Forum for Change

In this episode of Forum for Change, Tamar Kikacheshvili from Civil Right Defenders speaks to Olesya Bida and Yevheniia Lutsenko about the challenges of being young women journalists in the middle of a full-scale war, or in a “territory of men” as Olesya put it. This episode is produced together with the Eastern Partnership Network, coordinated by ForumCiv. Find out more about our work at forumciv.org.

Climate justice must be a priority for all.  But what are we doing to mitigate the disproportionate impacts of climate change around the world?   The Stockholm +50 conference, held in the first half of 2022, was a participatory space for civil society, companies and governments to come together to take concrete action on this issue.  Interviewees: Oscar Barajas - Latinamerikagrupperna  Karin Gregow - ForumCiv Ulrika Sandberg - Amnesty International Sweden Flavia Cieplinski - Jordens Vänner Yayoi Fujita Lagerqvist - Swedwatch To know more about Forumciv visit our website Forumciv.org  and follow us on social media @ForumCiv. Additional resources used in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wyddWrT90s https://www.forumciv.org/sv/aktuellt/forumciv-pa-stockholm50 

In this episode of Forum for Change we dig into what role communication and advocacy play for development. Swedish based organizations Emmaus Stockholm, Fair Action and Östgruppen share experiences and some of the tools they use to create change. Guests: Caroline Nord, Emmaus Stockholm Martin Uggla, Östgruppen Charlie Aronsson, Fair Action Host: Agnes Nygren, ForumCiv Additional resources used in this episode:  Belarus protests continue despite crackdown - BBC News - YouTube Why Does Morocco Want To Boycott Sweden? - YouTube  Business Matters - Six Months After Rana Plaza in Bangladesh - BBC Sounds 

Clowns without borders build their development interventions on humour. To create laughter that can help people in crisis and trauma to start living again, to build hope and a different society. In this episode we follow the stories of the Swedish and Brazilian chapters of the development clowns. External resources used in this episode:  Clowner utan Gränser i Rakhine  Indien - Glädje till barnen i Mumbais red light district  Två möten, Indien 2015, av Alex Hinchcliffe  Absurdas Convivências  Episódio 2 – ConCertados  Filippinerna - Glädje i sviterna av tyfonen Haiyan  Absurdas Convivências  Episódio 5 - De volta à realidade 

In this first episode of our second season, we meet Alice, a Swedish teenager involved in a movement that is preparing a lawsuit against the Swedish government, and Sohanur, a young and prolific activist from Bangladesh who leads a youth network with an intersectional approach. Continents apart, but joined in the same struggle for climate justice and part of a global citizenship to a degree no other generation has experienced. Additional resources used in this episode: Students around the world go on climate strike - YouTube (The Guardian) Global Climate strike: Millions take to the streets to save the world 'Fridays for future' marches for climate change going global | DW News - YouTube Emotional Greta Thunberg attacks world leaders: "How dare you?" - YouTube It's Always the Economy, Stupid - Opinion - YouTube (Wall Street Journal) 

Belarus: people on the streets gathering, social media bursting with evidence of human rights violations, communities gathering together to talk, think and dream about change. Why now, and what next? On this last episode of the first season, we talk with Ognjen Radjonic, manager of ForumCiv´s Eastern Europe regional office, about the different forces that combined to build up the perfect storm.   On this second part, we learn more about the particularities of this "perfect storm", the extraordinary role of women in it, and the forecast of what might be happening in 2021, as an aftermath to the social and political crisis. Find this two-part episode and all previous podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast , TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Feel free to give us a comment or to review it. Join us for this enriching conversation! As we are already brainstorming on the topics for the second season of the podcast, we would really appreciate to get your ideas on topics, guests, additional sections, in other words, any good idea you might have to make the second season of Forum for Change a much better initiative and showcase of the work of civil society around the world. You can share your ideas with us writing to forumforchange@forumciv.org. Here you can find all the links o external resources used on this episode: “Further protests in Belarus keep up pressure on Lukashenko” - BBC News -  “Belarus  Week 21 of protests (28 Dec – 3 Jan)  Lukashenko became an honorary OMON officer” - Voice of Belarus  “Belarus’ ongoing protests Examined” - ABC News World of Tanks War Stories Cinematic Trailer “Meet the pro-democracy Belarusian students forced to flee to Ukraine” - Kyiv Post “Women of Belarus A fearless cry for change  Talk to Al Jazeera In the Field” - Al Jazeera  “In Belarus, protesters show pride, worry, empathy“ - Associated Press “Warning__These_graphic_videos_appear_to_show_a_member__of_a__special_police_or_military_unit_firing_his_weapon_in_the_direction_of_Alexander__Taraikovsky,_considered_the_first_victim_of_the_Belarusian_protests” - VOA News  “Belarus police fire stun grenades as 100 000 protest” - Al Jazeera

