Solidarity Action Network (SANE)
Visit the website of the Solidarity Action Network (SANE)
The Solidarity Action Network (SANE) aims to strengthen resilience of and solidarity among civil society actors when faced with civic space restrictions or changing operating conditions. It connects international and national civil society organisations – (I)CSOs – across all sub-sectors and brings them into discussions on civic space challenges and opportunities.
Within the network, we share experience, lessons learned and best practices, explore different forms of solidarity (especially beyond public advocacy), and encourage joint actions. A Working Group – consisting of (I)CSO representatives – provides strategic guidance to set SANE priorities and develop activities close to needs of civil society actors.
SANE key activities:
- Anticipating futures for civil society operating space: A three-year initiative (2022 – 2025) focuses on strengthening anticipatory capacities and future readiness of civil society professionals who are working to defend and expand civic and civil society operating space. The initiative aims to increase awareness and readiness of (I)CSOs to address future challenges at the intersection of civic space and crises, offer a collaborative space to develop future scenarios, and translate them into concrete organisational strategies.
- Convening civic space leaders: Since 2016, the International Civic Forum (ICF) convenes leaders from civil society and other sectors who are at the forefront of protecting and advancing civic space around the globe. It is the annual platform for discussing key civic space issues, forging connections, and identifying opportunities for collaboration.
Dive deeper into ICF through the years
- Sharing resilience and solidarity mechanisms: We collect case studies and best practices in the so-called Solidarity Playbook to help (I)CSOs respond to undue scrutiny and challenges, and to enable learning on how to act in solidarity with civil society actors, particularly local partners.
- Strengthening cybersecurity: In partnership with the CyberPeace Institute, we captured case studies on cybersecurity to share examples of how (I)CSOs dealt with actual cyberattacks and provide insights into how organisations can prevent and mitigate similar incidents. An accompanying cybersecurity guidance explores action steps to better protect organisations online.
- Collecting civic space resources: The SANE Resource hub gathers resources on selected topics (e.g., tackling mis- and disinformation, building narratives or addressing anti-rights groups) that can help civil society actors to protect and expand civic space.
