During the conference, it was emphasised that civil society space is being restricted worldwide and that states are intervening in civil space with authoritarian methods. Despite all forms of pressure, civil society organisations are trying to expand their influence and fight against these challenges.
The opening speech of the conference was delivered by Alexander Fricke, Head of Section of EU Delegation to Türkiye. In his speech, Fricke emphasised that the fundamental right to freedom of association is under attack in many parts of the world. He pointed out the problems faced by civil society organisations and expressed hope. He emphasised that, despite all the negativities and attacks, civil society organisations are joining forces to defend their fundamental rights.
The conference featured 26 speakers, including important representatives of civil society in Turkey and around the world. Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia and Hungary discussed the challenges facing the civil society space in their countries. The meeting also addressed the restriction of the right to protest in the European Union and the United States and the violence against those who show solidarity with Palestine.
Aarti Narsee, representative of the European Civic Forum, noted in her speech that even in the most advanced democracies, a shrinking of civil society space can be observed. Narsee pointed out that the narrowing can be observed in Spain and the Western Balkans, and noted that the increase in military measures is increasingly restricting the civic area is becoming more restricted.
Memorisations must be broken to overcome the problems faced by democracies
The two-day conference discussed freedom of association from different perspectives. It explored how to combat the obstacles faced by civil society space and how to strengthen civil society organisations as fundamental actors of democracy, can be strengthened.
Mandeep S. Tiwana, who participated on behalf of the CIVICUS Alliance, which is dedicated to monitoring global citizen action and civil society organisations, shared that despite the shrinking civic space, global organisations hold promise. Tiwana mentioned that in addition to authoritarian states, populism and nationalism are on the rise, but that despite all these challenges, youth movements are promising.
Feray Salman from the Human Rights Joint Platform explained in her speech that the human rights movement must break out of the familiar patterns and break the mold.
The conference also discussed how civil society shows resilience in the face of adversity. Begüm Başdaş from Amnesty International spoke about the resilience of the LGBTI+ movement in Turkey despite all the discriminatory circumstances. She noted that it is a great challenge to make this resilience more visible.
