2026-05-15

Women of the Great Lakes: Essential Peacebuilders Still Excluded from Power In Africa’s Great Lakes region — where armed conflict continues in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and political fragility persists in Burundi — peace processes remain overwhelmingly male-dominated. Yet on the ground, women are often the ones sustaining communities, mediating tensions, and rebuilding social trust long after formal negotiations stall.

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2026-05-15

BIG Conferences: Should We Show Up or Walk Away? It is no secret that many of the decisions shaping the lives of millions are made in air-conditioned boardrooms, around king-size, well-polished teakwood tables, in expansive complexes sitting on manicured compounds in leafy neighbourhoods far removed from the communities those decisions affect. The people making those decisions do so while sipping well-brewed espresso, nibbling on freshly baked croissants, and smoking well-rolled Habanos during their comfort breaks - never mind that millions are starving in Sudan, Gaza and other conflict-affected areas. They wear Louis Vuitton while the communities they claim to serve cannot afford second-hand clothing from the flea market. These are elite spaces. We should not pretend otherwise.

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2026-05-12

An invitation to action - help shape the future of locally led development. Join the growing list of organisations signing on — and help shape the future of locally led development.

2026-05-12

From commitment to practice: join the call to action on locally led development The OECD Call to Action on Locally Led Development launched today at The Future of Development Co-operation Charting strategic directions Summit in Paris — and Forus is proud to be an early endorser, alongside Peace Direct, participating governments, foundations, and other civil society networks.

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2026-05-11

Financer mieux, ensemble : au sommet FiCS, la coordination devient le vrai levier du développement Organisé à Paris le 29 avril 2026 dans le cadre de la présidence française du G7, le sommet Finance in Common (FiCS) a réuni les principaux acteurs du financement du développement. Banques multilatérales, banques publiques nationales et institutions financières ont partagé un même constat : face à des besoins croissants, l’enjeu n’est plus seulement de mobiliser des financements, mais de mieux coordonner les acteurs pour passer à l’échelle.

2026-05-06

From elections to constitutional reforms, how the enabling environment for civil society deteriorates at critical political moments around the world In this article, we explore the data presented to EU SEE by our network across 86 countries to make these emerging trends salient. These restrictions take three broad forms: direct harassment, surveillance and violence against civil society actors; digital interference including internet and social media shutdowns; and administrative and bureaucratic interventions that exclude civic voices from institutional processes. Together, they reveal a pattern in which political transitions — far from opening space for participation — are increasingly used as opportunities to consolidate control.

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2026-05-05

What to fund and what not to fund? For the second year in a row, aid and development financial support levels have fallen, with 2025 marking the biggest drop. Governments across Europe and beyond are tightening their budgets, often citing inflation, debt pressures, and shifting political priorities. Yet for NGOs and community partners, the consequences are immediate, structural, and in many cases, irreversible.

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2026-04-27

📰 🌍Launching the Post-2030 Vision and Advancing Civil Society Action | Forus Newsletter Explore civil society voices, Forus strategic priorities, and collective action

2026-04-21

New interview series: ‘Civil society unpacks burning issues on emerging technologies’ From artificial intelligence to digital infrastructure, digital developments raise critical questions about human rights, environmental sustainability, democratic governance, and digital inclusion. To contribute to these conversations, Forus is launching a new interview series under the Civil Society Alliances for Digital Empowerment (CADE) project co-funded by the European Union, highlighting diverse perspectives on some of the burning topics in digital governance and rights.

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2026-04-21

Defending digital rights and governance through collaboration: Forus at RightsCon 2026 At RightsCon 2026, Forus as part of the Civil Society Alliances for Digital Empowerment (CADE) and EU SEE, will host two sessions exploring how civil society can strengthen its role in digital governance and respond to the growing challenges of digital authoritarianism and rights.

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2026-04-20

Is there room for us all? Obesity, rights and the failure of public policy in Venezuela In Venezuela, health and dignity seem to have a weight limit. Currently, 54% of adults in the country have a high body mass index (BMI), a reality that points to an unprecedented health emergency: by 2030, this condition will affect 10.52 million people, according to the World Obesity Atlas 2025 report.

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2026-04-16

How Local Communities Are Transforming Marble Danda From Quarry Site to Sustainable Tourism in Nepal How Marble Danda became a local tourism engine: A former quarry tests whether community-led tourism can grow without repeating the environmental damage that once defined it.

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2026-04-14

In Conversation with Forus new chair Justina Kaluinaite At the Forus General Assembly which just concluded in Cambodia, members of the global network elected Justina Kaluinaite as new Chair. Kaluinaite brings experience focusing on socio-education community development in post-conflict phrases, trauma-aware development processes, effective development cooperation and humanitarian action management. She has over a decade of experience in various CSOs and community development entities, academic placements in Lithuania and globally. Bringing perspectives from her work in Rwanda, Cambodia and Colombia (among others) and working for a decade with the Lithuanian Development Cooperation Platform (Lithuanian NGDO Platform), she brings a global, empathic and strategic perspective to her new role. We sat down with her for a conversation about what her new role means, the challenges facing civil society today, and her vision for Forus.

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2026-04-13

Introducing the Forus Post-2030 Vision The future after 2030 is being shaped now. Forus is launching a collective civil society vision for what must be defended, demanded and declined.

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2026-04-13

Civil Society and International Organisations: A Lifeline for People Living with HIV in Venezuela The response to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Venezuela has undergone a structural transformation over the last two decades, shifting from a state-led model to one that relies almost exclusively on international cooperation and civil society activism. Organisations such as the Venezuelan Network of Positive People (RVG+), the Manos Amigas por la Vida Foundation (Mavid) and Acción Solidaria, amongst others, currently stand out as the main coordinators ensuring that treatment reaches vulnerable populations.

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2026-04-09

Adapting, connecting, resisting: Civil Society Navigates a World in Flux A recap of the 2026 Forus Generally Assembly – Siem Reap, Cambodia – March 2026

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2026-04-09

LESOTHO HIGHLANDS WATER PROJECT: A visit that changes the narrative Earlier this year, Forus supported a field visit which brought together civil society partners of its network — Ameerah from African Monitor, Riska from Afrodad, and Mapule from the Economic Justice Network — alongside local journalists, to communities affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) — a bi-national scheme between Lesotho and South Africa.

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2026-04-01

Women and Environmental Leadership, 3 Voices Moving Africa In the face of environmental challenges in Africa, women are emerging as agents of change. They are redefining ecological leadership through innovative initiatives.

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2026-04-01

Women Defending Gender Rights in Deteriorating Enabling Environments As gender rights come under increasing pressure worldwide, women’s rights defenders and feminist activists are adapting, resisting and building new forms of collective power. At the side event “Women Defending Gender Rights in Deteriorating Enabling Environments,” organized by the European Union System for an Enabling Environment for civil society (EU SEE) Consortium and Forus as part of the March With Us campaign for gender justice, speakers from across regions shared a clear message: the space for gender justice is shrinking—but it is far from silent.

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2026-03-26

Great Lakes When art transforms environmental challenges into opportunities In the African Great Lakes region, initiatives combining craftsmanship, art, and citizen mobilization are transforming major ecological challenges into economic and social opportunities. Faced with environmental urgency, these initiatives demonstrate a strong commitment to taking concrete action.

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2026-03-22

Civil society from over 80 countries unite to shape solutions across borders Civil society leaders from over 80 countries are gathering in Siem Reap, Cambodia, for the 2026 Forus General Assembly, a unique platform where global civil society comes together to share knowledge, collaborate, and design actionable solutions for today’s most urgent social, environmental, and governance challenges.

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