Region: Global
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Grant-making requires empathy and building trust with communities
By Sheila Mulli, Regional Program Manager – Voice Kenya & Tanzania Money is always a tough conversation to have in any relationship, whether personal or professional. In my short time as a grant maker, I’ve come to realize that money conversations will never be easy, and they definitely play a large part in the power…
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Hivos: Twitter ban in Nigeria is an affront to freedom of expression
By Mendi Njonjo, Regional Director, Hivos East Africa As the rest of the world continued with information exchanges online, a wall of silence fell on citizens of Nigeria on Friday, June 4, 2021. The federal government announced a ban on Twitter, leading to a full blackout affecting millions of users that is now entering its…
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The promise to young rightsholders: We Lead
2021 marks 40 years since the first case of AIDS was reported in the world, signalling the rise of an epidemic that is not a respecter of geographic location, gender, race, ethnicity or age. In fact, low income countries have been worst hit with extreme impact on vulnerable populations such as women and the youth.…
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The rise of disinformation in post-Trump Africa
By Churchill Ongere, Anthony Wafula and Sally Akinyi The digital era has come of age and now influences or affects multiple aspects of our lives. Most would characterize it as an information explosion that has made knowledge – once the prestigious perk of elite groups – a widely-accessible tool for human development. News production is…
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Meet Hivos at RightsCon
The 10th anniversary edition of RightsCon is taking place next week. The (online) event brings together business leaders, human rights defenders, government representatives, technologists, and journalists from around the world to tackle the most pressing issues at the intersection of human rights and technology. Issues that are also high on Hivos’ change agenda. This year, Hivos…
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An open renewal for civic rights, inclusion and climate justice
By Conrad Zellmann, Impact Lead for Civic Rights in a Digital Age Societies everywhere find themselves amidst a storm of challenges. Inequality and discrimination, weak defenses against corruption, and widespread disinformation undermine our ability to confront the global Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis. This week we celebrated Open Government Week. The values that are…
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Grave concern over human rights violations in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel
Hivos expresses our very deep concern over the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The latest outbreak of hostilities was triggered by efforts to forcibly displace Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. While Hivos does not have program and operational presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,…
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Calling for openness in Kenya’s Covid-19 management
By Sally Akinyi and Mumbi Mugo The Covid-19 pandemic continues to have far-reaching consequences globally. Countries have been ravaged socially and economically, with public health systems on the brink of collapse and job losses rivaling the Great Depression. While governments have been swift to cushion citizens with medical responses, lockdowns and economic stimulus packages, too…
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IDAHOT 2021: economic hardship and funding gaps impacting the LGBTIQ+ community
For the second time, we celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia during the Covid-19 pandemic. As we reflected last year, the LGBTIQ+ community has been disproportionately impacted. Limited access to economic support programs and redirection of funds means that the longer this pandemic lasts, the harder it will be for the LGBTIQ+…
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IDAHOT 2021 – Together: Resisting, supporting and healing!
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted people’s lives socially and economically in a global challenge the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. While many governments were swift to implement economic stimulus packages, lockdowns and curfews, marginalized groups such as LGBTIQ+ persons, women and sex workers found themselves at the margins of these responses and…
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Why gendered constitution-making is important for Syria
Together with partners, we empowered Syrian women activists to enhance women’s participation in the constitutional and transitional processes in Syria.
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Digital game ‘Amani, My Friend’ wins HIV and sexual health information competition
Amani, My Friend, the prototype of an interactive digital game, has won a friendly competition between master’s students studying media design at the University of Design and Applied Arts of Geneva (HEAD). The competition aimed to support the development of virtual tools which foster the exchange of information on HIV and sexual health among adolescent…
