About us

European Civic Forum (ECF) is a pan-European network of more than 100 associations and NGOs across 30 European countries. Founded in 2005 by our member organisations, we have spent nearly two decades working to protect civic spaceenable civic participation and build civil dialogue for more equalitysolidarity and democracy in Europe.

Advocacy

We advocate at the EU level to ensure policies respect and promote fundamental rights for all, and for the institutions to create an enabling environment for civil society and introduce genuine civil dialogue.

Network & Capacity Building

We connect civil society actors transnationally and across sectors through conferences, forums and alliances.

Monitoring and reporting

We monitor civic space across Europe and report on developments for Civic Space Watch and Civicus Monitor.

Our network

Our network is made up of diverse organisations, ranging from big federations and national platforms of NGOs uniting hundreds of thousands of organisations across different sectors, human rights and campaigning organisations, and smaller groups working at community level.

Reports

 

Our research and advocacy team produce reports on a wide variety of topics – from our annual Civic Space Report to an assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on fundamental rights.

Civic Space Watch

Civic Space Watch collects findings and analyses from actors in Europe on the conditions for civil society to operate, capturing national and trans-European trends in civic space.  Through ongoing monitoring of social media and regular contact and interviews with a strong network of members and partners on the ground, we strive to provide easy access to resources and improve information sharing within civil society across Europe with policy-makers and the media.