civil Society Innovation and Urban Inclusion’.
The inaugural report ‘Civil Society Response to Populism in a Digital Era’ was a ground breaking and award winning publication. It was first publication to take a broad civil society overview in documenting and sharing effective response strategies and case studies from a range of organisations – national CSOs and networks, ICSOs and campaigns or movements.
In terms of design, it broke the mould of civil society reports by looking at the bigger picture and trying to find a new way of communicating innovative ideas. The report was a success with 14 case studies from around the world. It gained recognition by winning AIGA’s 50 Books 50 Covers Awards.
This year we want to continue this winning trend in order to take the stories of civil society organisations and share them as widely as possible.
Find the full tender and how to apply here
If you meet the selection criteria, please submit your application to thowie@icscentre.org including:
- A brief implementation plan with the first outline of ideas for the website and publication;
- A budget proposal, including a quotation of other related software licenses if needed; and,
- A track record of your experience and examples of relevant work.
Thomas Howie
Communications Manager
International Civil Society Centre
Thomas joined the Centre in June 2017 as the Communications Coordinator. He is responsible for developing and implementing the Centre’s global communication strategy, as well as the Disrupt & Innovate platform – a place for civil society professionals and activists to discuss current innovations and future trends in the civil society sector. Prior to the Centre, Thomas worked for 5 years in the European Parliament firstly as the Digital and Social Media Coordinator for the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, and then, after the 2014 European elections, for Jude Kirton-Darling and Paul Brannen as Head of Communications, where he worked on issues such as the EU-US trade deal, issues around Brexit and as a specialist on the Petitions Committee. Thomas graduated from Bristol University with BSci in Geographical Sciences and holds an MA in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, where he completed research into the role of civil society in the post war peace settlement in northern Uganda.
Global Perspectives 2020 and Delegate Connect
We are excited to announce a new partnership between the International Civil Society Centre and Delegate Connect to deliver Global Perspectives 2020 virtually in November.
We chose Delegate Connect for its exciting and user friendly platform which provides a space for participants to network, operate on a low bandwidth making it accessible around the world, and for their excellent customer support. Delegate Connect also understands that this event will generate social good and is the flagship event for civil society. As such they are supporting us to put on the best Global Perspectives ever.
Join Making Voices Heard and Count at the UN’s High Level Political Forum
Event Title: Community-driven data as transformative means for accelerated action and SDG delivery
Call link: https://bit.ly/2VFzz6s
Wisembly: https://app.wisembly.com/hlpf2020#stream
Date: 9 July 2020
Time: 8.00-10.00am (EDT)
Facilitation: Wolfgang Jamann, International Civil Society Centre
Note:
We will record this event! Room capacity is limited to 300! We advise our audience to arrive at the virtual room before the official starting time. Moderators will be online in the room as of 7.45am.
Peter Koblowsky
Project Manager - Leave No One Behind
International Civil Society Centre
Peter joined the Centre in January 2013, back then as a trainee. He completed the traineeship in the advocacy & campaigning office of World Vision Germany. Peter now coordinates the Leave No One Behind project and contributes to the development and implementation of various other strategic formats. Before joining the Centre, Peter worked for various organisations and think tanks in the development sector, being an expert in multi-stakeholder processes. He studied at the University of Bonn and graduated with an MA in Political Science with a focus on multi-actor advocacy for climate policy.
We need your help to collect post-Covid 19 signals for the civil society sector
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Martin Luther King
Callling all civil society scanners! We are glad to announce that our work for 2020 is entering its second phase. This includes getting your ‘signals for the sector’. We would like to have your signals for an emerging post-COVID 19 World in our shared database. This might include an article, a conversation, video or podcast (see how below).
At the annual Scanning the Horizon meeting in May 2020, futures-focused colleagues from across the civil society sector gather and agreed to share key emerging points for a post-COVID 19 world from June to August. Catch up here:
Outcomes from Scanning the Horizon Annual Meeting
Subsequently, we have launched an ambitious networked approach to horizon scanning to capture ‘signals of change’ on a range of key uncertainties facing our sector after the pandemic. Sharing signals around 9 critical uncertainties, including COVID-19 and:
Why this process?
We want to harvest the power of a networked approach to horizon scanning and collective thinking to see what clues exist regarding the emergence of possible futures. We want your help in this process with these guiding questions in mind:
What might the new normal look like? Might it:
- Exacerbate existing inequalities?
- Accelerate pre-existing trends?
- Transform things in new and dynamic ways?
- Bring about paradigm shifts?
How might we as CSOs need to behave in the face of COVID-19?
- Reaction – short-term
- Management – medium-term
- Influence – long-term
How can you take part in this process?
We invite you to join in with three comprehensive steps:
1. Watch our short introductory video
2. Log relevant signals related to one of the nine uncertainties above in our open online database
3. Look at what others are sharing and encourage other organisations in your networks to also take part, so we have diverse global inputs.
Sources of signals
As a guideline for spotting a signal, here are some selected sources of inspiration you might want to consider:
- Media articles
- Opinion polls
- Conversations with ICSOs
Timeline for this process
Scanning in a nutshell
Initiated in 2015 with seed funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, Scanning the Horizon is a growing global platform for (I)CSOs, cross-sector community of experts and practitioners to share insights, explore key trends and develop relevant collaborative future adaptive strategies. The platform also enables peer learning and the pooling of resources.
