CIVICUS Voices
18 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingCIVICUS is a global alliance of over 10,000 activists and civil society organisations, especially from the Global South, that exists to defend people power. Our podcast brings you stories of people, communities, and organisations defending human rights and fighting for a more just, inclusive and sustainable world. As a human rights organisation, our activism focuses on human rights violations, civil liberties, and issues such as sustainability, safe protests, and good governance. Find out more on www.civicus.org or on social media under @CIVICUSAlliance.
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Episodes
Books not guns: Protests for school safety
December 28, 2023 03:00 - 25 minutes - 18 MBThe last thing students and their parents should be worrying about is whether children will be safe while attending school, and yet school shootings and attacks are a real threat around the world. Bruno Langeani, a project manager at the Instituto Sou da Paz, helps us understand the trends and nuances of school violence in Brazil, and what can really make a change. Vuk Cvetković us a Serbian high school student who works with the “I mi se pitamo” initiative and shares his views on how rar...
A precious resource: protests for the right to water
December 14, 2023 03:00 - 31 minutes - 22.5 MBSafe and accessible drinking water is a crucial right that sadly continues to be threatened in different ways for communities around the work. So, it’s no surprise that access to water is frequently a protest demand, from Ethiopia to the United States. We speak to Alana Potter the global coordinator of EndWaterPoverty at WaterAid to give us an international perspective. Faeza Meyer, a community organiser at the African Water Commons Collective, shares her experiences from Cape Town’s ‘Day...
Protests in the time of war and conflict
November 30, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 20.8 MBRussia’s war against Ukraine has taken centre stage in headlines and discussions over the last year, yet a variety of conflicts continue internationally, from Ethiopia to Palestine. Since this season of CIVICUS Voices looks particularly at protests, this episode looks at how to mobilise and campaign in the middle of conflict and war. We speak to Polina Kurakina from OVD-Info, an organisation tracking the rights to freedom of assembly and expression in Russia. Oleksandra Matviichuk is a ...
Workers' rights
November 16, 2023 02:00 - 21 minutes - 15 MBThe global cost-of-living crisis has been met with a crackdown on the rights of working people in every region of the world, and this year has seen the violations of workers rights reach record highs. We continue this season by looking at workers' rights protests and mobilisations from across the world that have brought about real change, with a special focus on migrants, who are among the most vulnerable of all workers. In this episode, we speak to Lennon Ying Dah Wong, an activist fight...
LGBTQI+ rights in Africa
November 01, 2023 23:00 - 23 minutes - 16.6 MBSignificant strides have been made across the globe in recognising and upholding the rights of sexual minorities, but despite these successes, the past year has also seen major setbacks when it comes to LGBTQI+ rights. This episode talks to human rights defenders from across the African continent, where anti-rights sentiments and regressive legislation is gaining ground. We talk to Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Frank Mugisha, who is an openly gay activist in a count...
Protect the Protest
October 18, 2023 23:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBFreedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental right exercised around the world, especially where we see democracies backsliding, governments failing to listen to the people, and amid growing anti-rights backlash. To kick of this season we look at what has been happening in the last year. Marianna Belalba Barreto leads the Civic Space Research team at CIVICUS and tracks civic space globally. Then we hear what it has been like to organise protests, with Ruki Fernando from Sri Lanka, where t...
Refugees’ double fight: Escaping home & surviving the host
September 21, 2022 03:00 - 20 minutes - 14.1 MBAt the beginning of 2022, there were more than 27 million refugees worldwide, and their right to protest is often limited or repressed. Nadia Hardman, a researcher in the Refugee and Migrants Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, speaks to us about these challenges. Later, Abdul Aziz Muhamat shares his story as a Sudanese refugee who became an advocate for refugee rights while under long-term detention at the Australian government detention centre on Manus Island. You can find CIVICUS ...
Resisting coup d’état: Determination & hope are key
September 07, 2022 03:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBWhen there has been a coup d’état in a country, the protests surrounding this regime-change are often critical but difficult. In this episode, we look at how this works, through the example of Myanmar, where the military junta took over control from the democratically elected ruling party in 2021. Thinzar Shunlei Yi, the advocacy coordinator at the Action Committee for Democracy Development speaks about the role of protests in the country, before Wai Hnin Pwint Thon from the Burma Campaign...
