Innovation Report 2019 Published

CSOs are innovators, testing new approaches to both traditional and emerging problems. One of today’s issues creating an unprecedented challenge to civil society is the rise of populist leaders and their pervasive rhetoric, in different parts of the world. Populists have been adept at winning hearts and minds and creating or mining divisions in society, based on fear and hatred. This undermines the progressive values and ideals of inclusion, equality, diversity and respect for human rights advanced by CSOs working on social and environmental justice and sustainable development. This is the main focus for this report. The traditional toolkit of civil society actors— policy-centred tools, naming and shaming tactics—has so far proven inadequate in responding to these new challenges. CSOs must find innovative, fresh and effective ways to not only respond but also more fundamentally revive their impact in this new landscape. They can also learn and benefit from the lessons encountered by others. Read the report here.

Source: ICS Centre