For further information, please contact Vicky Tongue – Programme Manager – Futures and Innovation.
Call for Solidarity Playbook Case Studies
The Solidarity Action Network (SANE) is looking for case studies to include in its Solidarity Playbook, to be published later this year. We are looking for examples of strategies and resilience mechanisms of international civil society organisations (ICSOs) and coalition responses to civic space restrictions that demonstrate how solidarity can work in practice. These strategies and responses may have come as a result of an undue threat or attack, equally they relate to the operating environment, for example a new law making it harder for CSOs to operate.
Continue reading if you are interested to learn more or have an example to share.
Solidarity Action Network and Solidarity Playbook
The Solidarity Action Network (SANE) brings together international civil society organisations (ICSOs) and their local partners to support each other when faced with undue threats and challenges to their operations or civic space restrictions more broadly. The network collects and shares knowledge and best practices, inspires collaborative actions and explores new solidarity mechanisms beyond public statements of solidarity.
The Solidarity Playbook is an integral part of the Solidarity Action Network. It collects case studies and best practices to help other civil society organisations respond to undue scrutiny and challenges, and to enable learning on how to act in solidarity with civil society actors, particularly local partners. A set of six initial Solidarity Playbook case studies has already been published and we would like your help in building this collection.
Show solidarity – share your case study with peers!
We are looking for more examples that capture best practices on:
1) Strategies and resilience mechanisms of ICSOs
We want to hear about strategies and resilience mechanisms of different ICSOs developed to respond to undue scrutiny and attacks such as legal restrictions, bureaucratic clampdowns, financial constraints, media and misinformation/disinformation attacks or digital and cybersecurity risks. We are particularly interested in learning from ICSOs which might not be an obvious target but have had to adapt their strategies due to the consequences of civic space restrictions.
2) Coalition responses to civic space restrictions that demonstrate how solidarity can work in practice
We want to look at coalition responses at different levels (local/national/regional/global level) and map how civil society organisations support each other, show solidarity and respond to threats and challenges with a unified voice. We are particularly interested in looking at connectivity between these levels, coalitions uniting different kinds of civil society organisations and cross-sector collaborations.
Got a question?
Then get in touch with Project Manager Eva Gondorová.
Think you might have a case study to share?
Then let us know what your case study is about by answering the questions below. Brief answers to all questions – also not required ones – would be very helpful for us to get a better idea of your case. After submitting this form, we will get in touch with you.
Case Study Submission Form
Eva Gondorová
Project Manager
International Civil Society Centre
Eva coordinates the project Solidarity Action Network (SANE) which aims at strengthening resilience of and solidarity among civil society actors.
#BlackLivesMatter to you? 3 steps you can take
1. Listen
Listen to people who experience racism. Follow Black and PoC influencers on social media. Being racist isn’t always intentional – reflect on yourself and acknowledge your unearned white privilege – it can get uncomfortable but don’t get defensive, instead, we should learn from our past mistakes.
2. Educate yourself
Why saying “All lives matter” is an inappropriate response to “Black lives matter”? Why can’t I use the N-word? What is white privilege? Actively look for answers on your own. Google these questions, read articles and books from Black authors, watch videos about systemic racism and listen to podcasts about colonialism and slavery.
3. Initiate change
Take action, go to protests if you can. Sign petitions, donate money, inquire your legislators, amplify Black voices and give them space. Be actively anti-racist – don’t overlook racist behaviour in your family, among your friends, at your work, in public transport – speak up. And be persistent.
Petitions initiated by Amnesty International:
- Demand justice for George Floyd
- Tell Congress to restrict the use of deadly force by police, advance the PEACE Act
Plan International’s guide:
Resource compilations:
A great number of resource compilations have been created in recent weeks, it will help you with all of the above-mentioned actions, including lists of organisations where you can donate:
- Dismantling Racism Resources
- Anti-Racism Resource List
- Black Lives Matter education resource
- Anti-racism Resources for White People
Innovation Report: The winner of 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2019
Our first ever annual Innovation Report 2019 – ‘Civil Society Innovation and Populism in a Digital Era’ has been selected by an expert jury as a winner of the American Institute of Graphic Arts’ (AIGA) 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2019. This prize identifies the 50 best-designed books and book covers of 2019 and represents a long-standing legacy in American graphic design. The winning books become part of the AIGA collection at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University’s Butler Library in the city of New York.
About the Innovation Report 2019
With its 14 case studies, our Innovation Report showcases innovative civil society responses in the face of rising populism, one of the defining political features of our times. The publication presents the innovative ways civil society organisations are responding to the rise of populism. The report also analyses the role digital media has to play in the creative responses. We hope that by advancing the understanding of the most promising innovations, both inside and outside our sector, that they can be applied to tackle common challenges.
Thanks
The International Civil Society Centre would like to say a big thank you and congratulations to our design partners, Verbal Visual, who worked tirelessly to create this innovative book design. Thanks also go authors and editors of this report was Vicky Tongue from the International Civil Society Centre, with Krizna Gomez and Thomas Coombes from JustLabs. And last, but not, least the wonderful civil society organisations who took the time to engage with this exciting project and provide their time and expertise to realise the report.
