Attacks on rights and freedoms are coordinated. The responses will be too.
Lessons from successful reforms and resisting restrictions taught us that civil society must pioneer bold advocacy and build alliances across multiple institutions to amplify its voice and achieve lasting change. That is why in 2025, ECNL and its partners D-Hub, OSF and Coalition for Human Rights in Development launched the initiative Uniting for Change.
The initiative came out of a clear need: As attacks on civil society accelerate, and restrictive practices spread from one country to another, civil society needs to unite and increase leverage across diverse sectors, regions and areas of expertise. Together, we aim to build a new approach to protecting democratic values - one that is proactive and rooted in a vibrant community willing to test bold new solutions.
The Uniting for Change initiative has a three-fold approach. We:
- Invest in futures visioning and proactive anticipation of upcoming trends;
- Pilot new or underexplored approaches to pave the way for innovative action; and
- Increase coordination within the sector and towards potential new allies.
How we do it
We bring people together: To facilitate peer-to-peer learning and future visioning, we gather key players from different regions and fields to exchange experiences, unite efforts and identify potential new approaches.
We conduct research to inform advocacy: We build resilience by unpacking specific pathways that civil society can consider for targeted advocacy. For example, we look into the intersection of international AML/CFT mechanisms and foreign agent laws, as well as transnational repression.
We pilot underexplored approaches: Through sub-grants, mentoring, and strategic expertise, we support partners to: design preparedness action plans, reach out to new allies and strengthen connections with existing coalitions.