Discover and learn from the Solidarity Playbook on cybersecurity

From 19 – 20 March 2019, the Centre will hold its Blockchain For Social Good Summit in New York. We want to share 6 important and relevant readings with you on the potential of blockchain.

1. Blockchain for social impact moving beyond the hype – This report encompasses analysis of 193 organisations, initiatives, and projects that are leveraging blockchain to drive social impact.

2. Blockchain ethical design framework for social impact – This paper addresses why intentionality of design matters, identifies the key questions that should be asked and provides a framework to approach the use of blockchain, especially as it relates to social impact.

3. Seven design principles for using blockchain for social impact – seven design principles that can guide individuals or organisations considering the use of blockchain for social impact. We call these the Genesis principles, and they are outlined at the end of this article.

4. Blockchain for International Development: Using a Learning Agenda to Address Knowledge Gaps – Find out how MERL practitioners gauge the value of blockchain technology for development programming.

5. A Revolution in Trust: Distributed Ledger Technology in Relief &
Development –  This article explains how blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT)  is poised to revolutionise our industries and the benefits of trusting them.

6. Block by Block – This report compares nine distributed ledger platforms on nearly 30 metrics related to the capabilities and the health of each project.

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.

Welcome to our 2019 flyer. You can download or view the flyer below to find out about what we plan to do this year and how you can get involved.

Download 2019 Flyer (PDF)

Thomas Howie

Communications Manager

International Civil Society Centre

On 7 February up to 40 participants joined a Civic Charter Webinar on rapid response mechanisms led by was Javier Roura Blanco, Communications and Reporting Officer at ProtectDefenders.EU. It focused on their tools and resources available to activists who work on the frontline of defending human rights.

ProtectDefenders.eu is the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism, and provides emergency assistance and support to activists in many ways: from advocacy and capacity-building to material support, including temporary relocation, tailored to the specific needs of each individual, community or organisation.

Vincent Koech, Kenyan Human Rights Activist Vincent Koech, said:

“Personally I have learnt something new on how to protect myself and how to seek help and the presentation by Javier was on point and easy to understand and I would like to participate in another similar webinar”.

Miriam Niehaus, Securing Civic Rights Manager, said:

“From the number of registrations and participants we received, we can tell that this topic really hit a nerve with our Civic Charter community.”

“While there are a lot of fantastic resources available for defenders at the frontline, many don’t know how to access that or that they are even eligible. We will endeavour to offer more such relevant webinars in the next weeks.”

You can find all information about upcoming events and webinars in our events section.

Thomas Howie

Communications Manager

International Civil Society Centre