Governments are using national security to curtail rights and freedoms. Civic Futures equips civil society to push back and transform the future.
Source: Shutterstock, Lev Radin, General Assembly 76th session 56th plenary meeting on the priorities of the Secretary-General for 2022 at UN Headquarters
Source: Shutterstock, Group of young African women in discussion
Governments around the world have adopted a “Security Playbook” of:
counter-terrorism laws +
surveillance & censorship technologies +
threat-fear narratives deployed against opponents.
This has led to the routine smearing, harassment and criminalisation of progressive movements and minority groups. As well as detention and threats to life itself, civil society organisations face travel bans, disrupted internet access and barriers to accessing funding and banking facilities.
Source: Unsplash, Danny Lines, Street surveillance, Leamington Spa, UK
Ensuring civic space is open so civil society can thrive is the key challenge of our time; it will determine whether action on every other social and environmental crisis is possible.
Movements need support to build their collective power and hold accountable those using “the Security Playbook” at home and internationally. Those under attack now need sustained and flexible funding, research and analysis on the drivers of hard security approaches, and safe spaces to connect, strategise and take action together.
Source: FGHR, Kenya 2019
To protect civic space and disrupt and reform this Playbook, funders and civil society need to work together at scale.
If you fund social justice movements facing this repression, join with us. If you are trying to counter the security overreach and want to make links and find out about funding opportunities, please get in touch. If you want to know more about our research and analysis, convening and learning opportunities, contact us.
Contact Us
Source: Shutterstock, Oluwafemi Dawodu, Group of men protest against the Anti-Social Media Bill before the Nigerian Parliament, Lagos Nigeria, November 2019
We are building a global, cross-sectoral response to disrupt and transform the harms of counter-terrorism.
We are actively seeking new partners across philanthropy and civil society, in every part of the world.
Come and collaborate with us to keep civic space open: read our analysis, join our convenings, contribute to our strategy.
Get in touch
Source: FGHR, Kenya 2019