  2020 was a hectic year for many reasons, but for Belarussians it was the year when something unexpected happened, something that had never happened before, since Alexander Lukashenko has been president of the country, 26 years ago. People on the streets gathering, social media bursting with evidence of human rights violations, communities gathering together to talk, think and dream about change. Why now, and what next? On this last episode of the first season, we talk with Ognjen Radjonic, manager of ForumCiv´s Eastern Europe regional office, about the different forces that combined to build up the perfect storm.   Find this two-part episode and all previous podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast , TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Feel free to give us a comment or to review it. Join us for this enriching conversation! As we are already brainstorming on the topics for the second season of the podcast, we would really appreciate to get your ideas on topics, guests, additional sections, in other words, any good idea you might have to make the second season of Forum for Change a much better initiative and showcase of the work of civil society around the world. You can share your ideas with us writing to forumforchange@forumciv.org. Here you can find all the links o external resources used on this episode: “Further protests in Belarus keep up pressure on Lukashenko” - BBC News -  “Belarus  Week 21 of protests (28 Dec – 3 Jan)  Lukashenko became an honorary OMON officer” - Voice of Belarus  “Belarus’ ongoing protests Examined” - ABC News World of Tanks War Stories Cinematic Trailer “Meet the pro-democracy Belarusian students forced to flee to Ukraine” - Kyiv Post “Women of Belarus A fearless cry for change  Talk to Al Jazeera In the Field” - Al Jazeera  “In Belarus, protesters show pride, worry, empathy“ - Associated Press “Warning__These_graphic_videos_appear_to_show_a_member__of_a__special_police_or_military_unit_firing_his_weapon_in_the_direction_of_Alexander__Taraikovsky,_considered_the_first_victim_of_the_Belarusian_protests” - VOA News  “Belarus police fire stun grenades as 100 000 protest” - Al Jazeera

  2020 was a hectic year for many reasons, but for Belarussians it was the year when something unexpected happened, something that had never happened before, since Alexander Lukashenko has been president of the country, 26 years ago. People on the streets gathering, social media bursting with evidence of human rights violations, communities gathering together to talk, think and dream about change. Why now, and what next? On this last episode of the first season, we talk with Ognjen Radjonic, manager of ForumCiv´s Eastern Europe regional office, about the different forces that combined to build up the perfect storm.   Find this two-part episode and all previous podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast , TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Feel free to give us a comment or to review it. Join us for this enriching conversation! As we are already brainstorming on the topics for the second season of the podcast, we would really appreciate to get your ideas on topics, guests, additional sections, in other words, any good idea you might have to make the second season of Forum for Change a much better initiative and showcase of the work of civil society around the world. You can share your ideas with us writing to forumforchange@forumciv.org. Here you can find all the links o external resources used on this episode: “Further protests in Belarus keep up pressure on Lukashenko” - BBC News -  “Belarus  Week 21 of protests (28 Dec – 3 Jan)  Lukashenko became an honorary OMON officer” - Voice of Belarus  “Belarus’ ongoing protests Examined” - ABC News World of Tanks War Stories Cinematic Trailer “Meet the pro-democracy Belarusian students forced to flee to Ukraine” - Kyiv Post “Women of Belarus A fearless cry for change  Talk to Al Jazeera In the Field” - Al Jazeera  “In Belarus, protesters show pride, worry, empathy“ - Associated Press “Warning__These_graphic_videos_appear_to_show_a_member__of_a__special_police_or_military_unit_firing_his_weapon_in_the_direction_of_Alexander__Taraikovsky,_considered_the_first_victim_of_the_Belarusian_protests” - VOA News  “Belarus police fire stun grenades as 100 000 protest” - Al Jazeera

In this second part we continue sharing the conversation between two experts on land issues in Liberia and Colombia. Richlue Burphy, once a Liberian refugee in Ghana, has spent most of his professional life in the land sector. Currently he works with ForumCiv in the Liberia country office. Juan Francisco Soto is a researcher and professor at the Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, and also works as a consultant for the Comisión Colombiana de Juristas, a Colombian NGO. Join us for this enriching conversation! Here you can find all the links o external resources used on this episode: "UNSC in Colombia to check implementation of FARC Peace deal" - Al Jazeera news clip "ECOWAS pledges improvement of women´s access to land" - Africanews news clip "The women denied rights to own land" - BBC News news clip The World Bank information about Land Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 agenda 

