Webinar “Civic Freedom, Democracy and CSOs” – Highlights of the speeches

Accueil 9 Our events 9 Civic Freedom, Democracy and CSOs 9 Highlights of the speeches

As part of its European knowledge programme on Civil society and Democracy in Europe, The French Institute for Civil Society Organisations held a webinar on December 4 on the theme “Civic Freedom, Democracy, and CSOs.” On this occasion, four speakers shared insights from their work: Democracy and CSOs in Europe, the Shrinking Civic Space Project, the LAIC project on Associative Freedom and Citizen Initiative in France, and the Civic Space Monitoring Action. Below, we present the key highlights from these speeches.

Siri Hummel (Maecenata) started by describing the landscape of restrictions on civic freedoms across Europe (Hungary, Poland, Spain, Germany, France, etc.), highlighting actions undertaken by civil society to address these threats. She positioned research as both a diagnostic tool and a resource for action, aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations in Europe. She emphasized the need for consistent and sustainable funding for research on civil society in Europe.

Julien Talpin (CNRS, Observatoire des Libertés Associatives) examined the restriction of civic freedoms in France compared to Europe and advocated for European comparative studies to better connect academic and civic freedoms. While knowledge is essential for advocacy and influencing political and legal frameworks, it is not sufficient on its own and requires aligning strategic agendas between actors and researchers.

Alexandrina Najmowicz (Secretary General of the European Civic Forum) shared insights from the Civic Space Watch, a platform dedicated to collecting resources on attacks against civil society and freedoms. This project highlights:

The need to understand the mechanisms behind the restrictions on civic space.
The importance of strengthening a network of actors across Europe to self-organize.
The challenge of raising awareness about these phenomena among citizens and European institutions.

Floriant Covelli (The French institute for Civil Society Organisations) concluded by emphasizing the importance of a European knowledge programme to:

Integrate the topic of CSOs and democracy into European academic agendas.
Disseminate knowledge to better highlight the democratic contribution of CSOs and the need to protect them.
Engage the nonprofit sector itself in producing and/or embracing knowledge and research to strengthen its advocacy and dialogue with public authorities.