The Covid-19 pandemic has provided authoritarian governments in numerous regions of the world with an excuse to restrict civil society activities. In various Latin American countries, for example, the scope for NGOs is currently shrinking dramatically; but Belarus or Kyrgyzstan and Hungary are also restricting civil liberties and taking repressive action against critical voices from civil society. Authoritarian regimes often deliberately seek to divide civil society. According to CIVICUS, more than 70 percent of all people worldwide currently live in so-called „repressed or closed states“, only 3.1 percent in open societies. A decline in political culture and the erosion of democratic principles and values have become a global phenomenon, manifested for example in the lack of acceptance for democratic rules or the lack of recognition of election results.
Guiding questions:
· Is it possible to counter the „authoritarian learning“ of repressive governments?
· In what ways can civil society actors cooperate in repressive contexts?
· How can civil society organizations continue to cooperate successfully with their partners in the South?
· How can democratization processes be strengthened to enable sustainable development?
Speakers:
Rita Muckenhirn, Systways gUG, Facilitator in Sustainability and Conflict Transformation
Nomthandazo Sibozo, Iliso Care Society, South Africa
Emmanuel Kumi, PhD, University of Ghana, tbc
Der Online Workshop wird in English stattfinden, moderiert von Monika Hoegen.
Bitte meldet euch per Email an bei: duesseldorf@eine-welt-netz-nrw.de