Land. Probably the word in the summit of almost every list about any kind of conflict, be it social, political, economical, environmental, or cultural. In this two-part episode we have the conversation between two experts on land issues in Liberia and Colombia. Richlue Burphy, once a Liberian refugee in Ghana, has spent most of his professional life in the land sector. Currently he works with ForumCiv in the Liberia country office. Juan Francisco Soto is a researcher and professor at the Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, and also works as a consultant for the Comisión Colombiana de Juristas, a Colombian NGO. Join us for this enriching conversation! Here you can find all the links o external resources used on this episode: "UNSC in Colombia to check implementation of FARC Peace deal" - Al Jazeera news clip "ECOWAS pledges improvement of women´s access to land" - Africanews news clip "The women denied rights to own land" - BBC News news clip The World Bank information about Land Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 agenda 

Land. Probably the word in the summit of almost every list about any kind of conflict, be it social, political, economical, environmental, or cultural. In this two-part episode we have the conversation between two experts on land issues in Liberia and Colombia. Richlue Burphy, once a Liberian refugee in Ghana, has spent most of his professional life in the land sector. Currently he works with ForumCiv in the Liberia country office. Juan Francisco Soto is a researcher and professor at the Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, and also works as a consultant for the Comisión Colombiana de Juristas, a Colombian NGO. Join us for this enriching conversation! Here you can find all the links o external resources used on this episode: "UNSC in Colombia to check implementation of FARC Peace deal" - Al Jazeera news clip "ECOWAS pledges improvement of women´s access to land" - Africanews news clip "The women denied rights to own land" - BBC News news clip The World Bank information about Land Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 agenda 

We want to invite you to listen and be part of Forum for Change, a podcast about civil society around the world, produced by ForumCiv, a platform organisation for Swedish civil society. In the Forum for Change podcast, we will share stories related to the work of Swedish civil society and its partners around the world. Together we will have the opportunity of learning more about the different regions and topics that form the weave of the work for democracy and human rights,  towards a sustainable change. Join us and subscribe to receive updated information on our latest episodes.

It seems as the Forum for Change podcast has suddenly become a two-part episode kind of podcast… Oh well! The conversations we are having are so interesting that we cannot help ourselves! So once again we bring you a two-part episode where we chat with our dear colleague Wilson James Tutanya who leads a very important and interesting process in our organisation: The Right(s) Way Forward. This is a community-based participatory methodology that seeks to empower community members to improve their capacity to formulate, advocate and claim their rights. In this first part, we take you through the history of the Right(s) Way Forward and the structure of the methodology as well as its capacity to reach different communities throughout the world.  Come with us through this inspiring journey that is the Right(s) Way Forward.  Here you can find all the links if you want to learn more about this methodology:  To learn all about Right(s) Way Forward and get access to the Epub version click here.   To learn about the Right(s) Way Forward new look click here.   To get access to the full materials and templates go to Changers Hub.  Soon we will also have all the Right(s) Way Forward material in its Spanish version, Camino Derecho a los Derechos. If you want to learn more about Dandelion Africa and their process with the Right(s) Way Forward click here  You can also find information on the Environmental Committee in the Tolima region of Colombia here  You can follow North RIFT Theatre Ambassadors here 

It seems as the Forum for Change podcast has suddenly become a two-part episode kind of podcast… Oh well! The conversations we are having are so interesting that we cannot help ourselves! So once again we bring you a two-part episode where we chat with our dear colleague Wilson James Tutanya who leads a very important and interesting process in our organisation: The Right(s) Way Forward. This is a community-based participatory methodology that seeks to empower community members to improve their capacity to formulate, advocate and claim their rights. In this first part, we take you through the history of the Right(s) Way Forward and the structure of the methodology as well as its capacity to reach different communities throughout the world.  Come with us through this inspiring journey that is the Right(s) Way Forward.  Here you can find all the links if you want to learn more about this methodology:  To learn all about Right(s) Way Forward and get access to the Epub version click here.   To learn about the Right(s) Way Forward new look click here.   To get access to the full materials and templates go to Changers Hub.  Soon we will also have all the Right(s) Way Forward material in its Spanish version, Camino Derecho a los Derechos.

