Category: Defending the Civic Space
In June 2016, Honorable Umar Jubril Ibrahim, representing Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency of Kogi State in Nigeria’s House of Representatives, sponsored a bill to supervise, coordinate and monitor nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) in Nigeria. Among other objectives, the bill, popularly known as the NGO Bill, seeks to “to regulate CSOs on matters […]
Human rights activists and researchers from across the world came together at a Writers’ Retreat in Sao Paulo, Brazil to share ideas and strategies for confronting closing civic spaces. SPACES FOR CHANGE participated in the 7-day retreat. The participants are all working on the issue of reclaiming civic space in their respective countries, and are also contributors to a […]
SPACES FOR CHANGE’s presented its recent research findings on closing spaces in Nigeria at the Global Solutions Exchange’s (GSX’) high-level panel at the sidelines of the 72nd UN General Assembly meeting held in New York between September 16-22, 2017. The panel discussion on “Safeguarding the Legal, Political, and Operational Space for Civil Society and Other Local Actors to Engage […]
Commitment towards innovation, the ability to collaborate, build alliances and networks, and make impact in a sustained manner, have been listed as some of the strategic “warfare” startups and young non-profits must have, in order to meet changing conditions in the 21st Century non-governmental sector. NGO stakeholders reached this consensus as a panel session on Civil Society Organizations: Synergies, […]
Spaces for Change’s executive director, Victoria Ohaeri, shared the findings of the organization’s research on closing spaces for civil society in Nigeria at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Private Sector Consultative Forum held at the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes in Vienna, Austria. Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) including the civil society have witnessed […]
On October 26, 2016, Dr John Dan Fulani, public commentator and lecturer at the Kaduna State University, was arrested and detained for 13 days. His offense: he made a Facebook post criticizing the government of Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State. A reporter with a local newspaper, for publishing a story claiming the governor had […]
How did Spaces for Change transform from a Facebook jaw-jaw group into an international research and advocacy organization working to strengthen the participation of excluded groups – women, youth and communities – in social and economic governance in Nigeria? How is the organization using the social media to deepen democratic debate, public engagement and accountability […]
Should Nigeria regulate the social media? This the one major determination that the March 7, 2016 public hearing on the Frivolous Petitions Bill – also known as the Social Media Bill – aimed to make. The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters conducted the public hearing with a view to soliciting stakeholders’ views […]