What we do

Through the Voice program we fund civil society groups that breathe and live NOW-Us! (NOthing about us, Without Us) in our collective journey to an inclusive world. During this year’s IDAHOT week, we like to share some examples of the inspiring work rightsholder groups are doing. Let us first take you to Indonesia where we support […]

Leonardo Ortega uses open data to defend the rights of the LGBITQ+ people in Guatemala. “This is how we demonstrate that violence against us exists and that we experience it.”

“Whether you live in the country or in the city, we don’t want anyone to be left behind,” says Jap Ignacio, director of Babaylanes Inc. The Philippine NGO helps LGBTIQ+ organizations in rural areas to professionalize and grow.

Our VCA program is actively engaging young people to help shape Zambia’s climate change agenda with innovative, locally-relevant and viable solutions. “This conversation about climate change should be a young person’s problem and concern.”

Lucy Minayo is a lawyer and pan-African feminist. She’s been working in human rights for close to two decades and has gained invaluable experience in Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR). Today Lucy is the Global Program Manager of the We Lead Program at Hivos.

Mendi Njonjo is Hivos East Africa’s Regional Director. She has been firmly anchoring Hivos in the human rights space across East and West Africa for more than a decade. She went on to push a feminist agenda across social justice initiatives all over Africa. From the Darfur region to Kenya, she’s played an important role in leveraging the power of feminist approaches in community building.

Saida Ali is a mother, feminist and Atlantic Fellow. She works for equality and gender justice by advocating for the recognition of underrepresented voices in the human rights movement. Saida is now the Global Manager of Hivos’ Free to be Me Program.

“In the Mount Kenya region, lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) people live in constant fear because of the constant abuse and violence they face,” says Alexia Kagendo, director of LEHA Kenya. “They, LBQ people, think they don’t have any rights, not even the right to live,” Alexia adds. LEHA stands up for them and fights […]

In Indonesia, a country prone to extreme weather events and rising sea levels, local climate action is happening everywhere. Youth movements, women’s groups, indigenous and other leaders are the ones on the frontlines of climate change and climate action, restoring the balance between people and nature. We’d like you to meet some of them.

Around the world, conservative fundamentalism has deliberately targeted the rights of women and sexual minorities in order to advance political agendas. In Central America, this continues to severely impact the position of young women and LGBTIQ+ people.