Reproductive rights: Struggle, resistance & victory
August 24, 2022 03:00 - 24 minutes - 17.1 MBThe fight for sexual and reproductive health and rights is being waged in countries around the world, as people seek to access legal and affordable reproductive health care services, like contraception, sex education, safe pregnancies, and abortions. In this episode, we speak to Justyna Wydrzyńska, from the Polish group Aborcyjny Dream Team (ADT). Justyna is the first pro-choice activist in Europe to have been charged with aiding someone in an abortion. Later, we hear a success story from...
Young people: Loud & relentless
August 10, 2022 03:00 - 21 minutes - 14.6 MBThere are over one billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 worldwide, but their voices are often left out in policy spaces and in decision-making. Youth-led movements are an important part of civil society, and key in motivating for change that will affect generations to come. In this episode, Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi, who is involved with HIVE Pakistan, describes how youth activism can flourish. Later, former student activist and Wits Fees Must Fall leader Busisiwe Catherine Seabe f...
Protests and repression: How does it work?
July 27, 2022 03:00 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBProtesting is particularly difficult if you live in a country where your right to protest is limited in your actions and opinions. The authorities and governments of closed or repressed countries do everything in their power to curtail the right of its citizens to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly: internet shutdowns, restrictive legislation, violence, and unfair arrests. So how do people living in these repressed spaces go about mobilising and protesting? In this episode, Nadim Nashif, the foun...
Protesting 101
July 13, 2022 04:00 - 27 minutes - 18.6 MBThis second season of CIVICUS Voices focusses on the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly. We kick it off by discussing the basics of protesting: Protesting 101. Peaceful Assembly is an international fundamental right and it comes in many different forms that have evolved with time and technology. Luciana Pol, from the Center for Legal and Social Studies in Argentina, explains why this right is so important. Busisiwe Zasekhaya, the project coordinator at Right2Protest in South Africa describes t...
CIVICUS Voices Season 2 - Trailer
July 06, 2022 23:00 - 2 minutes - 1.53 MBWe're back! Listen to the trailer of the second season of CIVICUS Voices, hosted by Aarti Narsee. This season will be focused on the right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly. Subscribe now to get notified every time a new episode is published. You can find CIVICUS online and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. CIVICUS Voices is hosted by Aarti Narsee and produced by Elna Schutz, Jamaine Krige, and the CIVICUS team.
A decade after the Arab Spring
June 29, 2021 06:00 - 28 minutes - 20.2 MBOver ten years ago, millions of people took to the streets in the Middle East and North Africa to demand justice, democracy and fundamental freedoms. This was an important moment for civil society, that has left a long and checkered legacy. We speak to Mozn Hassan, a human rights defender from Egypt, who took part in the Egyptian revolution in 2011. She speaks to us about that time and how it has shaped the feminist movement. She is the founder of Nazra, a women’s rights organization, whi...
A decade after the Arab Spring
June 29, 2021 06:00 - 28 minutes - 20.2 MBOver ten years ago, millions of people took to the streets in the Middle East and North Africa to demand justice, democracy and fundamental freedoms. This was an important moment for civil society, that has left a long and checkered legacy. We speak to Mozn Hassan, a human rights defender from Egypt, who took part in the Egyptian revolution in 2011. She speaks to us about that time and how it has shaped the feminist movement. She is the founder of Nazra, a women’s rights organization, whi...
What the fight for climate justice means now
June 15, 2021 06:00 - 28 minutes - 19.9 MBThe Covid-19 pandemic halted a lot of activity, giving the environment a brief reprieve, but with governments opening up economies again, climate change activism is more important than ever. We start the show by discussing these trends with Inés Pousadela, who worked on CIVICUS's recent State of Civil Society Report. She explains how activists have become creative in their methods, but many still face lethal threats in their work. Hear what a day in their life sounds like for Perk Pome...
How Covid-19 has impacted on civic space
June 01, 2021 06:00 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MBDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, civil society organisations took action as frontline responders, and as defenders of democracy, civic space and human rights. They often faced greater restrictions, sometimes under the guise of pandemic emergency response. In this episode, we hear from activists and researchers about what this all means. Debora Leao is a civic space researcher with the CIVICUS Monitor, an online research tool tracking civic freedoms. She describes some of the trends they have...
CIVICUS Voices – Trailer
May 28, 2021 06:00 - 1 minute - 943 KBCIVICUS Voices is a brand new podcast from CIVICUS, a global alliance of over 10,000 activists and civil society organisations. Aarti Narsee and Mawethu Nkosana will be bringing you stories from across the world of people, communities, and organisations defending human rights and working for change. Subscribe to the podcast today on all podcast apps to receive the first episode soon. Find out more on www.civicus.org or on social media under @CIVICUSAlliance. Music in this podcast is On...