Ariadne's Thread

Social Change Initiative “Using Values to Build Understanding” Report: Over the past year, SCI has worked with a range of community leaders to delve into data emerging from the World Values Survey (WVS) in Northern Ireland. The report below draws on the lessons learned from the experience of supporting communities to use data to think about values and to unpack why people hold particular views.

Human Rights Defenders in Europe: The European Civic Forum, Civil Society Europe, and Liberties released two papers for establishing a protection mechanism for human rights defenders (HRDs) and CSOs in Europe. The Mapping Paper provides an overview of the existing protection landscape, identifying gaps and challenges faced by HRDs and CSOs, while the Pathways Paper proposes strategies to enhance this ecosystem.

The Norwegian Human Rights Fund “Defending and Protecting life, Territories, Nature and Human Rights as a response to the Climate Crisis”: “Last year was the warmest on record, with climate change indicators reaching unprecedented levels. Despite being the most affected by its impacts, ethnic peoples and local communities raise proposals for how to handle this crisis”. Read more.

Global Philanthropy Project publishes “The State of Trans and Intersex Organizing” Reports 3rd Edition: The third edition of The State of Trans Organizing and The State of Intersex Organizing reports bring new, actionable findings that civil society, philanthropy, and development advocates can use to make the case for funding that responds to the documented needs of global trans and intersex movements. The findings are clear and stark: these movements are under attack and under-resourced. Executive Summaries are available in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Global Fund for Community Foundations “Community Philanthropy, Women’s Philanthropy, and Feminist Philanthropy”: This report, authored by Marija Jakovljević, is the result of the first phase of this global, collaborative project, which involved a literature review and 18 interviews with community philanthropy, women’s philanthropy, and feminist philanthropy practitioners and close allies. It seeks to understand the opportunities and challenges for collaboration to improve women’s and communities’ realities. Languages available: English, Español, Français, Português.

The Fund for Global Human Rights unveils their Climate Justice Strategy: “Climate change is more than an environmental crisis. It’s a major driver of human rights abuses.” See the Fund’s new strategy for supporting activists defending rights and our planet. 

Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) “Being Muslim in the EU”: FRA’s report shows that racism, discrimination and harassment continue to be a daily reality for many Muslims living in the EU. Based on an EU-wide survey among immigrants and their children (2022), the report shows a surge in anti-Muslim racism since the last edition of the survey in 2016, most notably in the job and housing market. 

Article “Croatia: The Surge of SLAPPs Creates a Chilling Effect on Journalism”: Between 2016 and 2023, Croatia witnessed a troubling surge in lawsuits against journalists, with over 1,300 cases filed, nearly half classified as SLAPPs. A recent study by the Croatian Association of Journalists and the Center for Democracy and Law highlights that many lawsuits exhibit characteristics of SLAPPs, including disproportionate damage claims and procedural tactics designed to increase costs for defendants. This article, authored by Giovanni Vale, was produced by OBC Transeuropa as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR).

Women’s Fund Armenia “Redefining Power and Solidarity: A Look Through a Feminist Lens”: This collection of articles brings together stories of feminist solidarity from across the globe—from Armenia to Sudan, Georgia, Ukraine, Palestine and beyond. It is about feminist strength and resilience in times of crisis, rapid response, mutual support, shared struggles, and unwavering determination.

The Norwegian Human Rights Fund – Meet the women human rights defenders: Vesna from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Stanislava from Ukraine, both of them work with LGBTQ+ and women’s rights. They have arrived to Oslo, Norway, in the frame of the Breathing Space City program for human rights defenders living in stressful or hostile environments. Find out more about the programme 

“Prioritizing activist well-being: A call for collective care” Article by Magdalena Pocheć of FemFund:“What is philanthropy’s role in facilitating the well-being of human rights defenders? Why is centering collective care necessary and incorporating healing into social justice agenda a must?” Read more.

Analysis “A Region on Fire”: Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) has released its latest analysis, A Region on Fire, examining the ongoing crises in Gaza and Lebanon. The analysis delves into the complex political, social, and economic challenges facing the region, highlighting the devastating impact on civil society and the urgent need for international solidarity. 

“Breaking the Matrioska: Gender and Racial Biases in AI-Generated Art” article by Beatrix Kondo: The evolution of generative AI is making it more commercial without addressing social inequalities that this tech replicates. Beatrix Kondo explores how some of the tools that she has used perpetuate gender and racial biases. 

“Defending Civic Space Against “Foreign Agent” Laws: How Should Donors Respond?” article by James Savage, The Fund for Global Human Rights: Departing from the premise that such “foreign agent” laws are just one tool in illiberal democratic & authoritarian governments’ security playbook, this article explores how donors can -and must- offer civil society more sustained and better coordinated support for their preventive and transformative agendas to safeguard civic space from unjustified limitations of security.

InfoMigrants “‘Migrants for sale’: An investigation into the clandestine migrant smuggling economy on the Mediterranean route – Part 1“: Read this investigation by InfoMigrants that analyses how EU’s border measures have created a thriving market for smugglers in the Mediterranean. 

Freedom House “Azerbaijani Regime Ethnically Cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh According to International Fact-Finding Mission” New Report: Freedom House and partners found that Azerbaijani authorities waged a deliberate campaign to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population. 

Human Rights Cities Network “Enhancing the Democratic Participation of Citizens with Migration and Refugee Background” Policy Paper: Dive into the latest policy paper by the Human Rights Cities Network (HRCN) to discover practical strategies and proven practices for breaking down barriers and creating a more inclusive, representative democracy.

The Trans Health Map 2024 is out: TGEU — Trans Europe and Central Asia launched their 2024 edition of the Trans Health Map that represents the availability and accessibility of trans-specific healthcare in the 27 Member States of the European Union. 

