Join Why Philanthropy Matters and Maecenata Stiftung for an online discussion with a distinguished panel of global experts to explore how efforts to delegitimize civil society are playing out across the globe, and what steps we can take together to defend civil society – and democracy – against further attacks.
Date and Time: Thursday, 29 October 1300-1430 CEST (1200-1330 GMT)
Location: On Zoom
Registration link: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/n2p8o3
In many countries, civil society organisations (CSOs) are facing growing attacks on their legitimacy. Autocrats and populists accuse them of being ‘enemies of the people’ or ‘tools of hidden elites’, and have used these arguments to justify new laws and policies which restrict vital freedoms of free speech, free assembly and the right to protest, thus shrinking the space in which civil society is able to exist.
Worryingly, this no longer seems to be the preserve of autocrats. We are increasingly seeing more moderate politicians follow the same path. Where once these figures might have recognised, or even championed, the role CSOs play within a healthy democracy in standing up on issues and speaking truth to power; some of them now choose instead to see civil society as a threat to their own power, and to echo populist narratives which undermine its legitimacy.
Against this challenging backdrop, it is vital to understand what lies behind attacks on civil society legitimacy, how they are being propagated, and what we can do to counter them.
In this timely event, we will hear insights and perspectives from a panel of global experts, including:
- Catherine Anite, human rights lawyer, Uganda
- Marwa el-Daly, American University Cairo, Egypt
- Rhodri Davies, Why Philanthropy Matters, UK
- Benjamin Gidron, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
- Mark Sidel, University of Wisconsin-Madison and International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), United States
- Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Maecenata Foundation, Germany
The session will be chaired by Ansgar Gessner from the Maecenata Foundation. There will also be the opportunity for participants to ask questions and to join the discussion.
If you are interested, then please sign up using the link above. You are also welcome to share this invitation more widely in your networks.