In this two-part episode we talk with Ulf Rasmusson, a founding member of the Swedish civil society organisation Rainforest society or Regnskogsförening that aims to protect the tropical forest in the Amazon. For several years they have been working in partnership with Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia (Ecam), a Brazilian civil society organization.  Together they work with local indigenous communities and black communities, also generating networks and alliances with other organisations, as well as public and private actors in the region.  Ulf, a Swedish public server, has made of the rainforests -and mainly the Amazon rainforest- a lifelong quest to protect our planet´s biodiversity, as well as the ethnical and cultural diversity that this fascinating region holds... Join us, with our special co-host and colleague Juan Camilo Peña, ForumCiv subgranting officer who accompanies this inspiring project. In this second part, we will delve into the project’s challenges, successes and opportunities to face the current crisis and contribute to a sustainable change for the Amazon region in Brazil. 

In this two-part episode we talk with Ulf Rasmusson, a founding member of the Swedish civil society organisation Rainforest society or Regnskogsförening that aims to protect the tropical forest in the Amazon. For several years they have been working in partnership with Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia (Ecam), a Brazilian civil society organization.  Together they work with local indigenous communities and black communities, also generating networks and alliances with other organisations, as well as public and private actors in the region.  Ulf, a Swedish public server, has made of the rainforests -and mainly the Amazon rainforest- a lifelong quest to protect our planet´s biodiversity, as well as the ethnical and cultural diversity that this fascinating region holds... Join us, with our special co-host and colleague Juan Camilo Peña, ForumCiv subgranting officer who accompanies this inspiring project. In this first part, we will get to know about the current situation on the Brazilian Amazon, and more specifically about the region where the project that Rainforest Society and ECAM are implementing.       

On this second and final part, we talk with our colleagues Marei and Mohammud about the impacts that the Covid-19 crisis has implied for their work and personal lives in Colombia and Somalia They also share with us the wways in which their offices and the programmes in which they work, have adapted to the current situation. Youtube clips used in this episode: Colombia The Colombia-FARC Peace Deal Explained (NowThis World) Coronavirus: Bogotá conducts quarantine drill ahead of Colombia lockdown (DW News) Colombia: Bogotá keeping coronavirus lockdown measures (Al Jazeera) Colombia violence: Killings continue during lockdown (Al Jazeera) Five indigenous leaders massacred in Colombia (Democracy Now) Somalia UN warns of a humanitarian crisis in Somalia due to Covid-19, natural disasters (TRT) Somalia: only one hospital to treat country’s COVID-19 patients (Al Jazeera) Somali troops still vulnerable to al Shabaab outside Mogadishu, Pentagon says (CBA TV) Also, here you can get more information about the current situation of ForumCiv country office in Somalia. 

On this second episode (consisting of two parts) we want to share with you about ForumCiv’s experience with the global crisis brought on with the Covid-19 Pandemic. On this first part, we will focus on getting to know our colleagues Marei and Mohammud and their normal work routines in Colombia and Somalia, as well as we share with you the unbelievable impact that the Covid-19 crisis has had on both countries, considering their contexts. Keep your ears wide open for Part 2, next week! Youtube clips used in this episode: Colombia The Colombia-FARC Peace Deal Explained (NowThis World) Coronavirus: Bogotá conducts quarantine drill ahead of Colombia lockdown (DW News) Colombia: Bogotá keeping coronavirus lockdown measures (Al Jazeera) Colombia violence: Killings continue during lockdown (Al Jazeera) Five indigenous leaders massacred in Colombia (Democracy Now) Somalia UN warns of a humanitarian crisis in Somalia due to Covid-19, natural disasters (TRT) Somalia: only one hospital to treat country’s COVID-19 patients (Al Jazeera) Somali troops still vulnerable to al Shabaab outside Mogadishu, Pentagon says (CBA TV) Also, here you can get more information about the current situation of ForumCiv country office in Somalia. 

Yes! Forum Syd is now ForumCiv! The reason for changing the name is that the word "Syd" does not represent the organisation and also characterises an outdated view when the world was divided into north and south. In addition, Forum Syd is a global organisation and the Swedish word "Syd" does not work in a global context. "We will keep the platform word Forum and add Civ, an abbreviation of civil society, because it is the civil society we ultimately defend," says Secretary-General Anna Stenvinkel. She continues, “This year we are celebrating twenty-five-years of defending civil society with the goal to demand fair and stronger democracies. Unfortunately, we see that the democratic space is shrinking, and our task is more important than ever." Keep your ears wide open for the second episode of Forum for Change, coming soon!  Join us and subscribe to receive updated information on our latest episodes. 

On this introductory episode, we decided to share with you some insights about Forum Syd, what we are and what we do.   For this, we had a nice talk with Anna Stenvinkel, Secretary General of Forum Syd, and with Ingrid Sievert Udden, Deputy Secretary General. Join us and subscribe to receive updated information on our latest episodes, and feel free to share your comments and reviews!