The Norwegian Human Rights Fund to launch a Human Rights Defender’s Campaign: From November 25 until December 10, the NHRF will launch a campaign giving voice to local human rights defender’s stories from Colombia, Mexico, Afghanistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and others. Stay tuned to NHRF’s social media channels: Facebook, Instagram and X.

“All philanthropy is political – whether we like it or not” article by Laurence Tubiana: European Climate Foundation CEO Laurence Tubiana writes that the world has most of the technology it requires to wean itself off fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. The barrier, she says, is political – and philanthropy needs to step in.

Digital Freedom Fund Annual Report 2023: Reflecting on Last Year’s Journey: From the report, “2023 was a pivotal year for us. We reached a major milestone by awarding our 100th grant. Additionally, we completed the design phase of the decolonising programme, which we co-led with European Digital Rights (EDRi). Internally, we took a deep look at our values and began developing a new leadership model aligned with our commitment to social justice”.

“Knowing What We Don’t Know: Assessing Intermediaries’ Impact on Grantees”, Pam Foster, Co-Impact for the Center for Effective Philanthropy: “When I was approached by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) to serve on the advisory group for a research project on intermediary funders, I was immediately keen to participate. From two decades of first-hand experience, I know how valuable it can be to understand the impact a grantmaker’s practices have on its grantee organizations.”

Funders Concerned About AIDS “How is Philanthropy Responding to HIV in LGBTQ Communities?”: FCAA launched new data examining the philanthropic response to HIV in LGBTQ communities. Distilled from Funders Concerned About AIDS’ latest annual resource tracking report, Philanthropy’s Response to HIV and AIDS: 2022 Grantmaking, these data provide an important advocacy tool to drive awareness and mobilise resources to address funding gaps for LGBTQ communities globally.

Oak Foundation “What evidence is there on the impact of core funding?”: “Core funding represented around 43 percent of total Oak funding in 2023. We give core support grants because we believe that it brings advantages and flexibility to our partners, freeing them to focus on their most pressing needs and support their own development. It also helps reduce the administrative burden on both sides of the funder/partner agreement. But is there any evidence to prove it works?” 

Ford Foundation “Changing the funding model is a necessity”: “With so many challenges facing our global society, we can’t rely on existing systems to address them—we have to get creative”. In a conversation with Alliance magazine, Hilary Pennington, Ford’s executive vice president of programs, explained how funders can think creatively and act with urgency to create new pathways for impact.

Thousand Currents “2024 Annual Report”: In the 2024 Annual Report, The Path We Make, you’ll find:

• Inspiring impact from our movement partners over the past year
• Data and statistics that illuminate our 2024 fiscal year in numbers 
• Details about our grantmaking approach
• Our renewed vision to transform philanthropy
• and much more!

25 November, Online

Holding the Line – Grassroots activists vs. rising anti-progressive forces. Grassroots activist networks organising across the world on justice-oriented struggles are a powerful antidote to the rising waves of authoritarianism, human rights repression and climate stonewalling. Join The Global Grassroots Support Network (GGSN) to explore the needs and motivations of grassroots activist groups working on climate justice, racial and economic justice,  gender / sexual and reproductive rights, and political freedoms and civil rights in more challenging environments, such as India, Turkiye, Kenya and the Philippines. Date and time: 25 November at 8:00 am PT / 11:00 am EST / 4:00 pm GMT / 5:00 pm CET. Location: Zoom. Register here.

28 November, Online

Reel Abilities: Promoting Authentic Disability Representation in Media. A webinar organised by Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) and Alliance of Advocates Against Public Ridicule (A3PR) as part of our celebration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (November 25 to December 10) and International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3). Join us as we promote stories created for, by, and with persons with disabilities! Date and time: 28 November from 1:30 pm AWST / 6:30 am CET. Location: Zoom. Register here.

5 December, Berlin, Germany

Anniversary Debate: Is Europe a Reliable Partner in a Changing World? This event is the latest in the Robert Bosch Academy‘s ‘Anniversary Debates’ series and will focus on Europe’s role in a changing international order. The discussion will revolve around the question of how the European Union and its member states are perceived by their partners and whether they have the political, economic and moral authority to take the lead and work together on important global issues.  Date and time: 5 December from 6:00 pm CET. Location: Robert Bosch Stiftung, Französische Strasse 32, 10117 Berlin. Registration and more information.

10 December, Online

 ‘Turning rhetoric into reality: Empowering philanthropy as catalytic partners for systems change’. Co-organised by WINGS and The Partnering Initiative (TPI), the webinar will explore the transformative power of partnerships in philanthropy to drive meaningful systems change. Date and time: 10 December from 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm UTC / 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm CET. Location: Zoom. Register here.

11 December, Online

Launch webinar: The State of Trans Organizing and The State of Intersex Organizing reports, 3rd edition. Join the report launch webinar in December to learn about key findings and recommendations, reflections on how the reports have been used since 2013 to increase and improve trans and intersex funding, learn more about using the new reports to make the case for funding, and how they will be shared in the year to come. Date: 11 December 11 from 9:00 am – 10:30 am EDT (GMT-04:00). Location: Zoom. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English, Spanish, and French (with additional languages to be confirmed). Register here.

27-28 January, Washington DC, USA

2025 FCAA Global Philanthropy Summit. FCAA’s Global Philanthropy Summit aims to unite 200 donors and activists in Washington, D.C. to galvanise our collective action toward health, human rights, and justice. A series of plenary sessions and workshops over two days will: Assess the impact of recent elections on the people and places most impacted by HIV; Explore the role of philanthropy in this political moment; and, strategise together to protect and strengthen the global HIV response. Date and time: 27-28 January 2025 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT. Learn more and register here.