Projects of hope: Expanding the public sphere in practice

Across countries and regions, the threats to civic space have multiplied: constraining media, limiting and preventing expression and dissent, vilifying and undermining protest movements and civil society as anti-national and terrorists, enacting sweeping emergency powers, and expanding surveillance. From civil society organizations and human rights defenders to democratic processes or judicial proceedings, many civil society actors experienced closing civic space and were forced to adapt and respond to the new context. This session will celebrate practical efforts made by civil society to overcome these restrictions and explore innovative solutions to protect, strengthen, and expand democracy and civic space in post-Covid.