In 2020 we have witnessed one of the most disruptive phenomena so far in the 21st century: the COVID-19 pandemic, the health crisis, and social isolation. During this time, from RACI we have worked to accompany Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) by providing resources that allow them to adapt to this new and challenging context. In this framework, we have also mapped the state of CSOs and their enormous contributions in sustaining numerous vulnerable communities throughout our territory.
Another of the initiatives that we have developed was the creation of an International Observatory of Civil Society. Developed in its beginnings in alliance with the Group of National Associations of CIVICUS (AGNA), we have constituted a working group of young researchers composed of university practitioners and RACI volunteers, who monitor the state of Civil Society in the various regions of the world ( America, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Middle East, and North Africa and Europe). RACI’s proposal for this observatory is to offer a view and possible clipping of various notable aspects of the world’s Civil Society from the specific prism of our region, from Latin America, from the Global South.
Based on secondary sources such as reports, communication campaigns, open letters, dialogue tables, and other instances offered by the networks and CSOs that operate in each region, more than 30 researchers document relevant information to better understand governments and society’s relationships. Civil in each case, the responses of the donors and the initiatives of the Organizations in the framework of the difficult times that we are going through. The working group is led by Luana Esquenazi, Director of the RACI Research Area, with the assistance of Tomás Kiernan, and today monitors more than 80 countries around the world.
In times of chaos, uncertainty, and restrictions of the enabling space for almost all Civil Societies in the world, it is imperative to document this process, printing new perspectives that collaborate in a more complex understanding of the Social Sector, identifying common vectors and ruptures, and thinking about possible lines of action in the constitution of a stronger and more unified sector.
At RACI we are very excited about the evolution of this initiative and will soon present the first report with some of the most salient aspects identified so far!
Those who want to participate can send an email with their Curriculum Vitae and a brief letter of motivation to volunteers@raci.org.ar.