European Convening on Civic Space

About the European Convening

In December 2022, European Civic Forum and Civil Society Europe convened over 100 representatives of civil society, EU and international institutions and donors to discuss how to enable, protect and expand Europe’s civic space. The goal of the meeting was to build trust among actors with diverse backgrounds and identify concrete action needed to create an enabling space in the EU, including a pan-European campaign on the European Civil Society Strategy ahead of the 2024 European elections.

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Recommendations to the Commission

A vibrant civil society that can act independently and at its full capacity is an integral part of a resilient democracy. Civil society can be an ally in developing and implementing people-centred and human rights-based policies. They also keep policymakers accountable when public policies have a negative impact on people and the planet.

As a result of the discussions that came out of the European Convening, we have set out recommendations for how the European Commission can act to protect and expand civic space.

Watch the event video!

Check out the event photos!

Want to revist the convening? Take a look at the photos from the two days!

Listen to Ep 1 of the Civic Spaces Podcast!

In the first episode of Civic Spaces, we take you behind the scenes of the convening and ask ECF’s Giada Negri why shrinking civic space is so important.

This event was organised by:

With the support of